NYT: Wal-Mart Says Thank You to Workers (a Polo shirt for 20 yrs employment)

[RedEarth]

Faced with public demonstrations of discontent by its employees, Wal-Mart Stores has developed a wide-ranging new program intended to show that it appreciates its 1.3 million workers in the United States and to encourage them to air their grievances.

As part of the effort, Wal-Mart managers at 4,000 stores will meet with 10 rank-and-file workers every week and extend an additional 10 percent discount on a single item during the holidays to all its employees, beyond the normal 10 percent employee discount.

The program, described in an internal company document, was created during a volatile six months period, starting when the company instituted a set of sweeping changes in how it managed its workers. Over that time, Wal-Mart has sought to create a cheaper, more flexible labor force by capping wages, using more part-time employees, scheduling more workers at nights and weekends, and cracking down on unexcused days off.

.......

The program includes several new perks “as a way of saying thank you” to workers, like a special polo shirt after 20 years of service and a “premium holiday,” when Wal-Mart pays a portion of health insurance premiums for covered employees. Sarah Clark, a spokeswoman for Wal-Mart, said the program was a “a more formalized, contemporary approach” to communicating with and collecting feedback from its fast-growing work force

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/04/business/04walmart.html?ei=5094&en=c48ef983e832fdb5&hp=&ex=1165294800&partner=homepage&pagewanted=print

[Little Wing]

1. An airing of grievances?

:rofl:

[cspanlovr]

2. Take this shirt and shove it

[quiet.american]

3. Are they serious? After 20 years, you get a shirt? Oh, brother. n/t

[Hand]

5. Made in China, of course.

And likely a flawed reject. :grr:

[zbdent]

6. You forgot Poland ... er, wait ... I mean, you forgot

that Wal-Mart "pays a portion of health insurance premiums for covered employees" for a day ...

[dmallind]

7. Well the shirt AND

20 years of wages.

Low wages in all probability, but wages acceptable to the worker by definition.

I have never understood the worship of longevity in employment.

[sandnsea]

4. My son gets 20% on EVERYTHING, twice in December

PLUS additional 10-15% off coupons on various departments, including toys, on the two discount days. He gets those coupon days several times throughout the year, the double discount days are for December. Plus he gets to be in a union and has health benefits and he's only worked there a little over a year. I can't believe how friggin' cheap Walmart is.

[liberal N proud]

8. The additional 10 percent discount is nothing new

Wal-Mart has been doing this for more than 20 years.

[yellowcanine]

9. Never mind health care, let them wear polo shirts. Oh yeah. Big of them.

After 20 years, they get a POLO SHIRT? Well, isn't that SPECIAL?

[yellowcanine]

10. WalMart must have the same PR guy who told the Queen to ignore Diana's death.

I wondered what that guy was doing for a living these days.

[sarcasmo]

11. Years ago you used to get a Gold watch. Now you get a Polo shirt.

[sarcasmo]

12. I go by the name.

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