1) Walmart hurts local communities
Of all of Walmart’s egregious practices overtime, this is the one that’s probably the most well-known. For additional evidence, check out the 2005 documentary, Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price. Many people are aware that when Walmart comes to town, the company drives out smaller mom-and-pop businesses, but what not everybody realizes is that the presence of Walmart actually does little to bolster the economy of local communities in the long run either.
2) The company uses foreign labor, including child workers
It’s been estimated that over 50 percent of Walmart goods come from overseas suppliers. This doesn’t just take away American jobs in favor of cutting costs; it also creates a living hell for those forced to meet Walmart’s hefty supply needs. The corporation has been accused of paying off officials in foreign companies in order to keep many of the details silent, but various stories paint a gruesome picture.
3) Walmart underpays women and neglects pregnant workers
Although working at Walmart may not necessarily be great for anybody, it may also be additionally tough for women. Beginning in 2001, the case of Wal-Mart vs. Dukes sought to change that, but unfortunately, the Supreme Court shot it down in 2011, making it harder for female employees at Walmart and everywhere else to break free from being underrepresented and underpaid.
4) The company also discriminates against workers with a disability and elderly employees
Besides women, the other marginalized groups Walmart goes after are the disabled and the elderly. In 2001 alone, the company paid $6 million to settle 13 lawsuits filed by various disabled workers. And in 2014, Walmart was forced to shell out $363,419 to settle a suit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of an employee with an intellectual disability who had been sexually harassed.
5) It isn’t a safe environment for employees
In 2013, Walmart finally agreed to update its safety policies at 2,900 stores after the Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited violations at a store in New York State. The measure covered a multitude of Walmart and Sam’s Club locations, but unfortunately for some, it was too little too late.
6) The company is notorious for wage theft
Besides mistreating their employees, Walmart has, in some ways, literally stole money from them over the years. In one instance, the company forced employees to buy new uniforms—when they could have just bought them new uniforms themselves.
7) Walmart provides poor healthcare for workers
Walmart employees have been found to be sicker on average than most American workers, and it’s no wonder why. Though the company has taken various steps to provide cheaper insurance, the result has simply been to give their workers plans that include less care. Walmart has also used taxpayer subsidies to provide these benefits, without ever addressing the most important question, which is whether or not the company even pays its employees enough for them to afford health care at all. (Spoiler: Walmart doesn’t.)
8) Walmart has a bad track record on animal welfare
If the way Walmart treats people wasn’t enough to turn you against them, then perhaps the way the company treats animals is. Reports show that Walmart is among the worst companies when it comes to ensuring that the animal products its stores sell came from livestock that was well-treated.
9) However, Walmart does care about rich people
In 2013, the Walton family received $8 billion in tax breaks, $6.2 billion of which came from federal taxpayer subsidies handed to them because employee wages are so low. Currently, the company is also hosting $21.4 billion in offshore accounts, which remain untaxed by the U.S. government. And in 2014, as Walmart failed to meet shareholder expectations, the company somehow managed to dig up enough money to give its CEO a $1.5 million bonus for performing poorly at his job.
10) The chain has a deceptive public image
Walmart’s universal reputation as the “bad guys” stings that much more as the company keeps trying to remind us how good it is. Take their OUR Walmart initiative, which attempts to silence dissenters with positive representations of the company, even as workers flood the Internet with their personal horror stories. Or the Walmart Foundation’s initiative to “fight hunger,” while their own employees go hungry, spending $300 million in taxpayer money on food stamps. Or how about its campaign telling you to “buy American,” even while the company’s new uniforms were made in Jordan.
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This is a bad company. I don’t say that lightly.
But they represent a lot of bad ideals and have the clout to make them the law.
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MacNMemes 