Last week Walmart unexpectedly closed 5 stores in cities all over the country. The reason given was that they have plumbing problems. The latest is that they have a lot of water leaks. Can anybody think of any reason why 5 stores would develop plumbing problems all at the same time?
I have thought that possibly they were all built at the same time and whoever wrote the specs called for some fabulous new plumbing technology that didn't work out. But at the same time I don't see why that would mean they needed to shut down with no warning.
Usually attempts to deal with such problems start with a simple approach and move to the ever more complex. At some point you have to bite the bullet after the simpler approaches fail to solve the problem.
Googling Walrmart plumbing gives a Fortune link and a CBS link within the last 24 hours saying it was retaliation for labor organizing. That's what I get from the google summary, anyhow. I havent' read the articles.
Sounds about right. WallyWorld would do anything to prevent a union from taking hold. What's half a dozen stores amongst eleven thousand. Besides, there's probably another store within a five mile radius. ;)
SIX MONTHS? I hope the Feds ream them a new one for these blatantly retaliatory tactics. We all know they can demolish and build an entire new store in way less time. Can anyone here postulate what kind of plumbing repairs would take that long? I'd like to see them prove those claims in front of the NLRB and if they can't, be fined the maximum for such skullduggery. And the workers all rehired and granted back pay and penalties for Wal-mart even trying to pull such a cheap stunt.
This is sadly why governments are necessary. Without their oversight, every company in America would be likely to follow Wal-mart's example. I would like to see Wal-mart told they can only hire X percentage of part-timers and have them work regular schedules (so they can get second jobs) because they have been scamming the taxpayers and their workers for a long, long time by paying them so little they virtually HAVE to go on government assistance.
Anyone who believes Wal-mart's c*ck-and-bull story about "plumbing problems" has rocks in their head. This is how they deal with the threat of unionization and perhaps finally having to pay a real living wage to their employees. I, for one, am sick of subsidizing Wal-mart's labor health care costs.
Ever since the time I read they were handing out Medicaid applications to new part-timers I knew that they were scummy people. Used to shop there but haven't in a year. They've discovered how badly they can treat people (never give them enough hours to gain health care and schedule them so randomly they can't even get a second job!) and they're making an art form of it. They only recently raised *some* wages to try to avoid a round of serious protests and picketing that they KNOW wouldn't be good for business.
This could easily be the tipping point for them, expecting that anyone would actually buy their "plumbing problems" BS. Once you lose your credibility, it's very hard to regain it. What chutzpah. But this time they have been so blatant that they may have really screwed the pooch.
A business SHOULD run a business to save money and increase earnings. Why else would you go into business? If you read the complete story however, you will find they are doing more for the employees than required. If I did not know better I would say you were from the Obama administration.
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Both full-time and part-time workers will be put on paid leave for two months, during which time they can try to transfer to a different Walmart location. Full-time employees who don't get another Walmart job by June 19 may be eligible for severance, which part time workers aren't eligible for.
Actually it's more like 10 miles, if you don't count the markets.
They are doing moderately well by the employees that lost their jobs. They get 60 days pay and a separation package if they can't get on at another Walmart.
According to InfoWars and all kinds of RWNJ sites, it's because the DoD is in cahoots with Walmart to declare "Marshall Law" in Amurrica and put us all into FEMA Camps in the next few weeks. That's what Jade Helm is *really* about, even though the feds are claiming is only a military exercise. Yeah, right.
Walmart's role in this:
They supply materiel to the DoD - according to the nuts, you can order a nuclear weapon or a BlackHawk helicopter using Walmart's purchasing system, which is PROOF that they're in cahoots with the Illuminaughty running the world!
All Walmarts in the US are connected by a secret complex of underground tunnels, which the feds will use to route materiel, the UN troops that will be taking over, and moving citizens into FEMA camps. And some of those camps/crematories are - you guessed it - the Walmarts that have been shut down for "plumbing problems". There have already been a number of Walmart customers who have mysteriously died/disappeared. Oh noes! The invasion of Amurrica has already begun!
You know at least some of the RWNJs hanging out here find this completely believable.
Jade Helm, Walmart And DUMBS - Are The Closed Walmarts Being Activated As Central Command For Underground Operations?
For the same reason some hotshot politician or executive suddenly resigns: to spend more time with his family. It's a cover. They're having labor troubles at those locations. More generally, Walmart is overextended and needs to consolidate. Expect to see more closings on account of roof leaks, meth lab explosions, bee infestations, feng shui violations . . .
A variety of reasons. This doesn't apply to Walmart, of course, but the wife of a co-worker is a doctor. She started her own practice to, you know, help people. I think her 1099 showed about $17,000 from the business last year, so it sure isn't to increase earnings.
We probably wouldn't need Obamacare if companies like Wal-mart hadn't figured out how to create an army of part-timers that aren't entitled to the benefits US workers had been getting for decades. They just cost-shifted their healthcare costs onto OUR (the taxpayer's) back. I don't feel I need to help the Waltons, who control over 1/4 of the country's wealth.
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How much is enough for these people? The answer seems to be everything. (Hyperbole alert!) Apparently $16B a year in profits and a $90B net worth isn't enough. Making money is fine as long as you're not carving it out of
*my* savings in the form of higher taxes.
If there was any one company that caused conditions to be ripe for passage of the ACA, it was Wal-mart making half their workforce part-time and thus ineligible for decent health insurance. When people complain about Obamacare, they should think about why it came into being - people could no longer get health insurance they could afford because companies like Wal-mart figured out how to beat those costs and put them on the taxpayer's back.
Actually it was a union making the charges to the Feds. The articles (as well as the union officials) were sorta vague as to whether they all were places that had were being unionized or just a couple.
That's *if* they are really getting full pay and not some token "sounds good as a newsbite" amount. Wal-mart is very precise with staffing - they use sophisticated computer software to try to determine when to tell people to report for peak customer loads. So I don't see them making a lot of room for the fired employees at nearby stores. But it sounds "good" and "kind" and "reasonable." Time will tell if it really is and how many of those people are actually rehired. We'll also see whether the ones not rehired are ones involved in the protest group, "OUR Wal-mart."
It's hard to believe Wal-mart's plumbing claims when it's well-known that the Pico Rivera store was the site of OUR (Organization United for Respect)Walmart's first strike in 2012.
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Remember, a separation package can be nothing more than a hearty handshake and a sheaf of applications for welfare and Medicaid. But it sounds great in a sound bite on the evening news.
My pers>Both full-time and part-time workers will be put on paid leave for two
Careful reading says "they can TRY to transfer." I say good luck with that. Just like Gov. Walker has "tried" to reduce taxes. (-: You can't buy Sunday dinner with good intentions. Or spend a 5% property tax reduction that never materialized.
I used to shop at (and defend) Wal-mart for a long time but when I realized how much of their costs they had pushed off onto the Feds and local government (the taxpayers), I stopped.
They are great logisticians and have really made their business processes quite efficient but now they are pushing too far. Especially when it comes to their employees having to go on some sort of welfare to make ends meet because of Wal-mart's staffing and hiring practices. Or, if it turns out to be true, punishing workers who try to form a union.
My hope is that they are unmasked and that the DOJ files a RICO action in addition to any NRLB action because they closed stores in several states for this "plumbing" BS. Sounds like a conspiracy that crossed state lines to me. Treble damages and maybe even forfeitures might keep Wal-mart from trying this crap in the future.
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Sadly, the NLRB laws are most likely written to preclude RICO prosecution and worse, involve fines that are insubstantial to a company making $16B in profits yearly. Maybe if Holder pushed a RICO prosecution, the R's would finally confirm Lynch as AG to get rid of him and take the heat off Wal-mart.
It is very risky for a company to close doors temporarily for an extended p eriod of time. Not only will they lose business during the closing, but th ey will also lose market share which is even more valuable. No one will wa it months before they go shopping again. They will go to other stores or p erhaps look for their missed bargains online. Those former customers may f ind other places to shop that they like better.
In my fathers's town is a fast food branch of a national chain. I would ta ke my dad their once in a while. One day we went and it was closed. No si gns indicating what happened. For weeks it looked as though it was being c losed down. Still no signs. I discussed it with some of the locals and my father's neighbors. We all thought it was closing down as another franchi se in the next town closed also. I went by there a few weeks ago at lunch time and it was open with a new look. However the parking lot was empty. My father got used to going to another chain down the road and forgot about this one. I suspect it will take them a long time to get their customers back. They should have communicated to their community what was going on a nd kept them updated to keep them engaged.
I suspect the Wal-Mart plumbing problem is something much bigger than they are publicly saying. If there was long term leakage, there could be mold. They may be trying to avoid lawsuits and insurance claims by minimizing th e issue. By closing the stores, the public and employees will not be expos ed to any hazards.
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