Wal-Mart Asks Employees to Feed One Another
Known for its poor treatment of workers and low wages, the retail giant is under fire in Canton, Ohio, where its store apparently set up a food drive for needy employees.
Known for its poor treatment of workers and low wages, the retail giant is under fire in Canton, Ohio, where its store apparently set up a food drive for needy employees.
Food bins were discovered in an employees-only area, and some workers found them an offensive reminder that they don’t make enough to support themselves.
“This is part of the company’s culture to rally around associates and take care of them when they face extreme hardships,” said company spokesman Kory Lundberg, quoted by the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
It’s also part of Wal-Mart’s culture to pay employees $15,000-$20,000 a year, which is at or below the federal definition of poverty, depending on how many dependents the worker has. Those numbers are from advocacy groups working to get Wal-Mart to raise its wages.
But the wage itself is not the only problem. The employee who photographed the food donation bins told the Plain Dealer she has been working at Wal-Mart for 12 years, makes $12 an hour and is considered a full-time employee. But because of a policy of cutting hours, she says, she made only $17,000 last year.
— Posted by Peter Z. Scheer
WAIT BEFORE YOU GO...This year, the ground feels uncertain — facts are buried and those in power are working to keep them hidden. Now more than ever, independent journalism must go beneath the surface.
At Truthdig, we don’t just report what's happening — we investigate how and why. We follow the threads others leave behind and uncover the forces shaping our future.
Your tax-deductible donation fuels journalism that asks harder questions and digs where others won’t.
Don’t settle for surface-level coverage.
Unearth what matters. Help dig deeper.
Donate now.
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.