The devil is in the...big box retailer?

[Tash]

Michael Moore is for lack of better words, a moron. I lost all respect for him after "Bowling for Columbine."

Universal healthcare reminds me very much of a socialist government, which is why I love America. I'm sorry, but I shouldn't have to pay for your medical care. I bust my ASS for my money, so why should I have to give it to other people? Jobs that offer some kind of insurance aren't that hard to find. Hell, these days a lot of places offer insurance, even Walmart.

 

[Kimberleigh]

Re: The American Health Care System... sucks =[ (Sicko, Michael Moore)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tash Hell, these days a lot of places offer insurance, even Walmart.

However, it's VERY difficult to get the amount of hours one would need to receive the benefits package from Wal-Mart. You should watch "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Prices". It's a documentary (MUCH better than anything Moore could EVER do). Typically, they keep their employees below the minimum requirements to give their employees benefits.

 

[Shimmer]

Re: The American Health Care System... sucks =[ (Sicko, Michael Moore)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kimberleigh However, it's VERY difficult to get the amount of hours one would need to receive the benefits package from Wal-Mart. You should watch "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Prices". It's a documentary (MUCH better than anything Moore could EVER do). Typically, they keep their employees below the minimum requirements to give their employees benefits.

This is 100% correct. Wal*Mart's policy IS to keep employees at just under the level where insurance and other benefits are required to be offered.
I believe it's like 34 hours a week and Wal*Mart cheerfully works its empoyees 33 hours and 59:59 minutes.
It SUCKS.

 

[Tash]

Re: The American Health Care System... sucks =[ (Sicko, Michael Moore)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kimberleigh However, it's VERY difficult to get the amount of hours one would need to receive the benefits package from Wal-Mart. You should watch "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Prices". It's a documentary (MUCH better than anything Moore could EVER do). Typically, they keep their employees below the minimum requirements to give their employees benefits.

Not true. I'm not a fan of Walmart by any means, but that store is probably the EASIEST place to pick up hours from. I was on average scheduled right around 30 hours a week but always ended up working around 38 or so. Pretty much everyone I worked with chose to get insurance through them and were able to. Actually, pretty much every Walmart I've run into has been the same way.

It's also one of the easiest companies to move up in that I've experienced. I was offered a management position after less than 3 months of working there. I also saw it happen to quite a few people too. And they actually pay their employees more than most non-professional jobs around.

 

[Shimmer]

Re: The American Health Care System... sucks =[ (Sicko, Michael Moore)

I don't know what store you worked at but there were definitely times I approached my 'weekly limit' on hours and even though we were short staffed, I would inevitably have a CSM come over to my register and pull my drawer and tell me to go home 10 minutes before that limit was reached, because they didn't want me (or other cashiers) to fall into the 'eligible for benefits' bracket. And, re: managemant opportunities, as Kim says below, you must have worked in the holy grail of all walmarts because I've known people who've worked there twenty five years and only JUST NOW been offered a CSM position, or a department manager position.
And pay?
6.45 an hour isn't great pay, sorry. :/

 

[Kimberleigh]

Re: The American Health Care System... sucks =[ (Sicko, Michael Moore)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tash Not true. I'm not a fan of Walmart by any means, but that store is probably the EASIEST place to pick up hours from. I was on average scheduled right around 30 hours a week but always ended up working around 38 or so. Pretty much everyone I worked with chose to get insurance through them and were able to. Actually, pretty much every Walmart I've run into has been the same way.

Well, then you clearly work for the mecca of all Wal-Marts then because the doc I suggested to you says otherwise as well as another employee/former employee.

Quote:

It's also one of the easiest companies to move up in that I've experienced. I was offered a management position after less than 3 months of working there. I also saw it happen to quite a few people too. And they actually pay their employees more than most non-professional jobs around.

Yeah, I'm not going to get up on my soapbox about Wal-mart because that's not what this thread is about...it's about health insurance and I've already been chastised on another thread about going off-topic!

 

[Kimberleigh]

Re: The American Health Care System... sucks =[ (Sicko, Michael Moore)

Just a little addendum...and I've never worked for Wal-Mart, but if Shim knows maybe she can support this:

The documentary touches on the fact that because they won't allow their employees to reach the "magic" hours worked to receive benefits, they actually suggest to the employees to go on welfare, therefore using welfare as their "insurance", if you will. Encouraging your employees to use assistance because 1) you won't allow them to work more hours to be able to receive benefits, 2) won't allow them to earn enough money to be able to pay for private health care...

 

[Shimmer]

Re: The American Health Care System... sucks =[ (Sicko, Michael Moore)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kimberleigh Just a little addendum...and I've never worked for Wal-Mart, but if Shim knows maybe she can support this: The documentary touches on the fact that because they won't allow their employees to reach the "magic" hours worked to receive benefits, they actually suggest to the employees to go on welfare, therefore using welfare as their "insurance", if you will. Encouraging your employees to use assistance because 1) you won't allow them to work more hours to be able to receive benefits, 2) won't allow them to earn enough money to be able to pay for private health care...

At the WM I worked at, without fail, the ONLY employees NOT on public assistance were Management level. CSMs might not have been, because some of them were married, but I would hazard a strong guess that at least 95% of the employees of the WalMart in the town I worked in WERE on public assistance.
EBT, HUD, CCMS, etc.
WalMart also demands TOTAL flexibility from its workers. You have to be able to work ANY HOURS it tells you to, without question. One week you may work opening, one week you may work closing, one week you may do both. That said, you may work shifts of 8 hours, you may work shifts of 2 hours.

WalMart will do anything it can to keep from offering benefits to the hourly employees (cashiers, ICS, floor workers, whatever) and manages the hours VERY carefully to keep the employees from going over into eligibility range.
Additionally, if for some reason, two weeks in a row an employee DOES enter eligibility range, the third week, his or her hours WILL BE cut in half, to make up for the two weeks the employee was within that range, to keep from having to offer him or her benefits.

 

[Beauty Mark]

Re: The American Health Care System... sucks =[ (Sicko, Michael Moore)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shimmer At the WM I worked at, without fail, the ONLY employees NOT on public assistance were Management level. CSMs might not have been, because some of them were married, but I would hazard a strong guess that at least 95% of the employees of the WalMart in the town I worked in WERE on public assistance. EBT, HUD, CCMS, etc. WalMart also demands TOTAL flexibility from its workers. You have to be able to work ANY HOURS it tells you to, without question. One week you may work opening, one week you may work closing, one week you may do both. That said, you may work shifts of 8 hours, you may work shifts of 2 hours. WalMart will do anything it can to keep from offering benefits to the hourly employees (cashiers, ICS, floor workers, whatever) and manages the hours VERY carefully to keep the employees from going over into eligibility range. Additionally, if for some reason, two weeks in a row an employee DOES enter eligibility range, the third week, his or her hours WILL BE cut in half, to make up for the two weeks the employee was within that range, to keep from having to offer him or her benefits.

Haven't they made at least one documentary about this? I remember seeing a story about this on PBS.

 

[Shimmer]

Re: The American Health Care System... sucks =[ (Sicko, Michael Moore)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kimberleigh However, it's VERY difficult to get the amount of hours one would need to receive the benefits package from Wal-Mart. You should watch "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Prices". It's a documentary (MUCH better than anything Moore could EVER do). Typically, they keep their employees below the minimum requirements to give their employees benefits.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beauty Mark Haven't they made at least one documentary about this? I remember seeing a story about this on PBS.

Yep.
Kimberleigh mentioned it earlier.

 

[Tash]

Re: The American Health Care System... sucks =[ (Sicko, Michael Moore)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shimmer At the WM I worked at, without fail, the ONLY employees NOT on public assistance were Management level. CSMs might not have been, because some of them were married, but I would hazard a strong guess that at least 95% of the employees of the WalMart in the town I worked in WERE on public assistance. EBT, HUD, CCMS, etc. WalMart also demands TOTAL flexibility from its workers. You have to be able to work ANY HOURS it tells you to, without question. One week you may work opening, one week you may work closing, one week you may do both. That said, you may work shifts of 8 hours, you may work shifts of 2 hours. WalMart will do anything it can to keep from offering benefits to the hourly employees (cashiers, ICS, floor workers, whatever) and manages the hours VERY carefully to keep the employees from going over into eligibility range. Additionally, if for some reason, two weeks in a row an employee DOES enter eligibility range, the third week, his or her hours WILL BE cut in half, to make up for the two weeks the employee was within that range, to keep from having to offer him or her benefits.

Pretty much nobody at my Walmart was on any sort of government assistance. And they were really good about people having school and not being able to work.

Also, I was getting paid 9.85 when I left which was 4 dollars over the minimum wage. The other Walmarts by me are the same way. They pay their employees good and treat them amazing.

 

[Shimmer]

Re: The American Health Care System... sucks =[ (Sicko, Michael Moore)

I have never shopped at or worked at a Wal*Mart that didn't a) treat their employees like crap and b) pay on the absolute lowest rung of what the job market in their area will allow.
Google Wal*Mart's work policies, and see what you find. Seriously.

 

[Tash]

Re: The American Health Care System... sucks =[ (Sicko, Michael Moore)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shimmer I have never shopped at or worked at a Wal*Mart that didn't a) treat their employees like crap and b) pay on the absolute lowest rung of what the job market in their area will allow. Google Wal*Mart's work policies, and see what you find. Seriously.

The point being, not all of them are like that. Maybe a lot of them are, but nobody I know that has worked at Walmart has ever complained about how they treat their employees or what they're being paid. And considering that I went from a job that was paying me 7 bucks an hour to do the exact same thing at Walmart making 9.85, I wasn't complaining.

And what you get paid at Walmart is based on the experience that you have doing it. The more experience you have, the more you're going to get paid.

 

[Shimmer]

Really.
Lots
of people
would
disagree with
you
based upon
some
quick googling.

 

[MiCHiE]

Tash,

Where do you live and how long did you work for WalMart?

 

[Tash]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ♥MiCHiE♥ Tash, Where do you live and how long did you work for WalMart?

Wisconsin. I only worked for them for about 3 months, but a friend of mine has worked for them for like 10 years and makes more than most professionals do around here.

And Shimmer, like I said, maybe a lot of them are like that, but from MY personal experience, they haven't been. And don't believe everything you find on google.

 

[tsukiyomi]

I worked at Wal Mart for the Christmas season one year and they wanted me to stay full time and I said no way. Their insurance sucks.

 

[Shimmer]

Enough of them are like that to initiate a class action lawsuit, and the numbers in the lawsuit are high enough to actually make Walmart offer a great big whopping 23 cent raise. I was working there for that, I remember.
I'm certainly not one to believe everything I find on google, however:
The preponderance of links suggest it's a less than palatabe working environment.

 

[Tash]

I'll say it again, since you're not understanding it.

A LOT of them may be like that, but not all of them are. I know I've said that at least 3 times in this thread already and it must be hard to understand. I have met VERY few Walmart employees that have complained about the company or what they get paid.

 

[Shimmer]

I'm grasping quite fully what you're saying. Perhaps though my point isn't clear?
I've lived in three different states and known employees in all three states, I've talked to employees for Walmart across the country in various forms of communication. I've NEVER met an employee, EVER, who said anything remotely close to what you're saying.
You're saying they're not all like that.
Got it.
Got it everytime you said it.
I'm saying, from having worked there personally, both of my brothers were cartpushers there (hello smalltown America), and having known numerous employees in various stores across the country, that MOST of them ARE like that.
There ARE exceptions, but the environment you're talking about is the exception, certainly NOT the rule.