I’ve never been a fan of Wal-Mart. Besides the unpleasant atmosphere and the unsavory clientele, I haven’t wanted to shop there since I read Barbara’s Ehrenreich’s excellent and heart-breaking account of working at Wal-Mart in Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By In America. It’s no secret that Wal-Mart keeps prices low by paying its employees poverty-level wages and by insuring barely over half its employees on their company health plan. In fact, many Wal-Mart workers are poor enough to qualify for public health assistance. Twenty-five states have tracked and reported the number of employees and dependants that the largest employers within their borders have enrolled in state-funded health care programs, and in those states, Wal-Mart is at the head of the line for public assistance. As if all this weren’t bad enough, I now have a new reason to not shop at Wal-Mart:
As the New York Times recently reported, “At Wal-Mart, when employees miss one or more days because of illness or other reasons, they generally get a demerit point. Once employees obtain four points over a six-month period, they begin receiving warnings that can lead to dismissal.” This policy encourages employees to go to work when they are sick, endangering their own health and the health of their customers. Public health experts agree that people should stay home when they are sick to stop the spread of contagious diseases, especially now when there are concerns about a possible H1N1 flu pandemic.
MomsRising.org has started a campaign to Give Wal-Mart a Demerit Badge. Whether you shop at Wal-Mart or not, please take a moment to click on the link and send them a message about their unfair and unsafe demerit policy. Their employees and their customers really do deserve better.
Thanks so much for posting about this. We really appreciate it!
-Anita, MomsRising.org
hello i am a mom of four. Two of my children are twins whom have major medical problems since before birth. They were born three months early resulting some medical problems. I start to work at walmart in 2007. We need another income just to pay some of thier medical bills. When i was hired i told the mangers about my daughters and hthier medical problems even gave them a copy of papers stating that they were disabled due to medical conidations which at the time was no problem because they hired me….. Well 2 years later i was just given a written couch due to a number of call outs i needed to take due to my one daughter being in the hospitol. Which anyother employer would excuss will not walmart. Basically what i learned from this is that walmart is not about family they are about money. They want me to choose my job over my sick children. I am not taking this laying down i am calling my state attoreny, the board of labor and the press if need be. They will not discrimante me or my children. Walmart needs to stop treating thier employes the way they do. I have also noticed that in january they really start couching the employes and giving demirts wondering if has anything to do with the madatory cut of payroll in all thier stores. They want you finish your job or project before you leave on any given day but wont allow any overtime. If you get overtime you get in trouble. Walmart needs to stop bullying thier employes and stop treating one with no heart. For gods sake i didnt ask for my children to be sick. I thank god everyday for them and wont want them any other way. All i want to do is provide for my child without risking thier health.
So sorry to hear about your daughters’ medical problems and your trouble with Wal-Mart. Good luck to you and your family…I wish you all the best.