[Winona] Walmart

[terri hyle]

[Winona Online Democracy]

I found an interesting link to an article about Walmart and employee 
relationships on my netscape browser today.  The link to the article 
(through Fortune) is :

http://www.fortune.com/fortune/careers/articles/0,15114,462970,00.html

Don't be put off by the title of the article.  For our purposes, the 
important information is listed under wages for each employee category.  
Except for top level management, employees do not earn high wages at 
all--difficult to support a family on those wages.  Nice supplementary wages 
for a second income, but if you are a cashier or managmenet trainee, you 
will have a hard time if you have to rely on your Walmart job alone.

According to the Fortune artilce: Store managers can earn over $100,000, if 
they are male, anyway;  co-mangers, in the mid $ 50's; assistant managers; 
mid $30's, managment trainees, low $20's; and cashiers, under $15,000.

Paul's comments about 28 hrs being generally considered part time are true:  
I am certain that Walmart (as do other employers, including some locally) 
carefully controls the number of hours its employees work so that they do 
not have to pay benefits.  This, of course, shifts the burden of providing 
health care onto low wage workers who can't afford it and wait until it's an 
emergency, when we, the taxpayers get to pay (at higher rates, I might ad).

Paul is right, too,  when he states that many prefer to work part time, and 
that part time employees are a mainstay of retail (and other ) 
establishments to meet demand during peak business hours.  But, most people 
cannot survive on part time wages, unless the part time job is the second or 
third job.  Far, far too many people in the Winona area work several part 
time jobs to make ends meet, and go without healthcare or other benefits 
because they are not able to secure full time employement.

A few other comments about Walmart coming to Winona:

Someone mentioned greater selection and greater variety in sizes, etc.  
Since I was a teenager, I have had a difficult time finding shoes that 
fit--or even come close.  What may be surprising to some is that I  actually 
had the best luck with Ahrens' Shoes when it was still in business.  They 
didn't always stock my size, but they would order it for me, at no extra 
cost or obligation---a real boon for someone who has very small feet.  Big 
shoe store chains not only never carry my size, they don't care, making 
shopping for shoes a chore I dread worse than income taxes.

I find it hard to believe that Walmart will draw more people into town.  I 
do sometimes shop at LaCrosse, but never at Walmart because it simply 
doesn't carry much of what I want, and certainly nothing that I can't get in 
Winona.   I am not certain how Walmart would add to the shopping community, 
except to compete for business with Target, Shopko and K-Mart, not to 
mention the smaller local merchants.

Winona is very blessed with many local businesses who are supportive of 
community needs and generous with their donations.  I was never turned down 
for a generous donation whenever I approached a local business or merchant 
for a donatio for a school event or need.  However, for larger corporate 
entities, the decision is controlled by corporate headquarters, far away, 
with no stake in the community.

Terri Hyle

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