Florida Wal-Mart Workers Stage Protest (the store to cut workers’ hours)

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/17/business/17protest.html

Florida Wal-Mart Workers Stage Protest

By STEVEN GREENHOUSE
Published: October 17, 2006

In a rare demonstration, more than 100 Wal-Mart employees rallied yesterday at a store in Hialeah Gardens, Fla., a Miami suburb. They were protesting a new policy on employee absences as well as efforts at the store to cut workers’ hours.

Henry Gonzalez, the garden department manager at the store, said, “People were unhappy that they were going to cut all of our hours, and some people in my department were even being cut back to just six hours a week. How is someone supposed to pay the bills on that?”

Officials at Wal-Mart headquarters said the protest, which lasted for more than an hour, was spurred largely by the store manager’s plan to reduce payroll by cutting most workers’ hours to 35 hours a week from 40. During the protest many workers chanted, “Forty hours, forty hours.”

Wal-Mart officials said the top manager at the store had violated company policy by reducing hours across the board, instead of doing it the usual way by reducing hours here and there to take into account the needs of particular departments and shifts.

FULL stroy at link above.

[OhioChick]

1. Walmart sucks..........

Wonder if cutting back the employees hours has anything to do with healthcare.... (no healthcare without a 40 hour week)

[Taoschick]

3. 34 hours

Is considered full time.

I worked retail while in college and our "full time" positions were 35 hours per week.

[Taoschick]

2. Cutting hours sucks

But I don't have a problem with the absence policy. When I was a letter carrier with USPS, our policy was pretty much the same. We had to call the district office instead of the individual branch offices and we were only allowed X number of unplanned absences per quarter or we'd be written up/disciplined.

[Poppyseedman]

4. My wife works at Wal-Mart and this is all about

new polices directed at absences. At most stores it is out of control. A vast majority of Wal-Mart are short employees every weekend for the young people calling out.

They simply just standardized their polices to make it fair to all employees.

BTW, their pay policy is fair and even better than other similar type stores. She has gotten three pay raises in a year.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

7. Hum. A new subject.

Can't say I'm surprised. Maybe Chavez is behind Wal-Mart workers' attempts to unionize?

[LostinVA]

13. No, their pay policy is worse than probably every other major retail store

As evidenced by their turnover rate, union busting, high lawsuit rate, etc.

And niiiiiice on calling out "the young people" for calling in on weekends -- so they can partee? Whatever. Wal-Mart disregards people's request, needs, change shifts at literally the last minute, etc. They are soul sucking.

They are scum.

Shopping at Wal-Mart is one thing. Working there because you need a job is another thing. BOSTERING probably the most evil corporation ever to exist in the US? Oh, just frigging PRICELESS.

I've been checking out your posts for a while now -- very interesting.

[Name removed]

22. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Bridget Burke]

23. So--how many hours does WalMart consider "full time"?

Another poster said that 35 hours was considered full-time in "retail." Your wife gets those fine benefits from WalMart--could she do so on less than 40 hours per week?

Critics Say Wal-Mart Grows Part-Timers to Cut Benefits

By Amy Joyce
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 26, 2006; Page D02

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is shifting a portion of its full-time employees to part-time status, company critics say, which they assert will have the effect of limiting health insurance, even though the company is expanding coverage for its part-time workers....

The new benefit plan for "Peak-Time" workers -- Wal-Mart's name for part-timers -- also shortens the waiting period for part-time employees to obtain coverage to one year from two years. But the plan will be unaffordable for workers who are moved from full-time wages to part-time, said Chris Kofinis, a spokesman with WakeUp Wal-Mart, a group funded by the United Food and Commercial Workers union....

Those workers who are moved to part-time status can keep their current health plan until the end of the year, but they will lose other benefits such as dental and life insurance, and short- and long-term disability as soon as they move to part-time hours, according to the plan document.

Employees are told if they keep the plan they had as full-time employees after they move to part-time status, however, "your cost for this coverage will not change and you may be working fewer hours."

www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/25/AR2006052502162.html

Thanks for the info!

Edited to add: Re-reading the OP, I noted that some workers were being cut to 6 hours per week. Please--explain to us why this is good.

[NMMNG]

19. Young people calling out?

Maybe there, but where I work it's always the moms calling out with the "sick kids".

[Donkeykick]

5. Perhaps we will...

see Walmart purchase everything for those people for Christmas. I do not think that 34 hours will purchase a lot of presents and pay the bills! :eyes: :sarcasm: :wtf:

[Kingofalldems]

6. I'm sure Jeb and the repubs will be there to help them

Not!

[sarcasmo]

8. Kick and Nom for the biggest Corporate WHORE of them all.

[THUNDER HANDS]

9. you think that's bad

We were just informed at my store (yes, I work for Wal-Mart) that if you show up more than 10 minutes late for work you are counted as absent for the entire day. You do that three times. You're fired.

[Omaha Steve]

10. So if your a single parent with sick kids...

You will probably loose your job at Wal-mart. :-(

[THUNDER HANDS]

12. yup

it's a cruel policy. Especially because generally at Wal-Mart, you're scheduled for 9-hour shifts. On the weekends I usually work 2-11. Now, if you're going to spend 18 hours of your weekend inside of a Wal-Mart, does it really matter if you're 10 minutes late or not?

[Scooter24]

14. I just messaged a friend who works at

the new "rich people's" walmart here in Plano TX. He told me that you have 15 min. before you will get a tardy and that if you miss more than half your shift, you are absent. He also says that you can take up to 3 consecutive days off and it will only count as one absent.

I think your managers might be trying to scare you.

[THUNDER HANDS]

18. that's odd

because I've never heard of the 3 consecutive days off thing. I know that when you're sick, you have to be out 2 days to use one of your paid sick days. If you call out sick for one day you don't get paid, even if you have the available sick days.

[Yogi]

21. That's what I hate about working

nonunion. The company makes up the rules as it goes alone to suit them not caring about the employee.

[arikara]

28. That's barbaric

So do the workers then leave if they aren't being paid for the day? Or are they expected to work the whole day for nothing as a penalty?

[rzemanfl]

11. Fuck Wal-Mart. Don't shop there. n/t

[Divine Discontent]

16. where do you suggest I shop?

save-a-lot has spoiled products constantly that I had to take back, and publix, the only other store within 15 mi. has 20% higher prices than walmart. I am on disability and can barely get by as it is. I think what they do to their empl. isn't too hot, but those employees should organize en masse, not just anyone will work at walmart, and that is a strength to those employees, I don't think they realize this... b'cuz if they hire total degenerates who would want their jobs the service would go south so bad that the middle class and wealthy people I see in their 30K SUV's and BMW, Lexus', and covertibles would stop going there after they bitch so much and the mgr's say sorry, we can't get decent help in this area because we won't PAY FOR IT!

peace

[Bridget Burke]

24. Hey, you're good at that "martyrdom" stuff!

Keep it up.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

26. SNAP!

:thumbsup:

[rzemanfl]

30. I thought this was pretty nasty post until I saw the screen name. nt

[E-Z-B]

27. Try K-Mart/Sears.

[rzemanfl]

29. WalMart has a tendency to eliminate competition. In the small

town I used to live in in Wisconsin, three grocery stores, one very good and the other two fair, closed their doors when WalMart started selling groceries. My son is at FSU and two large grocery stores, an Albertson's and a Publix, on the way into Tallahassee have closed since a Super WalMart opened there. I am working and shop at a Publix a couple of blocks away, if I were on a tighter budget I'd probably not do that, although in the traffic around here getting to a WalMart is risk to life and limb.

One of our kids still lives in that Wisconsin town and shops WalMart, but I am sure that any savings they realize ends up getting spent on Chinese crap and photo packages of their child, all at WalMart.

[Earth_First]

15. Certainly cannot have all those employees eligible for healthcare...

full-time (40+) hours creates eligibility for healthcare.

[Cozumel]

17. In the state of FL

where this ordeal is happening, and where I happen to reside, 35 hours is considered full time, HOWEVER, you are eligable for health benefits with as little as 32 hours per week (32 being the law, the rest is up to the employer). i happen to work for the WalMart of natural foods: Wild Oats. I get between 32-35 hours a week (would get 40, but i'm in college, so my schedule doesn't allow it), and I have full medical and dental. would have vision too, but i declined it. anyhow, WalMart still sucks, and so does Florida for that matter. peace.

[girl gone mad]

20. Wal-Mart's press statement translated:

Wal-Mart officials said the top manager at the store had violated company policy by reducing hours across the board, instead of doing it the usual way by reducing hours here and there until until all of the employee's hours had been cut back, thereby significantly reducing the likelihood of mass protest.

[Scurrilous]

25. Hialeah Gardens...

...90% Hispanic (mostly Cuban-American).

Way to piss-off the GOP base in South Florida Wal-Mart. :thumbsup: