Question: What is Wal-Mart’s diversity record?
Answer:
2005 - $4.2 billion was spent with women and minority owned businesses.
60% of Wal-Mart’s associates are women, 40% of managers are women. Why only 40%? Wal-Mart managers spend 60+ hours a week at work. A lot of women at Wal-Mart have families, or are single moms, so they choose not to enter management.
2005 – Asian Enterprise named Wal-Mart one of the top ten companies to work for.
2005 – Black Enterprise named Wal-Mart one of the top thirty companies to work for.
2005 – Latinos Hispanic Magazine ranked Wal-Mart in the top 50.
2005 – Diversity Inc. ranked Wal-Mart in the top 50 for diversity.
2006 – Wal-Mart partners with NGLCC
Wal-Mart employs
150,000 Hispanic
225,000 African Americans
240,000 Seniors over 55
Two of Wal-Mart’s board members are women
Two of Forbes Magazine top 50 most powerful women in business work for Wal-Mart
None of Wal-Mart’s competitors, such as Target, Costco, Fred Meyer, etc., ever made the list.
Compare with Target: (NAACP Urges Blacks to Avoid Some Firms, July 18, 2006 1:07am by Erin Texeira, AP National Written)
NAACP gave Target an “F” in diveristy
Minorities make up 40% of Target employees
23% of managers are minorities
NAACP surveys were ignored by 5 companies, 4 of them these retailers: Target, Sears, Kohls & Dillards.
Wal-Mart did not make NAACP’s list
Question: What about health insurance and affordability?
Answer:
Wal-Mart does offer health insurance for f/t and p/t workers, starting in 2007.
Wal-Mart will offer health insurance for $11.00 a month through Value Plan
At this day in age health insurance premiums are rising and affordability is a factor at many companies. My previous employer was about $600 a month for a family of four
Question: Why are government entitlements, such as health insurance, at a higher rate than other businesses?
Answer:
There are over 240,000 seniors working for Wal-Mart, it is safe to assume that most of them have some type of government health insurance, such as Medicaid or Medicare. If seniors were taken out of the equation, Wal-Mart’s rate would certainly go down
Also with insurance statistics, remember, it is safe to assume that not all of Wal-Mart’s employees need health insurance because they could be covered under a spouse or parent or even opt out all together because they’re young workers who feel they don’t need it. (I have opted out of insurance plans for both reasons, before.
Question: What about wages?
Answer:
Mostly hourly wage jobs do start out at minimum wage, but so do a lot of other entry-level jobs. Especially in retail. In California, for instance, the unions claim the average retail wage for union workers range from $18 to $25 dollars an hour (Wal-Mart claims that the unions are using the high end of the union scale). Wal-Mart states that the actual difference between Wal-Mart and union wages are on average, $3.00 per hour. Wal-Mart also states that there is a greater chance of promotions and moving up in the company. So, while there is a difference in wages, it is temporary.
In Oregon, the average wage is $10.44 per hour for a Wal-Mart associate.
In Washington State, the average wage is $10.61 per hour for a Wal-Mart associate
Question: What happened to Wal-Mart’s policy of “buy America” program?
Answer:
In the past 10-15 years there has been a big shift in our manufacturing base. More of our products are made over-seas. Remember that Wal-Mart is a retailer, not a manufacturer. Clothes, electronics and even food are manufactured or processed overseas. Wal-Mart, Target and Fred Meyers are all affected by our manufacturing companies.
In 2004 Wal-Mart spent 18 billion in China, $150 billion with 61,000 US suppliers
In 2004 $374 million was spent with 641 Oregon suppliers
In 2004 $1.2 billion dollars were spent on 935 Washington State manufacturers
Question: Wal-Mart and Taxes
Answer: I dont have any national numbers I do, however, have some local numbers.
In 2005 $15.8 million was paid to the State of Oregon
In 2005 $181.6 million was collected in sales tax for Washington State, while $19.7 million was paid in local and state taxes
Question: Is Wal-Mart harming the environment?
Answer:
Wal-Mart has vowed to double the fuel efficiency of their truck fleet by 2010
Wal-Mart has several green stores with more coming. Green stores are environmentally friendly stores that have been designed for maximum energy and other environmental efficiency
Wal-Mart has a program called “Acres for Acres”. It means that for every acre Wal-Mart builds on, they buy and acre for preservation
Locally, in Deschutes Basin, Oregon, money was donated by Wal-Mart for the Back to Home Waters/Squaw Creek to a group called the Deschutes Basin Land Trust. This 1,120 acre real-estate was considered prime for development, it was spared because of Wal-Mart
Question: Is Wal-Mart driving it’s suppliers out of business?
Answer:
Wal-Mart does not allow for more than 20% of any one supplier’s business. Suppliers are requested to notify Wal-Mart if it exceeds 20%
"Store of the Community”, this program allows minority and women owned suppliers who do not currently have the capacity to produce the volume needed to supply Wal-Mart on a chain-wide basis, provide goods and services on a regional level
Question: Does Wal-Mart have trouble attracting workers?
Answer:
No, this year, outside of Chicago, Ill. Wal-Mart received more than 25,000 applications for just 325 jobs
Locally, Wal-Mart employs 10,135 people in the sate of Oregon
In Washington, Wal-Mart employs 16,328 people
Other statistics:
Administrative costs are not to exceed 2% of sales
H. Lee Scott, Wal-Mart’s third CEO makes 17.5 million a year and is not ranked in Forbes or Fortune magazine
Wal-Mart executives do not enjoy perks because they are not allowed, it is against Wal-Mart’s policy