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Walmart Workers Launch Black Friday Strike

EMNofSeattle said:
12. 81 and hour? That's not on the upper end of the scale. The union grocery and department stores in my area the scale tops off at 19 bucks an hour
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You do realize that tops off and average have different meanings, do you not?
 
When I worked for Walmart a couple of years ago, we were basically required to sign documents explicitly waiving our right to unionize, as I recall. We were required to watch instructional videos warning us against them as well.

I wonder if these employees could actually be fired for breach of contract on those grounds, or if the whole thing was simply a paper tiger.

Edit:

Though... For the record, it should be noted that Walmart was actually one of the better retailers I ever worked for.

I started off at almost $10.00 an hour, I got a full hour for lunch (if I wanted it), we all got stock benefits, employees were allowed to clock in either 15 minutes early or late without having it be a mark against them, and we couldn't work off the clock without risk of disciplinary action for both ourselves and any manager found responsible.

TotalWine? Yea... Not so much. :lol:
 
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faithful_servant said:
Union activities among WM employees is grounds for temination.
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So, they've signed a yellow dog contract?

A yellow-dog contract (a yellow-dog clause of a contract, or an ironclad oath) is an agreement between an employer and an employee in which the employee agrees, as a condition of employment, not to be a member of a labor union.
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So...how did the strike go?
 
Hatuey said:
Feeling sorry for them is not part of the question. Part of the question is: What do you suggest for people who don't have the option of looking for another job? Are they supposed to allow corporations to abuse them?
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Who doesn't have the option to look for another job? I always had that option. When I finally figured out that I didn't like to work for someone else, I created my own company and hired people who were looking for another job. You yourself listed Wal Mart and Dollar General as options. Others listed several options in retail alone. Even if for some reason you cannot leave Walmart, there is no rule that says you have to stay one of the $9.00/hour entry level employees.

Who doesn't have access to education. Generally, the poorer the person, the better the access. Rules get bent with "disadvantaged" potential students, lower entrance requirements, quotas, scholarships. Even if you live in the middle of nowhere, education is available with a $300 computer.

You are just making excuses. Thousands of self starters prove you wrong every day.
 
Hatuey said:
Feeling sorry for them is not part of the question. Part of the question is: What do you suggest for people who don't have the option of looking for another job? Are they supposed to allow corporations to abuse them?
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They're not being abused by anyone. They are dealing with the consequences of the choices they made in their own lives. If they want to blame someone for what happens to them, they only have to look in the mirror. They did it to themselves. Now you expect people to feel sorry for them, and yes, that is exactly what you want, because they screwed up their own lives and now want special privileges.

Sorry, doesn't work that way.
 
Cephus said:
They're not being abused by anyone. They are dealing with the consequences of the choices they made in their own lives. If they want to blame someone for what happens to them, they only have to look in the mirror. They did it to themselves. Now you expect people to feel sorry for them, and yes, that is exactly what you want, because they screwed up their own lives and now want special privileges.

Sorry, doesn't work that way.
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Everyone working at WalMart "screwed up their own lives?" :lamo

I love these guys and their magical fairy tale universe where everything is fair and everyone gets everything they deserve, and deserves everything they get.
 
tres borrachos said:
Just a big heads up here. She's been posting here for almost 4 years. You just joined 151 incoherent posts ago. Nobody's had a problem with her posts or her ability to understand what she reads. There are at least 2 of us who are suffering from vertigo because of your posts.

That's your Thanksgiving present.
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i'm not surprised that, given the current state of political discourse on the internet and most of what i've seen posted here since i've joined, that you guys would have an issue understanding someone who posts like me. you guys are so used to having arguments where it's one side against another side where no one wants to recognize any gray area or see the big picture that i don't blame you for having trouble with my comments on this topic.

i do my best to elevate my posts beyond "unions bad, capitalism good, walmart bad" but if you prefer to only discuss this topic with folks whose viewpoints you can sort into a neat little category, i'm pretty sure you can always put me on ignore.

have a great day!
 
jimbo said:
Then, if they are free to change their mind about when they work, they are equally free to get themslves another job in a business that closes on Thanksgiving day, and the store is free to replace them with people who don't care for turkey all that much.
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exactly. the store is free to replace them if they can. that's why i don't understand why people have an issue with a strike.
 
bg85 said:
i'm not surprised that, given the current state of political discourse on the internet and most of what i've seen posted here since i've joined, that you guys would have an issue understanding someone who posts like me. you guys are so used to having arguments where it's one side against another side where no one wants to recognize any gray area or see the big picture that i don't blame you for having trouble with my comments on this topic.

i do my best to elevate my posts beyond "unions bad, capitalism good, walmart bad" but if you prefer to only discuss this topic with folks whose viewpoints you can sort into a neat little category, i'm pretty sure you can always put me on ignore.

have a great day!
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Why would I put you on ignore?
 
tres borrachos said:
Why would I put you on ignore?
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i don't know. something about my posting style in this thread seems to bother you though, so i thought i'd point that option out to you if you hadn't thought of it already :)
 
bg85 said:
i don't know. something about my posting style in this thread seems to bother you though, so i thought i'd point that option out to you if you hadn't thought of it already :)
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It doesn't bother me. It makes me laugh that you went after Superfly when she's been posting here for years, and nobody except you ever claimed her posts were not understandable.
 
tres borrachos said:
It doesn't bother me. It makes me laugh that you went after Superfly when she's been posting here for years, and nobody except you ever claimed her posts were not understandable.
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you said you were suffering from vertigo because of my posts. clearly something about them was bothering you.

i have never "gone after" anyone on the internet. if you go back and re-read what i said, maybe you'll see the point i was trying to make by asking if she thought workers should be legally required to show up. obviously she does not think that (because it is a ridiculous position) but based on the context of what i said and her response i asked the question to try and point out the ridiculousness of criticizing someone for wanting to stay home on a holiday or exercising their right to not show up to work if they don't want to (and to face the consequences of doing so).
 
Dittohead not! said:
So, they've signed a yellow dog contract?
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you don't have to sign a yellow dog contract to be fired for organizing workers. walmart can fire them for whatever they want. if you sign a yellow dog contract though, it means they can fire you AND sue you.

edit: i can't remember if yellow dog contracts are legal everywhere though.
 
faithful_servant said:
With prices to match... Sorry but folks on low income cannot afford to shop at union stores and they have to shop at places that they can afford. You and your kind would force them to choose between skipping breakfast or lunch every day to support the unions. Whatever happened to the compassion for the poor and downtrodden that used to be such a core value of the left?? Does it only apply to loyal union members or potential union members??
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Bull****, any basket of goods you buy at Walmart will be within a few blocks of the same basket bought at Kroger's, and even if what you're saying is true, which it's not, because I routinely compare prices, then you're providing evidence people are undeepayed. The myth of walmarts huge savings comes from the fact in many rural communities they're the only store other then C stores. When I last priced my weekly food bill at Safeway, a union shop, the total came to 45.76, same goods at WalMart came out to 42.17, not the kind of savings that will make or break you. I'll gladly pay an additional 3 bucks so workers can make living wages, Shame on those who don't support workers, betraying Jesus took 30 pieces of silver, evidently 3 bucks is some peoples cutoff against their fellow citizens
 
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faithful_servant said:
Seriously?? If that was the case, WM would have been sued LONG ago for this kind of thing and the parts of the employment contract that stipulate this would have been removed by a judge's order. Oddly enough, they haven't. Would you are to hazard a guess as to why that is?? Here's a clue: BECAUSE IT IS A PRIVATE CONTRACT BETWEEEN PRIVATE PARTIES TO ENGAGE IN LEGAL ACTIVITIES AND THUS THE GOV'T ALLOWS IT AS LONG AS BOTH PARTIES AGREE WITHOUT COERSION.

Where do people get this stuff?? I'm NO fan of WM, but I do understand a lot of the legal aspects of employment. Obviously too many people have a lot of preconceptions that are dead wrong and propped up by a complete failure to apply any common sense.
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It's called the national labor relations act title 29 United States Code 151-169

http://www.dol.gov/olms/regs/compliance/EmployeeRightsPoster11x17_Final.pdf
 
faithful_servant said:
With prices to match... Sorry but folks on low income cannot afford to shop at union stores and they have to shop at places that they can afford. You and your kind would force them to choose between skipping breakfast or lunch every day to support the unions. Whatever happened to the compassion for the poor and downtrodden that used to be such a core value of the left?? Does it only apply to loyal union members or potential union members??
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People with low incomes shop at union stores all the time. So you really have no idea what you're talking about.
 
jimbo said:
You do realize that tops off and average have different meanings, do you not?
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If 12.81 is the upper half of the average that speaks volumes about our economic problems
 
faithful_servant said:
With prices to match... Sorry but folks on low income cannot afford to shop at union stores and they have to shop at places that they can afford. You and your kind would force them to choose between skipping breakfast or lunch every day to support the unions. Whatever happened to the compassion for the poor and downtrodden that used to be such a core value of the left?? Does it only apply to loyal union members or potential union members??
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if folks on low incomes can't afford to shop at union stores, and those folks' money is important to the union stores, then the union stores will either lower their prices or deal with the lost revenue from the low income folks. if they can't do either one of those, they will go out of business which will make room for another store to open up that might be able to meet the demands of the community. that's the free market.
 
Deuce said:
Everyone working at WalMart "screwed up their own lives?" :lamo
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Not everyone, there are certainly people who had to take a job there because of the economy, but most of those people ought to know to be thankful that they have a job at all.

I love these guys and their magical fairy tale universe where everything is fair and everyone gets everything they deserve, and deserves everything they get.
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I love liberals and their magical fairy tale universe where everyone is entitled to be special, even if they haven't earned it.
 
EMNofSeattle said:
Bull****, any basket of goods you buy at Walmart will be within a few blocks of the same basket bought at Kroger's, and even if what you're saying is true, which it's not, because I routinely compare prices, then you're providing evidence people are undeepayed. The myth of walmarts huge savings comes from the fact in many rural communities they're the only store other then C stores. When I last priced my weekly food bill at Safeway, a union shop, the total came to 45.76, same goods at WalMart came out to 42.17, not the kind of savings that will make or break you. I'll gladly pay an additional 3 bucks so workers can make living wages, Shame on those who don't support workers, betraying Jesus took 30 pieces of silver, evidently 3 bucks is some peoples cutoff against their fellow citizens
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There has been economic studies confirming that Walmart provides the most savings for lower income earners and other wage earners than any other super centre or department store.

I can provide you an example of that study if you'd like, but I'd doubt that you'd read it.
 
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