What, you thought they LIKED their workers?

This caught my eye - I used to work for Wal-Mart and I can tell you that over the years they really changed; from a company that was a joy to work for, to a company that has sacrificed human values for 'shareholder value'. They are now piloting a new scheduling system that basically says to workers "You're already making substandard wages - now, if you want to keep THIS crappy job, you also lose any chance of being able to take a SECOND job to actually pay your rent or feed your fmaily. We own you and we simply don't care if you have to live in a box, so long as we can make an extra two cents profit on toilet paper." Keep in mind that Wal-Mart defines 'Full time' as being 34 hours a week - at minimum wage, that translates into less than $250 a week BEFORE TAX WITHHOLDING. I defy any of the Wal-Mart executives - in fact I CHALLENGE them - to reduce their salaries to this level, working the hours they demand of their employees, and still pay their bills for 8 full weeks. No way they'll do it though - they're far to busy pulling down seven figure salaries. Really easy to say 'Let them eat cake' when you don't have to live by those rules, isn't it, Wal-Mart?

Nice. I love how the spin doctor at the company tries to make the change sound positive but one thing they DON'T address is, under the old system, if you needed to switch your schedule, you could always swap or ask a manager. I'd bet you even money the new system (since it's centralized at corporate by people who are not subjected to the same lack of wages, lifestyle or health care) will not allow that sort of flexibility. I also like the "It's friendlier because it asks people what they prefer to work." statement - umm, I'll guarantee you that the in store staff did that, too.

The article is here: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=2766819
And you can read more about Wal-Mart here: http://www.wakeupwalmart.com/facts/