Impacts of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. on American Workers,

Families and Communities

A living wage is “a wage sufficient to provide the necessities and comforts essential

Reference: Living wage, n.d.

A living wage is “a wage sufficient to provide the necessities and comforts essential to an acceptable standard of living.”

Reference: Living wage, n.d.

A living wage is “a wage sufficient to provide the necessities and comforts essential to an acceptable standard of living.”

Reference: Living wage, n.d.

In 2008, I took a job at a busy Walmart store in the U.S. Rocky Mountain region, where I was hired at $9.50 per hour.

Neither my college degree nor my professional experience was relevant.

The “level 3” wage of $9.50 was generous.

I moved into a below-market-rent apartment, but I barely earned enough to afford the smallest available “low-rent” unit in town.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is the largest corporation in the United States and the third largest employer on the planet.

Reference and image: The Economist online, 2010 Number of employees in millions

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5 Largest Employers (in millions)

US Department of Defence

Chinese People's Liberation Army*

Walmart

McDonald's**

China National Petroleum Corporation

Reference: The Economist online, 2010

In its size as an employer, Wal-Mart follows only two military forces: Those of the U.S. and China.

Wal-Mart has made four of the 11 wealthiest Americans

more than $20 billion each.

Reference and image: The Forbes 400: The richest people in America, 2011

Richest Americans Gates

Buffet

Ellison

Koch

Koch

Walton

Soros

Adelson

Walton

Walton

WaltonReference: The Forbes 400: The richest people in America, 2011

Combined, the net worth of these four Waltons amounts to $87 billion.

Reference and image: Fortune 500: Our annual ranking of America’s largest corporations, 2011

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. profited nearly $16.4 billion in 2010,

despite the recession.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Profits (in billions) Exxon Mobil

Chevron

Wal-Mart Stores

Berkshire Hathaway

General Electric

ConocoPhillips

General Motors

Reference: Fortune 500: Our annual ranking of America’s largest corporations, 2011

Wal-Mart’s $16.4 billion profit ranked third for the world’s corporations, following Exxon Mobil and Chevron.

The Wal-Mart corporation employs “almost 1.4 million

in the United States.”

Reference: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 2011

Wal-Mart’s 1.4 million U.S. employees amount to the population of Phoenix, Arizona,

the sixth most populous U.S. city.

Image: Phoenix, Arizona, n.d.

Reference: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010

Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, sets industry standards for wages, benefits and corporate responsibilities that impact millions of retail workers, their families and communities.

Reference: United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, 2011a

“

To date Walmart has used its dominant position in the market place

only to lower standards for American retail workers, offering what amounts to poverty jobs

for most of its Associates.

Reference: United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, 2011a

“

75 80 85 90 95 100

Wal-Mart

Retail as a whole

Large retail in general Percentage of wages

Wal-Mart

Retail as a whole

Large retail in general

Walmart workers earn an estimated 12.4 percent less than retail workers as a whole, and 14.5 percent less than workers in large retail in general.1

Reference: Jacobs, Graham-Squire, and Luce, 2011

“

2011 Health and Human Services Poverty Guidelines

Persons in Family

48 Contiguous States and D.C.

Alaska Hawaii

1 $10,890 $13,600 $12,540

2 $14,710 $18,380 $16,930

3 $18,530 $23,160 $21,320

4 $22,350 $27,940 $25,710

A Walmart Associate working full-time,

earning the average Walmart hourly wage, earns less than the federal poverty level

for a family of four.

“

Reference: Kusumoto, S.L., 2011

These poverty jobs do more harm than good, lowering the bar and hurting other employers,

including small businesses in the communities

where Walmart stores exist.

Reference: United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, 2011b

“

You could move into a department head position and supervise several people, … but you’re still not in a managerial, career-track position. Department heads only make a few dollars more per hour than brand new associates.

Reference: Lichtenstein and Johansson, 2011

“

As a result of lower compensation, Walmart workers make greater use of public health and welfare programs compared to retail workers as a whole, transferring costs to taxpayers.3

Reference: Jacobs, Graham-Squire, and Luce, 2011

”

“

Earning Wal-Mart’s level-three $9.50 per hour, I qualified for my state’s medical program

and a locally sponsored dental program. I wasn’t eligible for Walmart’s benefits

for six months, not even discounted purchases.

A significant number of Walmart associates are on the Medicaid rolls. In 2009, Walmart had the greatest number of employees and dependents on Ohio’s plan, and 41 percent of the company’s workforce in Massachusetts used publicly-subsidized healthcare.19 Reference: Lichtenstein and Johansson, 2011

“

Inadequate benefits are just the beginning of the stresses endured by Wal-Mart associates.

Work schedules are subject to change without input from employees,

as are daily workloads and assigned areas.

The stores follow a computerized scheduling system, which has generated, in the words of a personnel manager, “grief and heartbreak for people” who must manage unpredictable, fluctuating hours.15 Reference: Lichtenstein and Johansson, 2011

‘

Associates we interviewed noted the excessive workload

at the stores where they worked.21 … One associate is currently responsible

for completing the tasks previously performed by multiple associates. …

“Every day it is getting worse.”23

Reference: Lichtenstein and Johansson, 2011

’

‘

My department was combined with another that had been sorely neglected for years. We were assigned to repair its inventory ruin, gaining only two part-time associates. Several weeks later one of my coworkers survived a heart attack on the job. Eventually, another suffered a mental breakdown.

Walmart’s vision for the future of the American workforce is one where the employer has all the power. No company matches Walmart’s longstanding opposition to allowing its workers a voice.

Reference: United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, 2011b

“

Every week, 133 million shoppers make purchases

at U.S. Walmart stores.

Reference: Jacobs, Graham-Squire, and Luce, 2011

Weekly Walmart shoppers

U.S. Population

In other words, 36% of the U.S. population makes purchases at Walmart stores

every week.

References: Jacobs, Graham-Squire, and Luce, 2011; U.S. Census Bureau, 2011

Shopping has become the most important thing we do to keep America’s $14 trillion economy afloat.

Reference: Lichtenstein and Johansson, 2011

”

“

The $14 trillion market value of U.S. products is more than double that of China, while our population is less than a quarter.

Gross Domestic Product

United States

China

United Kingdom

Russia

Canada

India

Mexico

Population

United States

China

United Kingdom

Russia

Canada

India

Mexico

References: Badkar, M., 2011; Central Intelligence Agency, 2011

It is the retailers, Walmart first among them, who have become the key players

in today’s worldwide marketplace.

Reference: Lichtenstein and Johansson, 2011

“

Some Americans are resigned to the idea that the dominance of dead-end jobs is an inevitable fact of our economy.

Reference: Lichtenstein and Johansson, 2011

“

We believe it’s important to take a brief look back

at the decline of the hourly career. … The bright spots in our past and recent history…

offer hope for a turnaround in job standards.

Reference: Lichtenstein and Johansson, 2011

“

It is time to begin a dialogue about what is possible for Walmart jobs and for our economy as a whole. As history informs us, there is nothing inevitable about our current situation.

Reference: Lichtenstein and Johansson, 2011

“

Walmart associates could address these problems

at the company if they had a collective voice and venue

to demand better job standards.

Reference: Lichtenstein and Johansson, 2011

“

It will take community leaders and consumers to support Walmart associates

Reference: Lichtenstein and Johansson, 2011

“

It will take community leaders and consumers to support Walmart associates

and demand change.

Reference: Lichtenstein and Johansson, 2011

“

”

It will take community leaders and consumers to support Walmart associates

and demand change.

Reference: Lichtenstein and Johansson, 2011

“

”

As American citizens and consumers, we’re each obligated to seek out and disseminate

truthful information about Walmart’s impacts on millions of retail workers,

their families and our communities.

“WALMART WATCH exists to challenge Walmart to more fully embrace its corporate responsibilities and live up to its position as the largest corporation in the United States.” Learn more at walmartwatch.org.

Reference and image: United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, 2011a

As American citizens and community leaders, we’re each obligated to support Walmart workers in their demands for living wages and fair benefits —and those for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. to meet its corporate responsibilities.

MAKING CHANGE AT WALMART’s “vision for American workers—in grocery, retail,

and in our communities—is respect and dignity at jobs that pay fairly and guarantee workers a voice.”

Get involved at makingchangeatwalmart.org.

Reference and image: United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, 2011c

As American citizens and retail workers, we’re each obligated to stand up

for our legal rights, in order to support each other,

our families and America’s communities.

OURWALMART: ORGANIZATION UNITED FOR RESPECT AT WALMART is “an independent, not-for-profit organization for hourly Associates.” Sign up at forrespect.org.

Reference and image: Organization United for Respect at Walmart, 2011

Forming unions and speaking out isn’t about declaring war on Walmart,

it’s about demonstrating that you are committed to staying with the company and making it

a better place to shop and a better place to work.

Reference: Lichtenstein and Johansson, 2011

”

“

Reference: Living wage, n.d.

It’s about living wages, “sufficient to provide the necessities and comforts essential

Reference: Living wage, n.d.

It’s about living wages, “sufficient to provide the necessities and comforts essential to an acceptable standard of living.”

Reference: Living wage, n.d.

It’s about living wages, “sufficient to provide the necessities and comforts essential to an acceptable standard of living.”

It’s about 1.4 million American workers, their families and our communities

It’s about 1.4 million American workers, their families and our communities

earning money and living better.

It’s about 1.4 million American workers, their families and our communities

earning money and living better.

walmartwatch.org makingchangeatwalmart.org

forrespect.org

References Badkar, M. (2011, March 24). The world's 15 biggest economies and the risks they face. Business Insider: Money Game.

Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/the-15-biggest-economies-in-the-world-2011-3##ixzz1enHBAzFv

Central Intelligence Agency. (2011, July). The world factbook. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2119rank.html

Fortune 500: Our annual ranking of America’s largest corporations. (2011). CNNMoney: A service of CNN, Fortune & Money. Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2011/full_list/index.html

Jacobs, K., Graham-Squire, D., & Luce, S. (2011, April). Living wage policies and big box retail: How a higher wage standard would impact Walmart workers and shoppers. Retrieved from UC Berkeley Labor Center website: http://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/index.shtml

Kusumoto, S.L. (2011, January 20). Federal register: Notices. (Vol. 76, No. 13). Retrieved from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website: http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/11fedreg.pdf

Lichtenstein, N., & Johansson, E. (2011, January). Creating hourly careers: A new vision for Walmart and the country. Retrieved from American Rights at Work website: http://www.americanrightsatwork.org/dmdocuments/ARAWReports/creatinghourlycareers_jan2011.pdf

Living wage. (n.d) Merriam-Webster: m-w.com. Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/living%20wage

Organization United for Respect at Walmart. (2011). Welcome! [Website page]. Retrieved from http://forrespect.org/about-us/

The Economist Online. (2010). Daily chart: Who are the world’s biggest employers? [Weblog post]. Retrieved from http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/09/employment

The Forbes 400: The richest people in America. (2011, September). Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/forbes-400/list/

United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. (2011a). About [Website page]. Retrieved from http://walmartwatch.org/about/

United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. (2011b). Learn More: I’m Concerned about Walmart in my Community. [Website page]. Retrieved from http://makingchangeatwalmart.org/learnmore/community/

References, continued United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. (2011c). Making Change at Walmart: Our communities. Our

future. [Website]. Retrieved from http://makingchangeatwalmart.org/

U.S. Census Bureau. (2010). United State Census 2010: Interactive Population Map. [Website page]. Retrieved from http://2010.census.gov/2010census/popmap/

U.S. Census Bureau. (2011, November 26). U.S. POPClock Projection. [Website page]. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (2011, August). Corporate and financial facts. Retrieved from http://walmartstores.com/pressroom/factsheets/

Images Fortune 500: Our annual ranking of America’s largest corporations. (2011). CNNMoney: A service of CNN, Fortune &

Money. Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2011/full_list/index.html

Microsoft Corporation. (2011). Images and More. Retrieved from http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/images/?CTT=97

Organization United for Respect at Walmart. (2011). Welcome! [Website page]. Retrieved from http://forrespect.org/about-us/

Phoenix, Arizona. (n.d.). In Wikipedia: The free encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix,_Arizona

The Economist Online. (2010). Daily chart: Who are the world’s biggest employers? [Weblog post]. Retrieved from http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/09/employment

The Forbes 400: The richest people in America. (2011, September). Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/forbes-400/list/

United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. (2011a). About [Website page]. Retrieved from http://walmartwatch.org/about/

United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. (2011c). Making Change at Walmart: Our communities. Our future. [Website]. Retrieved from http://makingchangeatwalmart.org/