I admit, I was just at Walmart last week to pick up Halloween candy and a few groceries. And I think we should all note that date because I am publicly announcing that to the very best of my ability unless an unavoidable situation should present itself, I will NEVER set foot in a Walmart store again.
The reason? Their inexcusably shabby and dangerous treatment of their employees, which by extension becomes a hazard to their employees’ families and to customers who frequent Walmart.
During the H1N1 outbreak, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidelines for employers for dealing with sick employees. This included the strong recommendation that employers be flexible with the absences of employees who needed time away to care for themselves or for sick family members.
Walmart, according to employees, has issued its own recommendations. These include covering coughs, frequent handwashing, and “familiarize yourself with relevant company policies including those for attendance, sick pay and return to work following an illness.”
Those policies include the requirement that you request a paid sick day three days in advance, and that if you miss work (known as an “occurrence”) you receive a demerit point and forfeit 8 hours of pay.
Single parents who work at Walmart are in serious jeopardy because not only do they have to monitor their own health, they are also at the mercy of the health of their children. WalMart will penalize a parent who has to leave to care for a child who is sick, so many parents load their children up on fever reducing medications and cough syrup and send them to school so that (hopefully) they will not show symptoms that would prompt a school to call and require them to remove their child from school or daycare.
While this is a dilemma facing many parents, to be forced into this action by a corporation that claims to be family-friendly (and which is the largest private employer in the U.S.) seems to be a betrayal of the bitterest sort. Walmart’s official “help” for parents whose children are sick is to urge them to have a back-up plan in place for care of their sick children.
Either way, their priority of presence over prevention is appalling. No matter what the parents do, Walmart’s policies virtually guarantee the rampant spread of illness from employees who show up to work sick to avoid being docked a day’s pay, or from children who remain in care or in school despite being contagious.
I’ve never been a huge fan of Walmart, and have shopped there in the past because I felt I didn’t have a choice because their prices made it easier to get by. But by carefully comparing prices, you can shop elsewhere.
So next time you think it’s worth shopping at Walmart just to save $20 on a total purchase of $150, think of the cost to you and society in general to be supporting this corporate behemoth.
I would far rather spend a little extra or do without certain miscellaneous items and shop somewhere that a) treats its employees better; and b) actively participates in preserving the health and well-being of its customers and employees.
You can read more about the ridiculous and dangerous WalMart employee absence policy in this excellent article from The National Labor Committee.
YES. I haven’t been in one for nearly two years.
Wow…Your post was so timely. Everytime I come out of a Walmart I think “I hate that place”…including yesterday when I saw the produce employee sneeze in his hands and then start placing produce (no packaging) on the display. Yuck.
Thanks for posting this and for making me think.
I have to admit I was a WalMart fan (when I lived in the States) frankly because of its prices when I could get everything I “needed” under one roof.
Glad you posted this though … they won’t have my business in the future!
I stopped going there about 18 months ago, and I have NOT been tempted to weaken. I can’ spend my money somewhere that treats their employees AND suppliers so appallingly. Do I miss it? We didn’t nickname it ‘the fiery pit of hell’ for nothing in this family!
I’m proud of you for posting this – and for sticking to your guns. Metaphorical guns, that is, not the ones you can ALSO buy in WalMart!
Even before seeing the movie, we tried not to shop at Walmart. I bip into a Walmart about once a year, but then remember why I don’t shop there.
I have the fortune of being able to spend an extra $20 for every $150… a lot of shoppers do not.
I think that there are a lot of people who *think* they can’t afford to shop anywhere but Walmart, but a lot of times, the things we think we can’t live without, we can. I totally understand in a small town where WalMart becomes the only grocery retailer, and they undercut prices of mom and pop automotive supply, optometrist and grocery retailers….and that makes me puke a little too.
Mary, Wal-Mart is one of the reasons I choose to practice employee-side employment law. They just lost a huge overtime class action, too. They regularly have claims filed against them for discrimination based on disability and age. If you’re old or sick, they’ll find a way to fire you. I hate that place.
Target is cheaper and it is easier to park in their parking lots.
The other day when we were driving past this store, Sydney piped up from the backseat and said “Mommy, we don’t have to go to War-mart do we?” How appropriate. That place is a war zone!
Just driving past a Wal-Mart makes me reach for my Xanax.
In my parents’ small town in Arkansas, WalMart is truly the only place to buy certain things, like fabric and some household goods. I really don’t miss it, although I miss Target considerably!
P.S. I had no idea about their employee sick policy. I live in a bubble over here in this part of the world, thanks for informing me.
Great, for letting the word out, I have not stepped inside a Walmart in 7 years, for that very reason of how they treat employees. These employees are working there because Walmart drove every other business out of town when they come in.
Thank you.
Well done! Really, really well done.
Thank you for this post! Wonderfully written.
I’ve only been in a WalMart one time and that was when we were on vacation and my daughter came down with a bad ear ache, it was the only store in the small town we were in where I knew I could find ear drops at 9 pm.
Until they are better to their employees I will not shop there.
Rats! Now I feel so guilty. Hubby has 2 more weeks before he goes down for a seven month lay off. The state is drastically cutting school funding so I know my pay check will be taking a hit shortly. We are going to be stretching every available dollar to it’s limit. With two sports active, hungry teenagers in the house, our new Super Wal-Mart allows me to give them the things they want as well as need. Hate the limbo. I sincerely do.
Such irony!! I swear to you that I have not set foot inside a WalMart in over five years until last night (the date of this posting). David and I had to buy a couple hundred dollars of household cleaning supplies to tidy up our new house…..and WalMart here is located right across the street from Home Depot where we also needed to shop. The best part of the otherwise frightening shopping experience was the wonderful cashier who offered all sorts of cleaning advice (and she gave us a discount on an unmarked item). I think a once in five year visit to WalMart is forgivable, right?? You know my heart belongs to ShopKo…..
Add me to the list of people blessed to have gone to WalMart only one time.
I did it for my kid, who desperately wanted a particular video game. They did not have it. I left without buying anything, and I intend to keep it that way.
“Nickel and Dimed to Death”, by Barbara Ehrenreich, shows how Wal-Mart, among other employers, makes it hard for low-income workers to make a living. It’ll make you livid.
I have not shopped in WalMart in about 5 years. My husband and I have made a conscious decision to not support them, and their shoddy treatment of employees.
I think there are lots of people who believe WalMart is their only option, but many stores will price match if you bring in a WalMart flier, and some of the “deep discounts” they claim to offer are a dollar or two less. I understand that for a few families, a dollar or two can add up quickly, but for most people (even those with tight budgets) there are ethical alternatives.
Got here through Five Star Friday. I was planning a trip to Walmart tomorrow to get a good deal on a new tv. I will rethink that now. Thanks.
I think that Wal-Mart is the company that a few years ago was taking out life insurance policies on their older employees and when they died Wal-Mart would collect on the policies. They would not give any of the money to the family of the deceased, they just pocketed the money. I think it was on the news a few years back. They pretty much disgust me.
DI
Kudos for this, Mary! I despise Wal-Mart, and resolutely refuse to shop there, although in my current financial state of partial employment, it can be tempting. But I’ll stick with Target and coupons and doing without before I’ll go there. This is the one topic over which I have a standing disagreement with my parents, who encourage me to go there to save money. I cannot do it. My daughter asked me why, and I told her that I am willing to sacrifice buying things rather than save money there. If it isn’t painful, it isn’t a sacrifice, now is it?? Wal-Mart has destroyed small towns across the country by putting their local retailers out of business, then censored what patrons can buy by not selling books they deem inappropriate, and this “sick leave” policy is just one more example of how shabbily they treat their employees. Who on earth, single parent or not, can plan three days ahead for a sick day???? My body rarely gives me that much warning before a virus takes over, and my kids, while we are rarely sick, can be fine one minute and burning up the next – THREE days???? For crying out loud . . . Nope, I won’t go there. Not now, not never.
Great post, Mary! I’m going to add it to the November Just Posts list.
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