[Winona Online Democracy] I guess I could live with WalMart coming to town or not. I would say that I'm neutral. When we lived in Madison I would go there every now and then. Some of their stuff they sold was pure junk and you would need to watch what you bought.
Growing up in Winona in the 70's and in college at WSU in the mid 80's I held numerous part-time jobs. My first part-time job was pulling weeds at Langowski's for $1 (below minimum wage). I worked at Mark-It Foods and started at about 10 cents an hour more than minimum wage. I worked at J and K Office Products and made minimum wage. None of the part-time jobs that I ever held in Winona ever offered health insurance. In fact, I had one employer stand next to the time clock so you wouldn't punch in a minute early because he was worried about having to pay benefits. Growing up in Winona I can vividly recall not being able to find the items you wanted to buy in town. You were constantly told "we don't have that, but we can order it for you". The retail business in Winona was limited at that time. It is nice to see that it isn't now. I've read that the average WalMart employee makes $7 to $8 an hour starting wage and 60% of all the employees are eligible for health insurance. My questions are: 1) What is the average starting wage of part-time employees in Winona? What does Fastenal, TRW, Benchmark, Hy-Vee, and other large employers in Winona pay? 2) What is the percentage of employers in Winona that offer health insurance for part-time employees? 3) What is the percentage of employers in Winona that offer health insurance to full-time employees? 4) What is the average starting wage for unskilled labor in Winona for full-time employees? I'm not sure, but I would venture that WalMart isn't all that out of line compared to other Winona employers for the type of work. If I'm wrong, that would be great for everybody in Winona and would stand corrected. Chris Nelson ----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, November 06, 2003 12:25 PM Subject: Re: [Winona] 363 Days > [Winona Online Democracy] > > > "Wal-Mart's supercenters have labor costs roughly 20 to 30 percent lower > than those of unionized supermarkets, according to a study from consuling > firm Retail Forward. ...concluded that for every Wal-Mart Supercenter > that opens in the next five years, two supermarkets will close their doors." > > >From a Washington Post article, but now a moot point as far as Winona is > concerned, it seems. > > http://www.msnbc.com/news/989939.asp?0cv=CB20 > > J. Finn > > This message powered by EMUMAIL. -- http://www.EMUMAIL.com > _______________________________________________ > This message was posted to Winona Online Democracy > All messages must be signed by the senders actual name. > No commercial solicitations are allowed on this list. > To manage your subscription or view the message archives, please visit > http://mapnp.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/winona > Any problems or suggestions can be directed to > mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > If you want help on how to contact elected officials, go to the Contact page at > http://www.winonaonlinedemocracy.org _______________________________________________ This message was posted to Winona Online Democracy All messages must be signed by the senders actual name. No commercial solicitations are allowed on this list. To manage your subscription or view the message archives, please visit http://mapnp.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/winona Any problems or suggestions can be directed to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] If you want help on how to contact elected officials, go to the Contact page at http://www.winonaonlinedemocracy.org
