WalMart Boycott
November/12/2007 11:01 Filed in: Life
Well, over the weekend I was browsing Stars OnDemand
and found a movie called
"Wal*Mart - The high cost of low
prices"
and watched it - I couldn't believe it. I've read
lots of threads on Etsy about artists boycotting
WalMart for one reason or another, but I never heard
the nitty gritty details of it - better yet - I'd
never seen the proof that this movie provided of all
their immoral actions.
Cliff Notes version:
Fair Wages: Walmart pays the minimum amount available to their employees. Full time employees are counted as such at 28 hours. If both parents in a family worked at walmart with 2 kids full time - they would be below the poverty line. The health insurance? $75 out of every paycheck and high copays make it impossible to even use it. This is the part that really gets me - when the employees ask for better benefits - the management suggests going on Government assistance - welfare, wic, medicare/cade......there was a poll in the movie about walmart workers that are on government assistance of some kind......it was ridiculous. I want to say somewhere near $1.5 billion worth of government assistance to these people. So - you may be paying $4.96 to put that shirt on your back, and think you're getting a great deal - but you'll make up the difference and then some in your taxes to support the rest of their employees that they refuse to back. The employees are made to work overtime without pay - by threat of loosing their job if they don't do it. It's just totally unfair. I hate to say it, but this is where a Union would come in handy - but when Wal Mart employees gather and ask for one, they're penalized and threatened to be fired - and flat out told no.
Made in China: Their products are made anywhere but here. Why - because that's where they get the cheapest labor. Something to the tune of $3 a day for sweatshop workers in China. These workers live in what is basically indentured servitude. Large dormitories of people, sharing rooms - they are charged for rent, and utilities - which seems fair -until you learn that they have to pay rent there whether they live there or not.When rep's come from USA to inspect the workplace, moral, etc - they turn a blind eye. The workers are given scripts to memorize so they know what to say when they are asked if they are happy with their job and conditions. If they lie - they loose their job. They are physically punished, as well as reprimanded in their jobs. They also work 7 days a week. None of this is a choice - if they don't want to work in these conditions - they are fired. Toys, etc - cost about .18cents to make, Walmart sells them for $14.97
Closing of Small Towns: Once a Wal Mart comes to town, the mom and pop stores that have been in business since WW2 and longer, close down. They simply can not compete with Wal Mart's prices! Granted - that's not Wal Mart's fault, that's just business - take your beautiful small town - like the one I live in - and bring a Wal Mart to it - what happens? Small businesses close - no new businesses return in their place because they know they can not compete with Wal Mart - so what does that leave? Empty storefronts and buildings - what does that lead to? No jobs - (or poverty stricken Wal Mart Jobs - and plenty of people chomping at the bit to take them) which leads to poverty......which leads to your once beautiful small town being vacant, a great place for crime in all those empty buildings - no jobs - and boom - small town life is gone. Once that small town life is gone - no amount of cash will bring it back....it's not really worth all those cheap prices after all, is it?
What also gets me mad, is the Wal Mart corporation is masquerading as Christians. This is not the way Christians act, and they are giving us all a bad name. The walton family is worth somewhere near $175 Billion dollars - among 6 people.....they have the ability to fix all this, and they don't!
So please, this holiday season and forever - do not buy from Walmart! It's costing you, and everyone - way more than the price on the tag!
I know this isn't my usual type of blog - it's probably coming across very liberal - and for some of you that may surprise you considering I'm a staunch Republican Christian - but these people are doing wrong - and wrong is wrong - no matter their religion, or their political standpoint. It is way beyond either of those things at this point.
Oh - and not in the movie - but in other research I've done, I've found that Wal Mart is actually suing the Laboratories that are investigating the presence of Lead in toys? Wal Mart really cares about nothing but themselves, and making money! I could really go on and on - just watch the movie! It's free on Starz OnDemand if you have it - look for it! You'll be shocked!
Thanks!
Abbie
Cliff Notes version:
Fair Wages: Walmart pays the minimum amount available to their employees. Full time employees are counted as such at 28 hours. If both parents in a family worked at walmart with 2 kids full time - they would be below the poverty line. The health insurance? $75 out of every paycheck and high copays make it impossible to even use it. This is the part that really gets me - when the employees ask for better benefits - the management suggests going on Government assistance - welfare, wic, medicare/cade......there was a poll in the movie about walmart workers that are on government assistance of some kind......it was ridiculous. I want to say somewhere near $1.5 billion worth of government assistance to these people. So - you may be paying $4.96 to put that shirt on your back, and think you're getting a great deal - but you'll make up the difference and then some in your taxes to support the rest of their employees that they refuse to back. The employees are made to work overtime without pay - by threat of loosing their job if they don't do it. It's just totally unfair. I hate to say it, but this is where a Union would come in handy - but when Wal Mart employees gather and ask for one, they're penalized and threatened to be fired - and flat out told no.
Made in China: Their products are made anywhere but here. Why - because that's where they get the cheapest labor. Something to the tune of $3 a day for sweatshop workers in China. These workers live in what is basically indentured servitude. Large dormitories of people, sharing rooms - they are charged for rent, and utilities - which seems fair -until you learn that they have to pay rent there whether they live there or not.When rep's come from USA to inspect the workplace, moral, etc - they turn a blind eye. The workers are given scripts to memorize so they know what to say when they are asked if they are happy with their job and conditions. If they lie - they loose their job. They are physically punished, as well as reprimanded in their jobs. They also work 7 days a week. None of this is a choice - if they don't want to work in these conditions - they are fired. Toys, etc - cost about .18cents to make, Walmart sells them for $14.97
Closing of Small Towns: Once a Wal Mart comes to town, the mom and pop stores that have been in business since WW2 and longer, close down. They simply can not compete with Wal Mart's prices! Granted - that's not Wal Mart's fault, that's just business - take your beautiful small town - like the one I live in - and bring a Wal Mart to it - what happens? Small businesses close - no new businesses return in their place because they know they can not compete with Wal Mart - so what does that leave? Empty storefronts and buildings - what does that lead to? No jobs - (or poverty stricken Wal Mart Jobs - and plenty of people chomping at the bit to take them) which leads to poverty......which leads to your once beautiful small town being vacant, a great place for crime in all those empty buildings - no jobs - and boom - small town life is gone. Once that small town life is gone - no amount of cash will bring it back....it's not really worth all those cheap prices after all, is it?
What also gets me mad, is the Wal Mart corporation is masquerading as Christians. This is not the way Christians act, and they are giving us all a bad name. The walton family is worth somewhere near $175 Billion dollars - among 6 people.....they have the ability to fix all this, and they don't!
So please, this holiday season and forever - do not buy from Walmart! It's costing you, and everyone - way more than the price on the tag!
I know this isn't my usual type of blog - it's probably coming across very liberal - and for some of you that may surprise you considering I'm a staunch Republican Christian - but these people are doing wrong - and wrong is wrong - no matter their religion, or their political standpoint. It is way beyond either of those things at this point.
Oh - and not in the movie - but in other research I've done, I've found that Wal Mart is actually suing the Laboratories that are investigating the presence of Lead in toys? Wal Mart really cares about nothing but themselves, and making money! I could really go on and on - just watch the movie! It's free on Starz OnDemand if you have it - look for it! You'll be shocked!
Thanks!
Abbie
|
