By Jane Birnbaum
Behind the yellow smiley-face of the all-American Wal-Mart myth is a company that is the largest foreign importer in the nation, where workplace policies may mean workers need two jobs and depend upon public support to get by.
Betty Fought loved her job as a Wal-Mart greeter, one of the smiling employees who welcome shoppers in the nearly 3,000 U.S. stores of the world’s largest retailer. Working full-time again at 60 after strokes disabled her husband Edward, an electrician, Fought twice stopped suspected shoplifters at the Aberdeen, Wash., store. She personally supplied and washed the towels she used to wipe carts in which some customers had carelessly diapered their babies.
But when Fought fell while pushing carts and became disabled, managers for Wal-Mart—the nation’s largest private employer, founded in 1962 in Rogers, Ark., by retailing titan Sam Walton—stopped being so friendly. The Foughts waited so long for workers’ compensation they had to take out a second mortgage which, along with other bills, at one point left them living on $18 a month.
“It was a surprise the way they treated me,” 66-year-old Fought says today. She had to go to court to win workers’ compensation. Then, according to her lawyer, Wayne Lieb—a leader among Washington State workers’ compensation lawyers—Wal-Mart arbitrarily stopped payments more than three months before her state pension kicked in this year, again leaving the couple without income. “You see how Wal-Mart advertises care and concern for people,” Fought says. “But the minute I needed disability, there was a fight. They were hypocritical—treating people the way they treated me is not Wal-Mart’s image.”
Experiences like Fought’s led Washington State last December to take the unprecedented step of decertifying Wal-Mart’s self-insured workers’ compensation program. (Wal-Mart has appealed the ruling and is managing its program with state supervision.) As a greeter, Fought personified Wal-Mart’s caring image—yet her actual experience is just one of many events illuminating the distance between Wal-Mart’s image and what it really means to work for Wal-Mart, shop at it and live near it.
In 1999 and 2000, a Cone Inc./Roper Poll survey rated Wal-Mart as the nation’s top “good corporate citizen”—more a testament to savvy marketing than actual fact, says Robert Ross, sociology professor at Clark University. “People hold Wal-Mart in high regard because of its advertising that it delivers convenience and low prices,” he says. “The happy face bounces around and they have this great gimmick of smiling retirees as you walk in and you can buy cheaper stuff there. Some consumers don’t know the facts about Wal-Mart, and it’s hard for the facts to get through, because people don’t like paying attention to uncomfortable facts. And people who know just focus on the lower prices.”
For those who care about “uncomfortable” facts, here are some about Wal-Mart. Read More
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Latashia Martin. Latashia Martin said: New blog post: Corporate Greed vs. Public Good, Where America Shops http://www.dropmydime.com/archives/933 [...]
I cannot wait to read more of this fantatic topic. So much of it Ive never even thought of. You sure did put a new twist on something that Ive heard so much about. I dont believe Ive actually read anything that does this subject as good justice as you just did.
Nice blog. This is one of the most incredible post Ive read in a very long time. The amount of information in here is stunning great, like you practically wrote the book on the qxbid subject. Your blog is great Jeans Deal Shopping. Free Auctions for Mens Womens Low Rise and Designer Jeans at JeansDeal Marketplace.
Thank you very much Online Auction,
I am glad that I had the benefit of posting the article here on my site, but it was actually written By Jane Birnbaum. She did a very good job of pointing out the crisis for what it really is. If you like you can follow the link at the bottom of the article and leave her a remark as well.
The Reality Guru
Wow, I just needed you to know I have added your good site to my Google bookmarks because of your extraordinary blog layout. But seriously, I think your site has one of the freshest theme I’ve came across. It really helps make reading your great blog a lot easier.
Thank you so much Obiavi for all of the compliments, I take a lot of pride in my readers like you. I am very glad to know that the layout is fresh and an easy read. That just adds the icing on the cake! I look forward to more of you feedback and speaking with you again in the near future.
The Reality Guru
All I can say is keep it up. This great blog is so necessary in a time when everyone just wants to talk about how many people someones cheated on their wife with. I mean, thanks for bringing intelligence back to the web, its been sorely missed. Fantatic stuff.
Thank you Cheap Flights. I would have to agree with you that intelligence has been missing from the web and I hate scandals so just hearing about it makes me cringe. It’s amazing though how many people are more interested in someone else’s personal life than understanding their own.
The Reality Guru
Nice job here. I really enjoyed what you had to say. Keep going because you definitely bring a new voice to this subject. Not many people would say what youve said and still make it interesting. Well, at least Im interested.
This is a nice web site. Good sparkling user interface and very informative blogs. I will be coming back in a bit, thanks for the great article.
Thank you Cheap Flights to Barbados, I appreciate the comment
The Reality Guru
Thank you Dolce and Gabbana, I appreciate the comment and I look forward to more of your feedback
The Reality Guru
All I can say is keep it up. This nice blog is so necessary in a time when everyone just wants to talk about how many people someones cheated on their wife with. I mean, thanks for bringing intelligence back to the web, its been sorely missed. Fantatic stuff.
This great post was very nicely written, and it also contains many good facts. I appreciated your professional way of writing the post. You have made it easy for me to understand. Great and precise info.
I am glad that the post was very easy for you to understand Jeans. However, I did not write this post, it was a complimentary one that I did because I knew that the information was pertinent to the site. The actual author is listed at the top of the post.
The Reality Guru
This a great post, very well written, and it also contains a lot of useful facts. I appreciated your professional manner of writing this post. Thanks, you have made it easy for me to understand, great job
Nice job here. I really enjoyed what you had to say. Keep going because you definitely bring a new voice to this subject. Not many people would say what youve said and still make it interesting. Well, at least Im interested.
Thanks travel deals, I will do my very best to keep the work coming. What do you think about corporate greed in America?
The Reality Guru
Cool and great, there is actually some good points on this post some of my friends might find this relevant, will send them a link, many thanks. Nice blog! Really fantatic stuff here. Thanks
you are very welcome Hotels. I am gla that you and your friends could benefit!
The Reality Guru
This is a nice web site. Good sparkling user interface and very informative blogs. I will be coming back in a bit, thanks for the good article.
This great post was very nicely written, and it also contains many great facts. I appreciated your professional way of writing the post. You have made it easy for me to understand. Fantatic and precise info.
All I can say is keep it up. This great blog is so necessary in a time when everyone just wants to talk about how many people someones cheated on their wife with. I mean, thanks for bringing intelligence back to the web, its been sorely missed. Fantatic stuff.
Fantatic precise info, I’ve been searching on this topic for a while. Bookmarked and recommended!