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Wal-Mart Workers Speak Out
"Hello my name is Adrienne Ward and I work for the Hartford Wal-Mart Store. I am here today in strong support of Senate Bill 465 Fair Share Health Care. As a worker who will be directly impacted by this legislation I thought you should hear my story in order to put perspective on the crisis we Wal-Mart workers are facing."
Dana has been a stocker at the Wal-Mart in Fridley, MN for about five years. During this time she has never been written up and has always been a hard worker. Dana is frustrated by low wages, unaffordable company health care, and a hostile, anti-worker environment at her Wal-Mart store.
Ollie Wells has worked full time at the Wal-Mart distribution center in Brooksville, Florida for over four years. In addition, he has to work a second job in order to provide for his wife and four children, two of whom are autistic and require regular doctor visits and therapy. Because he can’t afford Wal-Mart’s health insurance, the children rely on medical coverage from the state of Florida.
Becky Lunn, Ann Brown, Melissa Mattice, Danielle La Rose and Carol Hinman worked at Wal-Mart in Camillus, New York. Last December, they shopped at Wal-Mart outside of work hours and purchased various items at a discount price, with the Customer Service Manager’s permission. A few weeks later, these workers were suddenly and suspiciously accused of theft and terminated for “violation of company policy.”
“My name is Mona Curtis. I have been a door greeter at Wal-Mart in Hillsboro, OH ever since it opened in 2002. When I first started working at Wal-Mart I thought it was a great place to work. My co-workers were very friendly and my managers were willing to work with me on my schedule. Prior to being hired, I explained to Wal-Mart I could only work four days a week. I’m a foster parent, and I have to attend trainings every Saturday. On Fridays, I volunteer at the local soup kitchen and I attend church every Sunday. Recently, I noticed a change in culture when a new manager came in. A few of my co-workers have been terminated, and schedules have been changed without notice. I believe Wal-Mart is making these changes in order to push out the older associates in favor of younger associates as a way of phasing us older associates out in order to hire younger associates.
I was hired as a cashier making $7.40 per hour, without receiving any benefits. It is very difficult to live off this wage since I was limited to 33 hours per week as a temporary and then peak-time (their term for part-time) associate. In addition to this, I would have had to wait 2 years and 3 months before ever becoming eligible for benefits. After befriending hundreds of associates in my store and hearing their stories, I can assure you that most all of these workers are struggling to stay above the poverty line due to Wal-Mart’s poor wages and benefits.
"Wal-Mart hired me as a cashier knowing full well that I was physically unable to push carts, due to a severe knee injury from a previous car accident. Then I started work, and they asked me to push carts. As a result, my knee snapped out of place."
Cynthia Murray is a sales associate at Wal-Mart in Laurel, Maryland. She has been with Wal-Mart for almost six years. Due to a car accident several years ago, Cynthia is partially disabled and is unable to stand for long periods of time. When Wal-Mart first hired Cynthia, the management acknowledged her disability and placed her in the fitting rooms of the clothing department, where she can sit and answer phones. Cynthia has held this position throughout her tenure at Wal-Mart and has received various awards for her job performance. Recently, store management claimed Wal-Mart had no record of her disability claims and demanded additional proof of her disability; otherwise they would take her chair away. Unfortunately, cannot afford the health care necessary to rehabilitate her from her injuries, because she makes under $10.00 per hour. Wal-Mart’s health insurance would cost her $130.00 a month and up to $1,000.00 a year in deductibles.
Cindy Starns has worked as an associate at Wal-Mart in Covington, Washington, since the store opened in January 2005. She came to Wal-Mart with ten years of experience in the retail industry. As an associate at Wal-Mart, Cindy has been faced injustices including unaffordable insurance as well as discrimination on the basis of gender and age.
Bettie Madsen is a former Wal-Mart associate from Bakersfield, CA. After 15 years at Wal-Mart, Bettie was wrongfully terminated for missing her lunch break. Bettie believes because she was making over $10.00 an hour, management was deliberately understaffing her department and putting a burden on the associates with no compensation for the extra work in order to cut costs.
A.G. has worked at Wal-Mart in Cranberry Township since April 2005. In addition, he worked at Wal-Mart in North Versailles, PA from 1999-2001. A.G. finds that the pay and benefits at Wal-Mart "are a joke." He says, "The list of incredible abuse of power and greed in the Wal-Mart workplace goes on and on. Simply put, this store desperately needs major reform."
Very few of my co-workers have insurance through Wal-Mart because it is gimmick insurance. If an employee
works enough hours long enough to qualify, Wal-Mart’s health insurance is extremely expensive and doesn’t
cover very much at all. Immunizations? Not covered. Well-child care? Not covered. Preventative care? Guess
what? Wal-Mart doesn’t cover that either.
Diane Muthig worked as a checker at Wal-Mart in Oneonta, N.Y., for two years before she was laid off after
the holidays. She thought she could at least look forward to a longevity bonus—but she was wrong.
When asked about health benefits, he says, "Wal-Mart gets a chunk of change from you coming and going."
Hindman explains that you either pay a large deductible for your doctor visits or they take more out of
your wages for the insurance. Hindman has one word for the Wal-Mart benefit factor: "lousy."
I was working an overnight shift in another store that needed help doing inventory, along with a dozen of
my fellow employees from my home store. When we got there, we were told that we would have to work a 12-14
hour overnight shift with only 60 minutes break.
Tell us your story
Are you a current or former Wal-Mart employee? Tell us about the experiences you had while working there.
All of your information will be kept confidential unless you specifically give us permission to share it.
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