I'm a left-winger who works at Wal-Mart. As such, I think I have a pretty good idea what the company is like, how it is managed, and what working there is like. In her book Nickled and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, Barbara Ehrenreich revealed that she lied her way in to several jobs, including one as a Wal-Mart associate, and reported her findings. In a style reminiscent of Barbara Bush's at the Super Dome in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Ehrenreich wrote disdainfully of having to zone underwear, of the perfidy of their anti-union orientation video, and on and on.
Wal-Mart is no more or less evil than any corporation. They manage to get all sorts of bad press because they are so large. Extremely risk-averse - trust me when I tell you they try to avoid anything that will cost them money - when bad things happen, they usually manage to make it far worse than it actually was.
As far as the zoning thing is concerned, yes it is mind-numbingly dull, as Ehrenreich suggests. On the other hand, would anyone reading this visit a store where it was impossible to shop because everything was cattywampus on the shelves and impossible to find? Does Ehrenreich think that a store stays neat and clean all on its own? Does she object to zoning because it is, hm, I don't know, manual labor?
Unlike most left-wingers, I have no objection to big box stores, to chain bookstores, or other large and variegated companies that provide all sorts of amenities to all sorts of people. I am not blind to their preference that their workforce not be unionized; I also happen to think that, should EFCA pass (which I predict it probably will), Target, Wal-Mart, ShopKo and other such places will be unionized within a few years. I am not blind to all sorts of things Wal-Mart does that I would prefer it wouldn't. On the other hand, I was not surprised by the "news" that Whole Foods is no better than Wal-Mart, precisely because it is a corporation in business to make money.
The disdain many left-wingers have for Wal-Mart is, I believe, rooted not in some principled stance in favor of an organized workforce, or better working conditions, because the conditions at Wal-Mart are, for the most part, no different than any other place of employment. Rather, I firmly believe, as evidenced by Ehrenreich's tone of hauteur at having to mix with the polloi as she zoned thongs, it is rooted in a class bias against working people and their lives. You see the bumper sticker that reads, "If you see this car at Wal-Mart, it has been stolen", and you have to celebrate such a huge love of the working class.
In short, while I have no problem with getting the word out when any corporation does something illegal, it would be nice to have a little perspective. Wal-Mart is a corporation, no different from Standard Oil, DuPont, or Whole Foods. The tension between the company and its desire to make a profit and the employees who have a desire for stable work at a decent wage will always exist. Don't make any company out to be either a hero or a villain, because, for the most part, it's just a corporation doing what it has to do.
4 comments:
The disdain many left-wingers have for Wal-Mart is, I believe, rooted not in some principled stance in favor of an organized workforce, or better working conditions, because the conditions at Wal-Mart are, for the most part, no different than any other place of employment.
My problem with Walmart is not that different than my problem with Target, Kroger and other big box stores is due mostly to my preference for shopping local and small and the damage that such stores do to local businesses. For what it's worth.
FWIW, I understand that reason. The problem is that such local stores usually charge slightly more for their products; in the long run, that is unsustainable against some place like WM or Target because they can work at a smaller margin through sheer volume.
Not to say that such business practices are nice. All I am saying is that such business practices are just that; they aren't evil or immoral or even mean-spirited. I don't think WM is bad because they do this. Business is business.
and then there are people like me who live in an area where there are no small local businesses. Wal mart is it and we all love it. Yes there are issues but they are the issues of any corporation. They also employed a large number of people in my rural area who are darn happy to have the jobs. They also sent a friend to school to be a pharmacist because they liked her work as a pharm tech so much.
sis
I used to refuse to shop at WalMart at all costs for all of the "liberal" reasons. I'm not like that anymore. For one thing, it's cheaper, has everything and I live in Houston. There aren't many small "local" places to shop here in the big city. It's a different story in Austin, where my daughter lives. Austin is very buy local friendly. She loves living there. And I love going there.
A friend of mine who worked at WalMart passed away. Her store had employees from other stores come and work so her co-workers could come to her funeral. The church was packed with WalMart employees and supervisors... plus...WalMart provided all the food afterwards. . We didn't have to do a thing! They even made memorial pins with her picture and gave one to everybody. It was a very positive experience for me. Just one of several reasons why I no longer boycott WalMart.
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