Wal-Mart: We Tell Our Wage-Slaves How to Vote too!

News Type: Event — Fri Aug 1, 2008 2:17 PM EDT

us-news, satire, voting, wal-mart, political

From the Wall-Street Journal:

"In recent weeks, thousands of Wal-Mart store managers and department heads have been summoned to mandatory meetings at which the retailer stresses the downside for workers if stores were to be unionized.

According to about a dozen Wal-Mart employees who attended such meetings in seven states, Wal-Mart executives claim that employees at unionized stores would have to pay hefty union dues while getting nothing in return, and may have to go on strike without compensation. Also, unionization could mean fewer jobs as labor costs rise.

"'The meeting leader said, 'I am not telling you how to vote, but if the Democrats win, this bill will pass and you won't have a vote on whether you want a union,'" said a Wal-Mart customer-service supervisor from Missouri. 'I am not a stupid person. They were telling me how to vote,' she said."

As if Wal-Mart doesn't control enough already. My favorite part about this article was the blatant bias shown by the Wall-Street Journal at various points:

"The actions by Wal-Mart -- the nation's largest private employer -- reflect a growing concern among big business that a reinvigorated labor movement could reverse years of declining union membership. That could lead to higher payroll and health costs for companies already being hurt by rising fuel and commodities costs and the tough economic climate."

Wow. Really? The fact that Wall-Street has, quite frankly, the balls to hint that Wal-Mart is hurting by rising fuel and commodities cost is quite comical bordering insulting.

The Walton family takes home billions and billions every year while denying their employees basic benefits and reaping communities for their amenities, but most people don't care because hell, that sweatshirt only costs 29 cents.

Heaven forbid employees get higher wages, they might spend it, and stimulate the economy, we don't want that do we? Oh, wait, we do, just as long as it's from the upper-class only, sorry, I forgot.

But, of course it's not unreasonable to say Wal-Mart is hurting financially. Just as it's not unreasonable to say Rush Limbaugh is hurting from a lack of pie, Paris Hilton is hurting from a lack of media attention, and the American media is hurting from a lack of stupidity.

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2.6

1.1

{"commentId":2343870,"authorDomain":"insist09"}

insist09Deleted

{"commentId":2344215,"authorDomain":"ronplacone"}

Ron Placone

Cheers!!

Thanks for reading.

{"commentId":2344215,"threadId":"324266","contentId":"1713615","authorDomain":"ronplacone"}

2 votes

#2 - Fri Aug 1, 2008 4:19 PM EDT

{"commentId":2344510,"authorDomain":"leogodin"}

leogodin

That's bizarre. I guess they have a right to do what they did but I would never do it.

BTW, as far as calling Wal-Mart employees "Wage Slaves", I've never once met anyone who was forced to work for Wal-Mart (Actually a friend of mine practically forced his son to work at Wal-Mart). Wal-Mart employees are free to find employment elsewhere if they don't like the wages.

{"commentId":2344510,"threadId":"324266","contentId":"1713615","authorDomain":"leogodin"}

1 vote

#3 - Fri Aug 1, 2008 5:04 PM EDT

{"commentId":2345855,"authorDomain":"ronplacone"}

Ron Placone

Thanks for reading!

The title of this article was meant to be tongue-in-cheek and facetious, as if issued by Wal-Mart themselves. I wasn't trying to belittle Wal-Mart employees in any way nor was I trying to imply that they are forced to work there.

Although, clearly I have a problem with MANY of Wal-Mart's practices, this incident is just the tip of the ice-berg.

{"commentId":2345855,"threadId":"324266","contentId":"1713615","authorDomain":"ronplacone"}

#3.1 - Fri Aug 1, 2008 8:40 PM EDT

{"commentId":2345891,"authorDomain":"ronplacone"}

Ron Placone

Thanks for reading!

The title of this article was meant to be tongue-in-cheek and facetious, as if it were coming from Wal-Mart themselves. I wasn't trying to belittle anyone that works for Wal-Mart nor was I trying to imply that they are forced to be there.

Although, I do have problems with MANY of Wal-Mart's practices, this incident is just the tip of the iceberg in my opinion.

{"commentId":2345891,"threadId":"324266","contentId":"1713615","authorDomain":"ronplacone"}

#3.2 - Fri Aug 1, 2008 8:47 PM EDT

{"commentId":2345127,"authorDomain":"leogodin"}

leogodin

Ron,
I was thinking about this in the car and I seriously understated this practice as bizarre. It is absolutely despicable what Wal-Mart is doing. Gathering employees with the intent to sway their vote in an election is terrible. I get alerts from my company about specific bills that are coming up for a vote but they come in an email that I am free to ignore. I see nothing wrong with that. What Wal-Mart is doing goes way beyond that. I suspect it is legal but it certainly violates the spirit of the US electoral system.

{"commentId":2345127,"threadId":"324266","contentId":"1713615","authorDomain":"leogodin"}

#4 - Fri Aug 1, 2008 6:32 PM EDT

{"commentId":2345374,"authorDomain":"insist09"}

insist09Deleted

{"commentId":2349424,"authorDomain":"tvmott"}

t.v. mott

"Attention K-Mart Shoppers, there is a blue light special on isle..."

{"commentId":2349424,"threadId":"324266","contentId":"1713615","authorDomain":"tvmott"}

1 vote

#5 - Sat Aug 2, 2008 1:06 PM EDT

{"commentId":2360880,"authorDomain":"chardansean"}

charlotte r.

I went to the meeting. There was only one. They only gave information
I was never told how to vote and my job was never put in jeopardy.

I have been at Sam's Club for 11 years, and I am
not complaining. I am not a manager.

If I did not like my job, I would quit. How is it that Wal Mart can employ 2 million
unhappy associates? Where are they all at?
You would think that you would hear a lot more from them, than the know-it-alls that do not have a clue.

Not tongue and cheek,
and not facetious

{"commentId":2360880,"threadId":"324266","contentId":"1713615","authorDomain":"chardansean"}

1 vote

#6 - Mon Aug 4, 2008 12:00 PM EDT

{"commentId":2362878,"authorDomain":"leogodin"}

leogodin

Great points Charlotte,
In the meeting, did they identify one party over the other as being a better choice? In other worlds did they say anything like "if you vote Democrat this will happen"?

{"commentId":2362878,"threadId":"324266","contentId":"1713615","authorDomain":"leogodin"}

#6.1 - Mon Aug 4, 2008 3:34 PM EDT

{"commentId":2371856,"authorDomain":"chardansean"}

charlotte r.

Nope... never mentioned voting at all. If you think for one minute they are going to influence how people vote, they would have had meetings with all associates and not just managers and team leaders. People are going to vote the way they want in the booth with their conscience. Even if Wal Mart had tried to influence the way associates vote... it is just words.
What you do in the booth is your business.
It is very good to know that everyone is so concerned about me and my co workers. But when it comes right down to it, you are not going to personally do anything to help anyone.
Meaning... it is all just talk. Meaningless dribble from who knows where. Everybody's time would be better served in looking after themselves, and perhaps volunteering to do some good in their own communities. Instead of saying Wal Mart sucks. Okay already we get it... move on. Everything sucks... if it is Wal Mart today, it is Home Depot tomorrow. Then let's get Circuit City. Bad Sears... Despicable Oil Companies, Shame on the Airlines. B@st@rds!!!!

{"commentId":2371856,"threadId":"324266","contentId":"1713615","authorDomain":"chardansean"}

#7 - Tue Aug 5, 2008 3:04 PM EDT

{"commentId":2473776,"authorDomain":"ronplacone"}

Ron Placone

Dear Charlotte,

Thanks for reading.

"It is very good to know that everyone is so concerned about me and my co workers. But when it comes right down to it, you are not going to personally do anything to help anyone."

I'm not concerned about you, quite frankly, don't flatter yourself. You are employed by Wal-Mart, and you are happy being there. You have every right to be there and to be happy, just like I have every right to continue criticizing your company, and I plan to do so.

Wal-Mart has and continues to cause countless amounts of damage to the environment, local economies, has refused at least at one point in time to sell content that openly criticized the bush administration, donated money to political criminals, etc. I'm trying to keep this short so I won't go into detail, I'd encourage you to do your own research. It's easy to write-off people as not having a clue just because they have a different point-of-view than you.

I'm going to guess this is an attack on me, someone you know absolutely nothing about. I've raised thousands of dollars for non-profits that I choose to support, what's most rewarding of all is that I've done so through use of my talents and profession. I attend different meetings to discuss local issues in my place of residence regularly, I've performed for children with physical disabilities, and am aiding in the planning of future benefits for their programs, and I have been consulted by nation-wide initiatives for health-care reform, an issue I feel strongly about. I'm not trying to toot my own horn here, but I am active in my community. What do you do in your community?

"If I did not like my job, I would quit. How is it that Wal Mart can employ 2 million
unhappy associates? Where are they all at?"

Wal-Mart has actually had many law-suits, they've been infamous for gender-discrimination and racism at various times. A friend of mine worked at Wal-Mart and he had nothing but horror stories of the way many immigrants who didn't have a strong grasp on English were treated. Caused him to quit.

"Meaning... it is all just talk. Meaningless dribble from who knows where. Everybody's time would be better served in looking after themselves, and perhaps volunteering to do some good in their own communities. Instead of saying Wal Mart sucks. Okay already we get it... move on. Everything sucks... if it is Wal Mart today, it is Home Depot tomorrow. Then let's get Circuit City. Bad Sears... Despicable Oil Companies, Shame on the Airlines. B@st@rds!!!!"

Charlotte, the last couple sentences in your post is what I would define as meaningless dribble. It's a shame that you see no value in people trying to construct dialog and questioning the status-quo. And if you can't see the corruption in the oil companies, then you need to educate yourself. Until then, I'd appreciate it if you kept your child-like rants off of my discussion board.

Thank you.

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#7.1 - Sat Aug 16, 2008 1:58 PM EDT

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Wal-Mart Warns of Democratic Win - WSJ.com	Wall Street Journal	Fri Aug 1	191
Wal-Mart Warns of Democratic Win	Wall Street Journal	Fri Aug 1	3
Wal-Mart denies that it told employees how to vote	Associated Press	Fri Aug 1	5

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Wal-Mart: We Tell Our Wage-Slaves How to Vote too!

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