I would be very interested in the answers to the questions that Chris raises. I have been a vocal opponent to Wal-Mart coming to Winona, but that doesn't mean I think all Winona industry has high standards for employee wages and benefits. I would strongly support some work done on investigating a living wage standard in Winona. I believe this was discussed earlier this summer and someone had a great link and had figured out what a "living wage" would constitute in a town like Winona.
One misleading statistic you site is the health benefits for Wal-Mart employees. I just heard a speaker on WI public radio this morning, author of "Confessions of a Union Buster", and it was stated that Wal-Mart offers health benefits, but the out-of-pocket expenses are such that very few can afford it and less than 2% have it through them. The others rely on spouses or government insurance or none.
Again, I would love to know the answers to what kind of wages other big employees in Winona are giving. What bothers me about Wal-Mart is that we KNOW they could do better. Fortune 500 released their list of the wealthiest Americans last week and 5 of the top 10 were Waltons, including #1 who is worth $880 billion! This company is the largest retail company in the world, making incredible profits, and not doing right by their employees in general. Also with the stories of pressure they put on suppliers to cut their prices, which leads to lower wages for other industries and out sourcing to other countries, makes them a company that I do not think we should welcome with open arms into Winona.
I used to shop at Wal-Mart on a rare occasion, but now that I know more of the long reaching consequences this company has on our economy, ignorance is not an excuse.
Sarah Dixen
From: "cnelson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [Winona] 363 Days Date: Thu, 6 Nov 2003 12:55:27 -0600
[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
>
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