NEWS: Wal-Mart Sued By Former Employees

Sporty doesn't understand why his wage rates are so satisfying. Like too many people, he doesn't know wages

satisfying....I wish...I never said that. I said I enjoy my job.
And I understand your point...I just don't see how these two gents in the article deserve to get any extra. They were locked in a friggen store...the manger should be fired and locked away on a small island of cast away salve traders. They do not deserve any more than what they worked for......Now if they would have been locked up in WM, called the police from a cellphone...then I would say good job on the employees and I hope they sue for all WM has. But they allowed it to happen....That's the big thing im stuck on.

And I know WM is a corporate super power that is all about the buck.....I know this.

maybe they didn't think anything was wrong with this at first or they really needed thier jobs, so they went along with it, but grew tired of working for nothing...

Would there be so many "wah"s and "crybaby" replies if the "victims" here were women, or minorities?

Change the plaintiffs from southern white men and this sort of thing becomes a "civil rights" victory. Where's Jesse Jackson?

Seriously though, the problem is lawyers, and the litigation culture they've fostered. Lawyers are detrimental enough to society as they are, but get them elected to public office, even more dangerous.

They treat their employees like crap. The first thing a walmart employee does after they are hired is to apply for food stamps and help from the government as they have no insurance and are not paid enough to have it and keep food on the table.

Dear god! These poor people are forced not only to work off the clock and overtime without extra pay, but they are put into poverty?! DAMN THAT CAPITOLISM! DAMN WAL-MART AND THEIR HOLDING A GUN TO THESE PEOPLE'S HEADS....uh...wait....THEY DIDN'T HAVE A GUN AGAINST THEIR HEAD....

My point is that we live in a nation, economy, and society, where if you are that good of a worker and you try to find a job, you can and you will be able to live without assistance. Another option is to start your own business. Wal-Mart is not a slave labor camp that people make it to be. if you quit they don't hunt you down and murder you before you can say what awful things they do to you.

Nobody forced these people to stay there. There are those wonderful things call emergency exits that you can just walk through after you throw your blue Wal-Mart apron in your supervisor's face and told him that he can go shove glass up his ass and take a bath in tobasco sauce. America has become a nation of socialist, whiney, pussies who are so big and tough when they want to be but in reality are total duche bags. It's no wonder we give up our rights to PATRIOT ACT I and maybe II. We should just let Bush become a dictator and save our nation the pain of a revolution

Originally posted by FreeThinking1

Hey can somebody call the wambulance? cause these guys are crybabies.

I agree, this is an obvious ploy to score some easy money. This ranks up there with the lady who spills hot coffee on herself and then sues McDonald's for serving hot coffee. These frivilous law suits are ruining the justice system. It's things like this that justifies the government stepping in and telling us how to live every aspect of our lives. This is probably their only means of not having a job with a nametag on their shirt.

i used to think this way, too. until i learned that the coffee from mcdonald's was SOOOO hot, that it FUSED THE LADIES LABIA TO HER LEG!
the 'trusted' media sold the case like a 'oh, wah wah, get me a 'wambulance'', and a frivolous case by a coniving goldigger against a poor innocent corporation.
mcdonald's had other complaints over a TEN YEAR period previous to the lawsuit. they ignored them, and refused to change the company policy of keeping coffee at a constant scalding temperature for reasons of shelflife and fresh taste.
people who work at walmart aren't rocket scientists. they are not lawyers. blaming them for the abuse is like blaming a rape victim for the rape. when walmart comes to town, there are no other jobs. all the independents blow away like so much sagebrush.
so, much like the mcdonald's case, this walmart case may be spun one way by media, but the reality is the reality, and will remain forever in shadow.

wal-mart is not mcdonalds. walmart does not franchise and therefore corporate policy is what rules. Not to mention the woman with the Hot coffee was a cry baby because she was an idiot and held the coffee between her legs while driving. That is how it got spilt. The employee did not throw it on her. This woman is as much of a victim as the dude who used a lawnmower as a hedge-trimmer, or ironing a shirt while still on a person. Seriously people, common-sense should remove some liability.

Originally posted by billybob
mcdonald's had other complaints over a TEN YEAR period previous to the lawsuit. they ignored them, and refused to change the company policy of

Coffee is hot.....beware of hot coffee!!!! don't put hot coffee on skin.....be extra careful while operating a motor vehicle.......

Originally posted by billybob
people who work at walmart aren't rocket scientists. they are not lawyers.

Again...it does not take a lawyer to figure out that someone locking you in a store is illegal.....unless you agreed and then it's OK.

blaming them for the abuse is like blaming a rape victim for the rape.

No it's not! If I go up to a women and start having sex with her...and she plays along and puts out and does not say NO, then it is not rape...she went along with it.

Just like the WM employees did not resist or say NO!!! If they did then that's kippnapping and I heard nothing of any criminal charges.

Originally posted by billybob
when walmart comes to town, there are no other jobs.

True!, I agree...that is not the arguement here...the arguement is over the guys that sue WM....is it justified or not? are they crybabies or not?
I know WalMart is a big Corporate weenie that screws everyone...no disagreement there

[edit on 25/5/2005 by SportyMB]

Hmm, somethings kinda weird about this CATLETTSBURG Boyd County.
I did a search for this and they have alot of issues with WalMart...alot more than most places, especially small towns (if it is one). Some of the stuff is even speculation and finger pointing, stuff that is not worthy of a spot on the 5'o'clock news.

Im calling BS on this, WalMart is an evil empire...but locking it's employees in after hours is a little far fetched...not saying it false...just way up on my BS meter.

Decide for yourself...google link

[edit on 25/5/2005 by SportyMB]

I grew up in Catlettsburg KY.

When I lived there, we had about 4,000 people... the closest town was Ashland KY, there were about 30-40k people.

The Wal-Mart stores are located in Ashland, there are 2 of them, one is in a Mall, but they're building a new one, a supercenter and the one in the mall will be closing.

Originally posted by SportyMB

Originally posted by billybob
mcdonald's had other complaints over a TEN YEAR period previous to the lawsuit. they ignored them, and refused to change the company policy of

Coffee is hot.....beware of hot coffee!!!! don't put hot coffee on skin.....be extra careful while operating a motor vehicle........

i've spilled coffee on myself, before. it has never MELTED MY SKIN. coffee should be hot, yes, but DEFINITELY not hot enough to melt skin. c'mon, man. do you seriously think it's okay to give someone something, telling them it's okay to drink, and it's hot enough to instantly melt skin?

anyway, who did the judge rule with? that's right. and the judge was... A JUDGE! with ALL the pertinent data!
and what did mcdonald's do? they changed their coffee machines temperature, reducing it to sub-lethal levels.
so, it seems that you and the decietful media are the only ones who think the lawsuit was 'frivolous'.

as far as walmart employees go, it's practically slave labour. there's nowhere else to make a living for some people(especially after all the mom and pops are squeezed out). laws don't always work. believe it or not, people break laws all the time and the victims have no recourse, because they are poor and under educated.
walmart is like a virus that is destroying the host.
there was a television show which illustrated how they cut a deal with small towns, they get a complete municipal tax exemption, and the city gets walmart and some infrastructure around walmart. free roads and traffic lights and whatnot.
soon, all the small independent businessmen have no more customers and have to close.
once walmart has zeroed out there tax break, they close the store and move to the next town to do the same thing.
in canada, workers were putting together a union to stop the abuse. walmart closed the store.
workers rights abuse is becoming synonomous with 'walmart'.
not to mention, 'made in china'.

i don't think these two were the sharpest knives in the drawer, but that is no reason to letter individuals of (slightly) superior intellect take advantage of them. you say that they agreed to be locked in. in fact, you are convinced.
i will reserve judgment for , ....THE JUDGE!

boo hoo. evil megacorporations control the world government. wah wah. i'm a cry baby. enjoy your brave new world in 1984.

There is always a solution to such a "Evil Megacorporation" and it is.....*GASP* Start a better business. It's possible believe me. Just look at the airline industry. For every market share that is dominated, another becomes open. Wal-Mart is successful because they sell products for less than everyone else. And any of you complaining how evil they are, I have a question: DO YOU SHOP THERE? If you answer yes...then don't post anymore. How can you give money to the thing you say is evil?! This is the same logic as the US giving money to North Korea (Which we do along with Japan and South Korea of all countries) so that they won't have people living in poverty.

If you really don't like Wal-Mart then boycott, goto K-Mart or another alternative. Don't invest in what you oppose. If you shop there shut up. And to those who work there...if you are that good of an employee, then work shouldn't be too hard to find. Really people, if you don't like where you work, leave. Don't complain, don't sue. If you had a gun to your head i'd understand, otherwise suck it up or leave. You're an adult, act like it.

well, conrad, i do better than just not shop there. i tell other people what an evil chinese mole megacorporation walmart is, and then they don't shop there either.

'start a better business'? HAHAHAHAHAHA! thanks, man. a good laugh.

will you work in my first sweatshop for a buck a week? no?

will i be able to live with myself knowing that my red carpet is made of the blood of slaves? no.

a nice thought, though.

Wal-mart will be a monopoly before long and there will be no alternatives:shk: it's a shame.

i work for wal-mart myself and can attest to the fact that employees are treeted like crap. i even know of several laws being broken by them, as i have been forced to follow their orders to keep my job. that being said however, if these aligations are true they were not only breaking the law but also company policy which states quite plainly that working off the clock is a fireing offence. it is done however. though i have never heard of anyone being locked in to accomplish this. i know that a few dept managers often do their paperwork before and after #s as well as dureing their lunch breaks due to the fact that they spend all their "paid" time stocking shelves and changeing the department arround every season.

it tends to be one of those dammed if you do dammed if you don't situations. employees do tend to be ridden quite hard to compleat papperwork while also haveing to keep their dept in perfect shape. i also know of co-workers that have to live in substidised houseing to afford to live, heck i have to get my rent money from my parrents and still barely make ends meet. we even had one guy who working at wal-mart was his second full time job and he delivered pizzas on top of that. he once almost lost his hand due to being to tired to think straight and forgot to propperly shut down a machine at his other full time job before removeing an obstruction.

unfortunatly they are not anywhere near the only ones that pay so poorly and overwork their staff. i wish that i was able to get a better job but have found that nearly impossible not being a minority. so i have no choice then to keep my job that i actualy have. i would however love it if they were forced to pay a FAIR wage. especialy when they make record proffits year after year. epecialy when the ceo makes millions /year and the poor worker is lucky to break $20,000. and yes i DO KNOW EACTLY HOW MUCH THE CEO MAKES.

Although I would have to agree that Wal-mart is not the most benign corporation, there are others out there too. The best thing one can do is keep informing co-workers of their civil liberties and what actions that company may try to pull that is illegal and take appropriate actions. Morale also plays a strong role in this kind of scenario as more often than not, unless the person being screwed in this way is young and impressionable, they are likely to be jaded and will probably not do much due to being used to a substandard status quo.

$20,000.. are you kidding me... most are lucky to even see $10,000 grand a year and that's full time! Part timers are likely to be around $5,000 to $7,000 a year.

A funny thought occured to me, what if there was a way to socially engineer Wal-mart's relocation habits to where it is no longer profitable to remain in the U.S.? Are there factors in the market that force a corporation to shift it's storefront closer to it's manufacturing and distribution facilities? I unfortionately do not have the answer for that...

Ever notice that a company will gladly hype about their employee's cited liberties yet will not warn in print of any potiential hazards involving managerial abuse such as manipulation, exploitation, or under documented financial records... (let alone locking folks up in a building until the job is done, pay be damned...)

If the abuses are quite real and provable, then hopefully the lawsuit will put stronger pressure on the remaining portions of the corporate network!

If I recall K-Mart doesn't exist anymore.. I could be wrong...

[edit on 27-5-2005 by Crysstaafur]

I used to work for a mega corporation, that outlined specifically in their policies,"No hourly wage employee is to work off the clock, nor be asked to by their store managers." Despite the strict enforcement, The employees are often pushed far beyond their capabilities, constantly under threat of being terminated, to finish ALL of their duties, perfectly, ALL the time, no matter what the circumstances, even if their happens to be a store emergency, such as electrical power outtage for several hours, fire, flood, tornado, robbery, etc.(Which I have seen happen, and yes employees were terminated due to the circumstances which immediately followed the emergency.) There were few, if any exceptions.

Hourly employees, all required to work 8 hours or better, per shift, are not even allowed the luxury of a bathroom break. (We had to get very clever and quick about it...)

No hourly employees are allowed even a minute over 40 hours a week full time, and managers will cut hours to full and part-time employees to meet the demand of the corporation labor standard. They take into account how much time is required post shift, to fill out the paperwork required by each shift, which in reality usually takes anywhere from half-an-hour, to a full hour, and require that even that time be cut to fifteen minutes and perfect on the nose, no mistakes, that's not counting the during shift paperwork required in heavy doses,(and they wonder why they have cash count handling and accounting issues, their simply not given the required amount of time it takes to figure things out and do it right) then they cut that time, about two to ten regular hours, off the employees scheduled time. Naturally, this causes much dissension and understaffing of shifts.

Furthermore, the corporation wants every store to carry the same things, but allows the store managers and trained order writers to vary the product, according to customer demand and supply,(damned if you do, damned if you don't.) They constantly, on a weekly basis, require stores, and force-order products from their selections to be placed on the shelves in required amounts for X number of days,and required X number to be popularly sold to consumers..forcing extra equipment, demand on employees time, and even more overload of shift duties to be done, plus the added bonus that the employee is trained on all the state, and local laws, concerning the storage temps, pop, pos, and sale of these products.

Salaried employees, such as managers, are required to work 48 hours a week,(but often hammer in about 60+hrs.)and not given OT either, their demands, by their bosses, are even higher, and the workload and gripe sessions, (ie store meetings) often trickles down through the manager to the regular employees. Often, (and I know a lot of managers that still work for this company) complain still that they are hired as manager, so they can be set up to be fired by their district managers, using smear campaigning, and the usual corporate brainwashing techniques, and constant under-fire microscope attention to every detail of their store finances.

The corporate offices use an database, that links to all the stores in any given area, and view the numbers only to make their unfair assessments about the condition of the suspect store...Without even visiting the store in person! The district managers bank in on this attention, by not only coming down hard on the store in question, but praised and given promotions and perks by their superiors, for a job well done, when they run a store or manager into the ground...basically getting praised and a new jaguar for being an a$$****! It just gets worse from there.."Oh thank Heaven!," I don't work there anymore! Granted it paid me okay, about 17k a year..but with all the bs and scare tactics, it nearly drove me into the grave....

[edit on 27-5-2005 by Hetha]



[edit on 27-5-2005 by Hetha]

[edit on 27-5-2005 by Hetha]

[edit on 27-5-2005 by Hetha]

Its very easy to come down on Wal-Mart right now, cause thats the corporation this article is about, lets not forget there are a lot of other businesses out there that are participating in the same business practices...

Its a shame that Wal-Mart tends to not to care about thier employees and that these said employees really depend on thier jobs, I wish something could be done about it, but they're the retail kings right now... what to do ?

Its very easy to come down on Wal-Mart right now, cause thats the corporation this article is about, lets not forget there are a lot of other businesses out there that are participating in the same business practices...

Yep! That's exactly what I was addressing...this company follows similar practices with their employees, fortunately, I haven't heard of anyone getting locked into their stores and forced to work, but I cant verify if that happens or not..just going on what I do know to be fact.

[edit on 27-5-2005 by Hetha]

It is illegal to do such a thing, if it is true of this store, they should win their lawsuit

As far as people crying about how little they make. Take some initiative and get a better job! Move if you must. But to say that it is WalMart's fault that they don't make enough, well, no, that is YOUR OWN fault. One shouldn't be paid 50k a year to stock shelves. It doesn't take skill. Sorry, it doesn't

My husband is a GSM of a car dealership. some of his sales people make 100k a year selling cars. Yes, 100k a year. I am a mortgage consultant and have done their mortgage loan. That is verified income. Do you know he *cannot* find salespeople??? And many of the ones he gets have no desire to work!

The US has bred a bunch of lazy crybabies as young people. Everyone wants something handed to them. If you don't like making minimum wage, do something that pays more. With persistance, you will go further.

So what that the CEO of walmart makes millions? He is a rare bird that has gotten to the top. The owners of my company do ALOT better than I do. I am just thankful I work at a great place. One of the owners was an equal of mine where we worked before. He took risks, worked hard and excelled at his job. I do NOT begrudge him his success! He earned it.

To take away from those that make an excellent living and give to those that don't is called socialism.