Walmart has been criticized by groups and individuals, including unions and small town patrons protesting Walmart's business policies and practices and their impact. Critics include allegations of racial and gender discrimination, foreign product sourcing, product supplier treatment, environmental practices, use of public subsidies, and corporate security policies. Walmart denies making a mistake and says that low prices are a result of efficiency.
In 2005, the union created new organizations and websites to criticize the company, including Wake Up Wal-Mart (Food and Commercial Workers Union) and Walmart Watch (International Union Employee Service). By the end of 2005, Walmart had launched the Working Family for Wal-Mart to fight the groups. Attempts to combat criticism include public relations campaigns in 2005, which included several television commercials. The company maintains Edelman's public relations firm to interact with the press and respond to negative media reports, and has started working with bloggers by sending them news, suggesting topics for posts, and inviting them to visit Walmart corporate headquarters. In November 2005, a critical documentary about Walmart ( Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price ) was released on DVD.
Economists at the Cato Institute say that Walmart is successful because it sells the products consumers want at a low price, satisfying the wants and needs of customers. Walmart critics say that lower Walmart prices attract customers away from the smaller Main Street businesses, which hurt local small communities. Critics also say that Walmart hurts the US economy because of excessive reliance on Chinese products. Walmart is the largest importer in the United States in many categories such as electronics and fast moving consumer goods. The 2006 book by Wal-Mart Effect by business journalist Charles Fishman contains many critics, although it also mentions Walmart's positive impact on society.
Video Criticism of Walmart
Local community
When Wal-mart planned a new store location, as often as possible the company had to fight its way into the city in the city's civil war between pro and anti-Wal-Mart factions. Opponents expressed concerns such as traffic congestion, environmental problems, public safety, landlord absence, poor public relations, low wages and benefits, and exorbitant prices. Opposition by activists, rivals, local residents, trade unions, and religious groups may include protest marches, property damage to store buildings, or by creating fear of bombs. Some city councils have refused permission for developers who plan to include Walmart in their project. Those who defend Walmart cite consumer choice and overall benefits for the economy, and object to bringing the issue to the political arena.
In 1998, Walmart proposed building a shop west of the Charlotte Pike intersection (Route 70 US) and Interstate 40 outside Nashville, Tennessee. The building site is home to the original American cemetery and the Civil War battlefield. The protests were set up by a group of Native Americans and Civil War interest groups, but Walmart stores were finally built after moving graves and some site modifications so as not to disrupt the battlefield. Civil War relics found on the site. The project developer donated the land to allow access to the Civil War historic site. Native Sites deleted and re-buried elsewhere.
A Walmart Superstore opened in 2004 in Mexico, 1.9 miles (3.1 kilometers) from the historic archaeological site Teotihuacan and the Pyramid of the Moon. Although the site is supported by the National Anthropology Institute of Mexico, the United Nations, and the Paris-based International Monument and Site Council, there are protests organized by local merchants, as well as environmental groups and anti-globalization groups opposed to the development.. Poet Homero Aridjis called the opening as "very symbolic" and "... like planting globalization staff in the heart of ancient Mexico." Archaeologists supervise the construction and find small altars of stone and stone along with several other artifacts where the store parking lot is now located.
In 2005, the developers destroyed the old Dixmont State Hospital closed in Kilbuck Township, Pennsylvania near Pittsburgh, with plans to build shopping complexes moored by Walmart. Although initially there was no general objection to the Walmart store itself, many residents did not want to see Dixmont destroyed, despite the fact that the Dixmont complex, which had been abandoned in 1984, was beyond a sustainable condition and teens were dangerously admitted without permission to property on a regular basis. However, while the ground is being dug up (after the hospital compound is torn down) to create a highland for the store to be built on, the landslide occurs including the Pennsylvania Route 65 and the Fort Wayne Line rail line between PA 65 and the Ohio River. Both routes are closed for weeks. While Walmart did "stabilize" the landslides, many residents said that Walmart only stabilized the hillside so it could continue the work of building shops. In the end, in 2007 Walmart decided not to develop the site, allowing the land to return to nature, with Walmart's location to be built near Economy, Pennsylvania, not next to the Northern Lights Shopping Center and scheduled for opening in 2013.
In 2010, a proposal to build Midtown Walmart supercenter in Midtown Miami was filled with litigation and contradictions from local businesses, delaying project development. The District Court panel of the Third District District Court in Florida denied opposition challenges with city approval and Walmart violated developments in January 2016.
In 2014, researchers at the University of South Carolina and Sam Houston State University published research results to determine whether Walmart affects local crime rates. The study found that crime rates in US districts with Walmart stores declined to a much lower level than other parts of the country since the 1990s.
Maps Criticism of Walmart
Allegations of price issues and predatory suppliers
Walmart has been accused of selling merchandise at low cost as competitors have tried to sue for predatory prices (deliberately selling low-cost products to push competitors out of the market). In 1995, in the case of Walmart Stores, Inc. v. American Drugs, Inc. , pharmaceutical retailer American Drugs accuses Walmart of selling goods at a cost too low for the purpose of injuring competitors and destroying competition.. The Supreme Court of Arkansas decides to support Walmart by saying that the pricing, including the use of a loss leader, is not a predatory price. In 2000, the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection accused Walmart of selling low-cost butter, milk, detergents and other basic goods, with the intention of forcing competitors out of business and obtaining a monopoly on the local market. This case was settled out of court. Crest Foods filed a similar lawsuit in Oklahoma, accusing Walmart of being a price predictor on some of its products, in an attempt to boost the company's Crest Foods store in Edmond, Oklahoma out of business.
In 2003, the Mexican antitrust institution, the Federal Competition Commission, investigated Walmart for "monopolistic practices" demanded by allegations that retailers were pressuring suppliers to sell goods below cost or at prices much lower than those available to other stores. The Mexican authorities found no fault on the part of Walmart. However, in 2003, the German High Court ruled that Walmart's low price strategy "undermined the competition" and ordered Walmart and two other supermarkets to raise their prices. Walmart won the appeal of the verdict, then the German Supreme Court overturned the appeal. Walmart has sold his shop in Germany.
Walmart has been accused of using monopoly power to force his suppliers to do self-harmful practices. In 2006, Barry C. Lynn, a senior fellow at the New America Foundation (a think tank), said that Walmart's constant demand for lower prices caused Kraft Foods to "shut down thirty-nine plants, to release 13,500 workers. and eliminating a quarter of its products. "Kraft can not compete with other suppliers and says production costs have risen due to higher energy and raw materials costs. Lynn said that in the free market, Kraft can pass those costs on to distributors and ultimately consumers. As another example in 2006, most Walmart store pharmacies meet many common recipes for $ 4 for a one-month supply. However, in California and ten other states, complaints from other pharmacies caused Walmart to charge at least $ 9 for a certain supply of drugs for a month.
In May 2010, Walmart stores in the United States drew a line of Miley Cyrus necklaces and bracelets made in China after the Associated Press release that the jewelry contained a number of dangerous toxic metal cadmium. Cadmium in jewelry is not known to be dangerous if the goods are only worn, but worries come when a child bites or sucks jewelry, because children tend to do it. Walmart says that while the jewelry is not intended for children, "it's possible that some younger consumers might be looking for it in the store.We pulled out all the jewelry from the sale while we investigated compliance with our children's jewelry standards," Walmart said.
Employee and labor relations
Walmart has faced problems with its employees that involve low wages, poor working conditions and inadequate health care. About 70% of its employees leave in the first year. Walmart also faces criticism for anti-union, but he claims that he is somewhat pro-associate, in which employees may file their complaints to the company through their open door policy.
Wages
Walmart reports that in 2006, the workers earned an average of $ 10.11 per hour. Human Rights Watch estimates that this is below the $ 10.24 average earned by workers at discount department stores, $ 10.55 at warehouse clubs and supercenters, and $ 11.12 at grocery stores. Walmart managers are rated, in part, by virtue of their ability to control payroll costs. The Wall Street Journal says this puts extra pressure on high-paid workers to be more productive. Walmart insists that his wages are usually in line with the current local market in retail workforce.
Other critics have noted that in 2001, the average wage for Walmart Sales Clerk was $ 8.23 ​​an hour, or $ 13,861 a year, while the federal poverty line for the family of three was $ 14,630. Walmart founder Sam Walton once said, "I pay low wages, I can take advantage of it.We will be successful, but the bottom line is the low-cost and low-paying job model."
In August 2006, Walmart announced that it would launch an average salary increase of 6% for all new employees in 1,200 Walmart United States and Sam's Club locations, while at the same time instituting wage payments to veteran workers. Walmart stated that such measures are necessary to remain competitive, critics believe that salary restrictions are primarily an attempt to encourage higher paid veteran workers out of the company.
In 2008, Walmart agreed to pay at least $ 352 million to settle lawsuits claiming that it forced employees to work out of hours. "Some lawyers describe it as the greatest solution ever to lawsuits for wage violations."
Because Walmart employs part-time workers and relatively low-paid workers, some workers may partially qualify for state welfare programs. This has led to criticisms to claim that Walmart increases the burden on taxpayer-funded services. A 2002 survey by state states of Georgia's subsidized care system, PeachCare, found that Walmart is the largest private company of children's parents enrolled in the program; a quarter of Georgian Walmarts employees are eligible to enroll their children in the federal Medicaid subsidized health system. A 2004 study at the University of California, Berkeley alleges that Walmart's low wages and allowances are insufficient, and despite reducing the burden on social safety nets to some extent, California taxpayers still pay $ 86 million a year to Walmart employees.
On September 4, 2008, the Mexican Supreme Court ruled that Walmart de Mexico, a subsidiary of Walmart in Mexico, had to stop paying its employees partly with vouchers that could be redeemed only at Walmart stores.
In July 2016, several workers in China went on an unofficial strike at Walmart stores in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, and Harbin, Heilongjiang Province against the new company's work scheduling system. Strike workers are protesting against the system, which allows managers to schedule unlimited hours per day for a total of up to 174 hours per month without overtime pay. According to Walmart, workers may choose to follow a new schedule or maintain their initial shift, but it shows that new scheduling, which Wal-Mart claims most of their workers have contact is supported, allows employees to work more shifts if they choose. The Chinese Walmart staff accused the country's only officially recognized union, the All-China Trade Union Federation (ACFTU), as apathetic towards their goals and unwilling to accept the opinions of workers. ACFTU had previously signed an agreement with the company in 2006 that allowed Walmart to form a management-controlled union instead. Unions ask workers to return to their jobs. Reuters reported that on July 8, 2016, striking workers returned to work when management agreed to consider their protests. It was later reported that OUR Walmart gave strategic advice to the Wal-Mart Chinese Workers' Association (WCWA) before the strike in China.
In January 2018, Walmart announced a minimum wage increase for its US employees to $ 11 per hour.
Working conditions
Walmart has faced allegations involving poor working conditions for its employees. For example, a 2005 class action lawsuit in Missouri confirmed that about 160,000 to 200,000 people who were forced to work out of hours, were denied overtime, or were not allowed to take breaks and lunch breaks. In 2000, Walmart paid $ 50 million to settle a class-action lawsuit confirming that 69,000 current and previous Walmart employees in Colorado have been forced to work off-hours. The company also faces similar lawsuits in other countries, including Pennsylvania, Oregon, and Minnesota. The classroom action lawsuit was also filed in 1995 on behalf of the full-time Walmart pharmacist whose basic salary and working hours were reduced as sales declined, so pharmacists were treated like hourly employees.
Beginning in 2001, a lawsuit on behalf of 1.5 million women workers at Walmart was filed against the company, alleging that the company follows rules and practices that discriminate against women when it comes to pay and promotion. Beginning in 2005, the class-action lawsuit Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. was heard by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Sociologist Dr. William Bielby provides expert opinion on the case, where he assesses Walmart's corporate work and corporate culture "to what social science research demonstrates as a factor that creates and maintains bias and that minimizes bias" and claims there is a gender bias. In 2011, for the US Supreme Court case Wal-Mart v. Dukes, US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia rejected Bielby's testimony, saying it was a "remote world" of evidence. The Supreme Court overturned the lawsuit in 5-4 votes, ruled that the plaintiff did not comply with the rules to continue as a class.
On October 16, 2006, about 200 workers at the morning shift at the Walmart Super Center in Hialeah Gardens, Florida came out in protest at new store policies and gathered outside the store, chanting "We want justice" and criticized the company's recent policy as "not human." This marked the first time Walmart faced a revolt led by workers on such a scale, according to employees and companies. The reasons for the uprising included cutting full working hours, new attendance policies, and paying the caps the company charged in August 2006, forcing workers to work shifts of any kind (day, swing or night), and that shifts would be given by computers at corporate headquarters and not by local managers. Walmart quickly held talks with the workers, responding to their concerns. Walmart insists that his policy allows partners to submit complaints without fear of retaliation.
The 2004 report by US Democratic Representative George Miller alleged that at ten per cent of Walmart stores, night employees were locked inside, detaining them as prisoners. There are some concerns that Walmart's policy of locking his nightly employee in the building has been involved in a longer response time to handle various employee emergency situations, or weather conditions such as hurricanes in Florida. Walmart says the policy is to protect workers and store content in high crime areas and recognize that some employees feel uncomfortable in some cases up to an hour because they have trouble finding a manager with a key. However, firefighters asserted that no fire escape route was locked or employees were blocked to escape. Walmart has advised all stores to ensure door locks are available on the site at any time.
In January 2004, The New York Times reported on an internal Walmart audit, conducted in July 2000, which examined a one-week record for approximately 25,000 employees. According to the Times, the audit, "indicates extensive violations of child labor legislation and state regulations requiring time for rest and meals," including 1,371 examples of minors who are working too late, during school hours, or too many hours a day. There were 60,767 missed breaks and 15,705 lost meals. Walmart's vice president for communications replied that the company's auditors had determined that the methodology used by the NY Times was flawed, and the company "did not respond in any way internally." Walmart has been accused of allowing undocumented workers to work in his stores. In one case, federal investigators said Walmart executives knew that contractors were using undocumented workers because they had assisted the federal government with investigations over the previous three years. Some critics say that Walmart directly hired undocumented workers, while Walmart said they were employed by contractors who won an offer to work at Walmart.
On October 23, 2003, federal agents raided 61 Walmart stores in 21 US states in a crackdown known as the "Rollback Operation", which resulted in the arrest of 250 undocumented nightclubs. After the arrest, the jury convened to consider burdening Walmart executives with the crime of extortion for deliberately allowing undocumented workers to work in their stores. The workers themselves are employed by contracted Walmart agents for cleaning services. Walmart blames contractors, but federal investigators point to a tapped conversation that shows executives know some workers do not have proper documentation. The October 2003 attack was not the first time Walmart had been found using unofficial workers. Previous attacks in 1998 and 2001 resulted in the capture of 100 workers without documentation located in Walmart stores across the country.
In November 2005, 125 people suspected undocumented workers were arrested while working in the construction of a new Walmart distribution center in eastern Pennsylvania. According to Walmart, the workers are employees of the Walmart construction subcontractor.
Accusation of wrong termination
On January 13, 2011, four employees at Walmart in Layton, Utah were confronted by shoplifters who took out a gun and took one of the employee hostages in an attempt to leave a small, closed office. Three other employees disarm and subdue the shoplifter, and all four hold the man until the police arrive. A week later, the four employees were dismissed for violating company policies that require employees to "detach" and "withdraw" from any situation involving weapons. The four dismissed employees, along with two other Walmart employees who were dismissed after subjecting violent customers, filed a lawsuit against the company in US federal court in June 2011.
On July 9, 2013, an employee at Walmart in Kemptville, Ontario met a customer who had left his dog locked in his truck with a rolled up window. He called the police when the customer refused to correct the situation. The employee was fired on the same day, reported on the basis of "being rude to customers", after refusing instructions from his manager that the incident should be reported to store management rather than directly to the police.
The National Labor Relations Council (NLRB) has long had the purpose of protecting workers, whether or not united, engaged in joint activities by talking to each other about conditions, wages and/or benefits. The NLRB recently stated that this also applies to social media. The main point is whether the intention seems to communicate with fellow employees. And Walmart's official policy is deemed acceptable and not too restrictive in this regard, partially revised after consultation with NRLB. However, in practice, Walmart may not always follow such a policy. For example, the September 2013 article at Atlantic Wire reports the veteran case of a 17-year-old Walmart Paramount, California location that starts at $ 5.50 an hour as stock overnight and becomes a manager in home appliances. "For 14 years I was a model partner," he said. In 2012, he became increasingly involved with OUR Walmart and was fired in May 2013. He reported that after he started talking about working conditions "they started silencing me, holding me to a standard that they did not hold on to other colleagues. the work given to me can not be achieved. "
Employee using prescribed medication
In November 2009, Joseph Casias, was fired from Walmart in Battle Creek, Michigan, for using medical marijuana. Casias had an inoperable brain tumor and cancer and in 2009 his oncologist recommended he try marijuana after the Michigan Medical Marijuana Law was passed in 2008. Walmart spokesman Greg Rossiter said that Walmart's policy is to stop employees taking certain prescription drugs, and he believes that this policy complies with the law. In 2010, the American Civil Liberties Union sued Wal-Mart on behalf of Casias and lost in this case. In 2012, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit supported the decision.
Health insurance
According to a September 2002 survey by the state of Georgia, one in four children of Walmart employees is enrolled in PeachCare for Kids, a state health insurance program for uninsured children, compared to the two largest state employers, Publix, which has one child in the program for every 22 employee children. The December 2004 national survey commissioned by Walmart shows that the use of public health assistance programs by Walmart children's children is similar to that of other reseller workers, and to a level similar to that of the US population as a whole.
As of October 2005, Walmart health insurance covers 44% or about 572,000 of the 1.3 million US workers. In comparison, Walmart Costco's rivals and wholesalers insure about 85% of its employees. In 2003, Walmart spent an average of $ 3,500 per employee for health care, 27% lower than the retail industry average of $ 4,800. When asked why so many Walmart workers chose to enroll in a state health care plan than Walmart's own plan, Walmart CEO Lee Scott acknowledged that some state benefits may be cheaper than Walmart's own plan: "In some of our states, public programs can actually be better values ​​- with relatively high income limits to qualify, and low premiums. "Walmart's critics say at Wal-Mart: Low Cost High Price that employees are paid very little so they can not afford to pay Health Insurance.
On October 26, 2005, Walmart's internal memo sent to the Company's Board of Directors suggested a cut of more than $ 1 billion in health care costs in 2011 through measures such as attracting younger and more implicitly healthier workers by offering educational benefits. The memo also suggests giving Walmart staff that do not move much, such as cashiers, more physically demanding tasks, such as "huddle-carts," and eliminate full-time positions in order to hire part-time employees who are not eligible for more health insurance expensive. and some policy proposals that might violate the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The memo also accused lower Walmart employees of paying to abuse emergency room visits, "probably because of their previous experience with programs such as Medicaid," whereas the visit may actually be due to reducing the ability of people who are not insured or who do not have insurance to make timely appointments to see a regular doctor.
On January 12, 2006, the Maryland legislature passed a law requiring that all companies with more than 10,000 employees in the state spend at least eight percent of their salaries on employee benefits, or pay into state funds for uninsured. Walmart, with some 17,000 employees in Maryland, is the only company known to not meet these requirements before the bill is passed. On July 7, 2006, Maryland law was canceled in federal court by a US District Judge stating that federal law, the Employees Pensione Revenue Act (ERISA), precedes Maryland law. The judge said the law would "hurt Walmart by imposing administrative burden on tracking benefits in Maryland different from in other countries."
On April 17, 2006, Walmart announced it was making health care plans available to part-time workers after one year of service, not a requirement two years earlier. In January 2007, the number of workers enrolled in the company's health care plan increased 8%, which Walmart attributed to the introduction of a cheaper insurance policy. However, even with this increase, less than half of Walmart employees, or 47.4%, receive health insurance through the company, with 10%, or 130,000, receive no collateral at all.
In March 2008, Walmart sued a former Walmart employee, Deborah Shank, to recover the money spent on his health care after he was brain-damaged, confined to a wheelchair, and suckled at home after his minivan was hit by a truck. Walmart sued the former employee for $ 470,000 after he accepted the settlement of the accident, arguing that the company's policy prohibited employees from receiving protection if they also won the settlement in the lawsuit. After a wave of bad publicity, Walmart dropped his lawsuit.
In 2011, Walmart stopped providing health insurance for part-time employees working under 24 hours per week. In 2013, health insurance benefits will not be available for employees who work less than 30 hours per week. Experts in the field of labor and health care have observed that the changes will shift the burden of providing health care to Walmart employees to the federal government, as eligibility for Medicaid has been expanded under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA or ACA). Walmart's health plan analysis compared with the plans offered in the ACA health insurance market found that Walmart plans have a larger provider network than most plans in the market, and that gross premiums (before calculating tax credits) are cheaper under the Walmart plan.
In October 2014, Walmart announced that it cuts benefits for all employees working under 30 hours a week, which is said to affect about 30,000 (2%) of Walmarts workforce. The company recognized a $ 500 million leap in health care costs as the main reason for their decision. Walmart executive Sally Welborn stated in a blog post, "This year, his spending is significant and made us make some tough decisions when starting our annual enrollment."
The opposition workers' union
Walmart has been criticized for his policy towards trade unions. Critics blame the reluctance of workers to join unions about Walmart's anti-union tactics such as managerial oversight and closure of stores or departments that choose to associate. Walmart states that it is not anti-union but "pro-associate," arguing that its employees do not have to pay a third party to discuss issues with management because the company's open door policy allows employees to file complaints and send suggestions along the way. up the corporate ladder. In 1970, Walmart's founder, Sam Walton, rejected the union's insistence by the Retail Clerks International Union in two small towns in Missouri by hiring professional unions to conduct anti-union campaigns. On the advice of the union, Walton also took steps to show the workers how the company thinks about their best interests, encouraging them to voice concerns with managers and implement profit-sharing programs. A few years later, Walmart hired a consulting firm, Alpha Associates, to develop an union avoidance program.
In 2000, a meat cutter in Jacksonville, Texas decided to organize. Walmart later abolished the meat-cutting job at home for packaged meat, claiming that the move would cut costs and prevent lawsuits. Walmart said that the closure of meat packaging in stores nationwide has been planned for years and is not linked to unions. In June 2003, the judge of the National Labor Relations Board ordered Walmart to return the meat department to the previous structure, complete with meat cuts, and to recognize and bargain with the union on the impact of any changes to the sale of ready-to-eat meat.
Walmart's anti-union policy also extends beyond the United States. Wal-Mart documentary: Low Cost High Cost , showed a successful union from Walmart store in JonquiÃÆ'¨re, Quebec (Canada) in 2004, but Walmart closed shop five months later because the company did not approve the new "business plan" the union needs. In September 2005, the Quebec Labor Council ruled that the closure of a Walmart store amounted to retaliation against unionized workers and had ordered an additional trial on the possibility of compensation for employees, although it did not provide details.
In March 2005, Walmart executive Tom Coughlin was forced to resign from the Board of Directors, facing accusations of embezzlement. Coughlin said the money was used for anti-union projects involving bribes paid to employees of the Food and Commercial Workers Union in exchange for a list of names of Walmart employees who had signed trade union cards. He also said that the money was unofficially paid to him, by Walmart, in compensation for his anti-union efforts. In August 2006, Coughlin pleaded guilty to stealing Walmart's money, merchandise, and gift cards, but avoided jail time because of his poor health. He was sentenced to a five-year trial and was required to pay a $ 50,000 and $ 411,000 fine in compensation to Walmart and the Internal Revenue Service. A United States lawyer has stated that no evidence was found to support Coughlin's initial claims, and Walmart continued to deny the existence of anti-union programs, although Coughlin himself reiterated the claims to journalists after his conviction.
Walmart also has some run-ins with the Ver. Unions in Germany as well. These issues, combined with cultural differences and low-performance stores, caused Walmart to withdraw from the German market completely in 2006.
In August 2006, Walmart announced that it would allow workers in all of its stores in China to become union members, and that the company would work with the Federation of Trade Unions of the Federation of China (ACFTU) approved by the state at its 28,000 representatives. staff. However, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions was criticized for being the only trade union in China and as a government tool, the ACFTU has been seen as not acting in the best interests of its members, subject to government pressure on industrial growth and not defending its rights, rights of workers.
In November 2012, United Food & amp; Commercial Workers join some Walmart workers with plans to strike at Black Friday in some national stores in protest against low payments, increased health insurance premiums, and are not given the option of an Thanksgiving holiday or holiday. Walmart has replied to this by saying that strikes are illegal because unions are not sanctioned by companies, and that striking workers are a small minority of the company's workforce, with most workers willing and ready to work the busiest retail industry of the year.
In May 2013, Walmart employees associated with union-backed labor groups called OUR Walmart started what it said was the first "old strike" in Walmart history.
For Thanksgiving 2013, CNN estimates that about one million Walmart US employees will work during the holidays, with special offers starting at 6:00 pm on Thanksgiving Day. The Company states that employees will receive "a fun Thanksgiving dinner at work," extra "holiday payments," and a 25% discount on a single purchase, regardless of how many items were bought at the time. According to Cleveland Plain Dealer , extra holiday payouts are equal to the average daily worker shifts worked over the previous two weeks. Walmart also extended its one-hour guarantee from three items last year to twenty-one items this year. This means that customers queuing for the item from 6 pm to 7 pm or from 8 pm to 9 pm will be guaranteed to get it at that price before Christmas.
Shop that is not working properly and lacks
Wal-Mart's CEO has acknowledged Wal-Mart's need to refocus on customer service, and problems with customer experience from poorly run stores and a lack of cleanliness & tidiness, fast storage rack, store layout, and digital integration.
In a January 2012 article at Harvard Business Review, Zeynep Ton, assistant professor of guest in the operations management group at MIT's Sloan School of Management, stated that in response to the reduction in sales of many retailers, including Walmart, reduce staff. Labor is seen as a cost driver rather than a sales lead. Managers do not have much direct control over sales, hardly ever make decisions about mix, layout, pricing, or merchandise promotion. But managers do have control over payroll costs and are evaluated as to whether they meet weekly or monthly targets for payroll as a percentage of sales. Sometimes these pressures have been such that Walmart managers have been pressuring employees to work out of hours. For example a counterpart company that invests in its employees and is a price leader in its field, Prof Ton quotes QuikTrip stores, Mercadona supermarkets and Trader Joe, and Costco wholesale club.
In February 2013, Walmart received an American Customer Satisfaction Index rating of 71 compared to 81 for Target, putting Walmart to hold for this year between retail stores and department stores. According to Bloomberg News , this marks the sixth year in a row Walmart has finished last or is bound to the last.
According to March 2013 article Bloomberg News, for the past five years Walmart added 455 US stores for a 13% increase. Over the same period, all of its employees in the United States including Sam's Club employees dropped very little by 1.4%, which meant a reduction of 20,000 employees. In Wisconsin, an employee overseeing the delivery of groceries and a member of OUR Walmart reported that his shop was far from his previous spell "on the door and onto the floor". Instead, the merchandise prepared for the sales floor remains on the pallets and in the steel barrels behind the store with "no passable passage." Prof. Zeynep Ton stated that companies can get into spirals where too few hours of work lead to lower operational and sales problems and reduced sales is then the reason for further reducing working hours. "It requires a wake-up call at a higher level," he said. A customer from Delaware claimed that the cosmetics section "looks like someone is attacking him" and "you hate seeing a self-destructive company, but there is nowhere else to go." A customer in California stated, "You wait 20, 25 minutes for someone to help you, then that person is not trained to mix the paints.. It's like, you have to help them help you."
Articles 3 April 2013 New York Times quotes Supermarkets that Walmart wholesale prices are usually about 15 percent cheaper than competitors. In early 2007, the company had an average of 338 employees for every Walmart and Sam's Club stores in the United States, and by April 2013, this had been reduced to an average of 281 employees per store. Terrie Ellerbee, associate editor of food publishing The Shelby Report, traced the issue to 2010 when Walmart reduced the number of different merchandise brought in to make the store less messy. Customers did not like this change, and Walmart added back the goods, but did not add any employees back.
Article 5 April 2013 at Consumerist includes Walmart shelf photos that are only partially stocked, especially in health and beauty products. An employee was quoted as saying, "As soon as we get a full crew, we start losing people because they're stopped or fired." Management seems to wait until we need 6 or 7 people, then we get new employees. And another employee was quoted as saying, "they make us all work faster and harder, say the task manager system, which is basically a point-of-sale system that tells them how long it takes to do our job, we must be over or too long. "
Articles April 9, 2013 at Time Business & amp; Money reports that some Walmart stores have cut their work hours so much that they have trouble moving physical merchandise from behind to store shelves. However, even with this issue, Walmart performs better than Target in retailer turnover, handing out its inventory 8 times a year compared to 6.4 for Target. Walmart claims to have 90% to 95% of stock, but given inventory levels in US stores, even this means the company could spend $ 1.29 billion to $ 2.58 billion in potential sales. The author of the article wrote that there is no amount of "computer magic" that will eliminate the human need to move merchandise onto the shelf. The authors further write that Walmart's overall business model is based on reduced freight costs of unsold merchandise, and any speed bumps along the line add to the cost of return. The front-end manager should open another list whenever there are more than three appropriate customers, but these employees must come from some other parts of the store, and the crew may or may not be able to catch up.
In September 2013, Bloomberg Businessweek reported that Walmart will offer 35,000 full-time part-time employment employees and will offer 35,000 other part-time permanent employees. Walmart will also be looking to hire 55,000 seasonal employees for the upcoming holiday season. This is comparable to the 120,000 jobs that Walmart has cut over the last five years. This amount is contrary to 20,000 jobs cut from Bloomberg News over March 2013.
For Thanksgiving 2013 specials, Walmart includes twenty-one items that include an hour-long guarantee, where customers will pay at that time and then online to arrange delivery to their chosen store at Christmas. However, there are issues and delays for some customers when they go online to register access codes and paid reward certificates.
In February 2014, local NBC affiliates in Troy, Alabama, USA showed blank shelves and broadcast customer complaints, with one customer stating, "And merchandise? If you do not have salt on the shelf, no matter what brand , it's very bad. "Regarding the cleanliness and repair of toilets, another customer stated," The bathrooms? They have damaged items there instead of fixing the problem, they have garbage bags stuck on it, and it smells terrible. " The reporter who took the photo was approached by three people who identified themselves as managers and were escorted out of the store. Within 24 hours, perhaps motivated by the fact that the story appeared on TV, Walmart's corporate office sent additional employees from neighboring stores to this store.
Import and globalization
As a large customer for most vendors, Walmart openly uses the bargaining power to bring lower prices to attract customers. Companies negotiate lower prices than vendors. For certain basic products, Walmart "has a clear policy" that prices fall from year to year. If vendors do not keep prices competitive with other suppliers, they risk unleashing their brands from Walmart shelves to win the lower price competition.
While Sam Walton was alive, Walmart had a "Buy America" ​​campaign, but it was soon revealed after he died that the signs that say "Buy America" ​​are on top of Asian-made product casks. In 2005, however, about 60% of Walmart goods were imported, compared to 6% in 1984, though others estimated the percentage was 40% from the start. In 2004, Walmart spent $ 18 billion on Chinese products alone, and if it were an individual economy, the company would rank as China's eighth largest trading partner, ahead of Russia, Australia and Canada. One group estimates that the growing US trade deficit with China, heavily influenced by Walmart imports, is thought to have displaced more than 1.5 million jobs that might have been in America to China between 1989 and 2003. According to the Federation of Labor and the American Congress of Organizations Industry (AFL-CIO), "Walmart is the largest importer of foreign manufactured goods in the United States", their biggest trading partner is China, and their trade with China alone accounts for about 10% of total US trade. deficit with China in 2004.
Employment issues abroad
Walmart has been criticized for not providing adequate oversight from its foreign suppliers. It has also been criticized for using sweatshops and prison workers. In 1995, Chinese dissident Harry Wu alleged that Walmart was serving a prison sentence in Guangdong Province. Walmart said he did not use prison sentences. There are also reports of teenagers in Bangladesh working in factories 80 hours per week at $ 0.14 per hour, for Walmart Beximco suppliers. The Wal-Mart documentary : High Cost Low Price shows images of Walmart producers in bad shape, and factory workers are victims of abuse and conditions deemed inhuman by documentary film producers.
Walmart is currently using monitoring that critics say is inadequate and "making outsiders unable to verify" the terms. Since Walmart will not release the audit or the name of the manufacturer, outside organizations are expected to accept only Walmart claims as facts. Critics suggest an institution such as the Social Accountability International or Fair Labor Association should conduct monitoring. In 2004, Walmart began working with the Business for Social Responsibility, a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization, to reach out to a group that is actively monitoring plants abroad.
In June 2006, Walmart was excluded from the investment portfolio of the Norwegian Government Pension Fund, which has a share value of approximately $ 430 million in the company, due to a social audit of alleged labor rights violations at Walmart operations in the United States, Canada. , Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Although Walmart did not respond to any questions from the fund auditor, later said that the "[no] seems to be based on complete information".
On 24 November 2012 a fire at a Bangladeshi clothing factory resulted in the deaths of 112 workers. Survivors say that the fire extinguisher is not working, the exit door is locked, and when the fire alarm goes off, the boss tells the workers to return to their sewing machines. Victims trapped or jumped to their deaths from an eight-storey building, which had no emergency stairs or exit. Walmart initially said he could not be sure that it ever took clothes from the factory. But photographs taken by Bangladeshi labor activists show Walmart branded clothing in the factory after the fire. Walmart later said that suppliers have been subcontracting work to the plant "in direct violation of our policies." However, on December 4, the documents revealed that at least five supplier companies have used a Bangladeshi factory to provide clothing for Walmart and its subsidiary, Sam's Club for the past year. It was also revealed in November 24, the New York Times article that officials who attended the Bangladesh 2011 meeting to discuss factory safety in the garment industry said that Walmart officials there have played a major role in blocking efforts to have global retailers pay more for apparel to helping Bangladeshi mills improve their electrical and fire security.
Allegations of bribery and cover-up in Mexico
In 2012, The New York Times reported that Walmart had been awakened eight years earlier that Walmart executive MÃÆ' Â © xico, a subsidiary of that country, had paid millions of dollars with bribes to local officials to speed up permission to construction and operation of many stores in the country. The company had opened many stores in Mexico in the late 1990s and early 2000s, trying to build itself extensively before its competitors. Sergio Cicero, a lawyer responsible for obtaining the permits and bitter for being assigned to the position of general counsel with Walmart MÃÆ' Â © xico provides the company's corporate advisory office with evidence showing that the company has made substantial payments for gestores , workers dealing with bureaucracy on behalf of citizens and businesses, with indications that the code was forwarded to officials to speed up permits.
Company officials hired a veteran FBI agent to conduct a preliminary investigation, rather than hiring an outside law firm as usual for a major investigation, as was the case in 2003 which found that Walmart MÃÆ' Â © xico has helped high-volume customers evade the country's sales tax. The special investigation team found evidence to corroborate almost all of Cicero's allegations, and evidence suggests that bribery is even wider, including $ 16 million in "donations" to local politicians and their organizations. They recommend opening a full investigation, and possibly notifying the Justice Department, as it appears that both Mexico's law and US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) have been violated.
Executives at Walmart MÃÆ'  © xico slipped in the investigation, reportedly complained that that's the way business is done in the country. They told their colleagues at the headquarters that investigators were too aggressive, and some of the company's top executives seemed to agree. Feeling Walmart has had quite bad publicity in recent years, they allow the investigation to be concluded by a brief report from Josà ©  © Luis RodrÃÆ'guezmacedo, head of Walmart MÃÆ'  © xico, who has been suspected of being involved. This largely blames Cicero, claiming he has fabricated accusations to hide his own embezzlement from the company with help from gestores , one of which is his wife's legal partner. Some Walmart executives find the report incomplete and contradictory, but the investigation closes. None of the executed Mexican executives had ever been disciplined, and some were even promoted thereafter.
In December 2011, several months before the story broke out, Walmart announced it had initiated an internal review of FCPA compliance procedures. It is not clear how the Department of Justice can respond. Although the five-year FCPA restrictive law appears to deter prosecution under the law, falsifying financial statements in the years since it can be seen as a barrier to justice under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and actions taken to hide a bribery investigation after 2007 can be a conspiracy.
Product selection
Walmart's product selection has been criticized by some groups in the past, especially those seen as a particular ideological promotion or in response to its original rural, religious and conservative target market. In 2003, Walmart issued certain men's magazines from their shelves, such as Maxim , FHM , and Stuff , citing customer complaints regarding their sexual content. Later that year, decided to obscure some cosmopolitan covers, Marie Claire and Redbook on store shelves due to "customer problems," and refused to publish a special swimsuit edition, due to objections to one photo. He also refused to sell WWE magazine's December 2011 edition because of its controversial cover depicting The Rock doused by fire.
Since 1991, Walmart has not yet brought a music album marked with the RIAA's Parental Advisory Label (though it allows R rated movies and video games rated "Adults"), even though the edited version of the album is, with dirty words removed or overdub with less offensive lyrics. In one instance in 2005, Walmart rejected the original cover of reggae album country singer Willie Nelson, Countryman , featuring a marijuana leaf, in a pro-marijuana statement. To satisfy Walmart, the record label, Lost Highway Records, pulled out an album with an alternative cover, without recalling the original cover. Walmart never brought Marilyn Manson's album, solely because of the controversy surrounding Manson's music, but recently started selling Nine Inch Nails album after declining it for years. In 2009 Green Day refused to make an edited version of the 21st Century Breakdown album for Walmart, with frontman Billie Joe Armstrong claiming "You feel like you in 1953 or something", so the album was not brought by Walmart. However, albums that carry labels can be found in Canadian Walmart stores, for example.
In 1999, Walmart announced that it would not provide emergency contraceptive pills in its pharmacy, excluding specific reasons except for "business decisions" made earlier. The move was criticized by supporters of family planning, saying that women in small towns where Walmart pharmacies have little competition will have greater difficulty in obtaining drugs. The decision was opposed in 2006, when three Massachusetts women filed a lawsuit against the company after they could not afford emergency contraception at their local Walmart stores, resulting in a verdict requiring Walmart to store the drug at all pharmacies in Massachusetts. Hoping that other countries would soon do the same, Walmart reversed its policy and announced it would begin marketing the drug nationally while at the same time maintaining its rejection policy, allowing every Walmart pharmaceutical employee who is uncomfortable with prescribing customers to another pharmacy.
Walmart was also criticized for selling some controversial products. For example, in 2004, Walmart carried the anti-Semitic anti-Semitic Protocol in the online catalog. The Jewish Civil Rights Organization, the Anti-Pollution League, wrote to President Walmart in September 2008 by noting the text, "has become a major weapon in anti-Semitic arsenal around the world," and called on Walmart to " and to break away from any support. "Walmart stopped selling the book shortly thereafter.
In October 2004, Walmart canceled its order for America's The Daily Show after finding a page depicting every US Supreme Court judge naked. A week later, he returned a copy of George Carlin's comedian When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops? , with the cover creating The Last Supper with the empty Jesus chair and Carlin sitting next to him. The company said that a copy was sent inadvertently and a Walmart spokeswoman said he did not "believe this particular product would be attractive" to its customer base.
In January 2006, Walmart was criticized for its recommendation system on its website suggesting that some black DVDs, such as Introducing Dorothy Dandridge and documentaries on Baptist ministers and civil rights leaders Martin Luther King, Jr. similar to the Planet of the Apes set of DVD television series. Quickly fix the page, saying that it is a software error, but ultimately blaming the problem on human error.
A report in December 2007 published by the Environmental Investigation Agency, a non-governmental organization, revealed that some of the furniture sold at Walmart was made of wood that had illegally entered Russia's protected habitat for Siberian tigers and other wildlife. This prompted the company to investigate its suppliers and promised to remove products made from illegal timber in 2013. They also joined the Global Forest & amp; The Trade Network, an organization dedicated to eliminating illegal logging.
In 2017, Walmart is sued for selling fake beer crafts. The beer is labeled and marketed as being produced by a "Trouble Brewery" that does not exist, but is actually made by WX Brands, the big brewery company that also makes Genesee beer.
Tax
Until the mid-1990s, Walmart took the company's life insurance policies on employees including "low-level" employees such as janitors, cashiers, and stokers. This type of insurance is usually purchased to cover the company against financial loss when high-ranking employees (ie management) die, and are commonly known as "Human Keys Insurance". Critics make fun of Walmart as buying what they call "Dead Peasants Insurance" or "Caregiver Insurance." Critics, as well as the Internal Revenue Service of the United States, alleged that the company was trying to take advantage of the deaths of its employees, and took advantage of the tax law allowing it to cut premiums. The practice was discontinued in the mid-1990s when the federal government closed tax reductions and began to pursue Walmart for tax returns.
Working relationship
With more than 2.2 million employees worldwide, Walmart has faced numerous lawsuits and problems related to its workforce. These issues involve low wages, poor working conditions, inadequate health care, and problems involving strong anti-union policies. In November 2013, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced that it had found that in 13 US. said Wal-Mart had pressured employees not to engage in attacks on Black Friday, and had disciplined workers who struck illegally. Critics point to Walmart's high turnover as evidence of unhappy labor, although other factors may be involved. About 70 percent of employees leave in the first year. Despite this turnover rate, the company can still affect the unemployment rate. This was found in a study by Oklahoma State University that states, "Walmart was found to have substantially lowered the relative unemployment rate of blacks in the countries in which it was present, but only had a limited impact on relative income after the effects of other socio-economic variables were taken into account. "
Gender and sexual orientation
In 2007, the gender discrimination suit, Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , filed against Walmart, stating that female employees are discriminated against in terms of payment and promotion. A class action lawsuit sought, which will be the nation's greatest history, includes 1.5 million past and current employees. On June 20, 2011, the United States Supreme Court decided to support Wal-Mart, stating that the plaintiff did not have enough similarities to form a class. The Court ruled unanimously that due to the diversity of the circumstances of the plaintiff, the class action can not proceed as presented, and furthermore, in decision 5-4 which can not be continued as a class action class. Some of the plaintiffs, including the main plaintiff, Betty Dukes, expressed their intention to file individual discrimination suits separately.
According to a consultant employed by the plaintiff in the sex discrimination suit, in 2001, the EEOC Wal-Mart submission showed that female employees comprise 65 per cent of Wal-Mart's workforce per hour but only 33 per cent from its management. Only 35 percent of its store managers are women, compared to 57 percent in similar retailers. Wal-Mart says comparisons with other retailers are unfair, because they classify employees differently; if department managers are included in the total, women will achieve 60 percent of the managerial ranks. Others criticized the lawsuit without a legal basis and as an abuse of class action mechanisms. In 2007, Wal-Mart was named by the National Association for Female Executives as one of the highest 35 companies for Women Executives.
Wal-Mart rating on the Corporate Equity Index
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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