




OMG, how HORRIBLE!!! The poor lady. She worked so hard there, got injured as a result, facial paralysis, & they FIRE her? What a freakin' disgrace! I hope she sucessfully sues them to the ultimate maximum.
Btw, I have been boycotting WM for some time now. I actually applied there myself, only to be told by a punk-a** creep that, (among other ignorant comments)"I probaly didn't have enough exp.
Not only that, I just don't like their whole schtick. I saw a news special about them, how they were challenged about buying products made in 3rd world countries by children working in sweat shops. The WM store rep actually walked off camera as a direct WM order, to be briefed on the "proper" response. He then indicated that there was no children involved, but "stunted" adults. sure.
A few months ago, they took out full page major news ads, & ran radio ads, saying how
fair they were to their emplyoees, & how great it is to work there.
N
MANY MEN WANTED TO LAY ME DOWN, BUT FEW WANTED TO LIFT ME UP
-Eartha Kitt





I refuse to shop there.
I wish more people did. It absolutely disgusts me seeing people drive into that parking lot. Ick.
I don't care if I have to pay 10x the price elsewhere, I will not support someplace I abhor.
Because there ain't no tits on the radio
I have no love for Walmart, but does anyone else notice what is missing? The line "Joe Schmoe, a company spokesman, declined comment citing pending litigation." As it appears they never even TRIED to interview anyone from the company, or a coworker to coroborate her story. They were able to interview a paralegal in California, but could not find anyone local to confirm. much less an impartial witness.
I am not surprised since this particular rag is a god-awful newspaper. My parents subscribed to it for 20 years and it sucks. Almost all the reporters are stringers aigmenting their incomes by the word.
PS. I was last in a Walmart about 4 years ago and I avoid it because the service sucks swampwater. I will not stand in a checkout line 20 minutes to save $2. I have never been in that store, but remember when it was another store before PACE.
PPS There may be someone from SW who knows this person because there is a stip club on the other side of the parking lot and another across the street.
yea - that is that corporate loyalty there for ya. Ya know - where you work the extra hours for free "to help the business." You pay for your own training sometimes (in the more professional level jobs.) And then when they decide they have a strategy change they toss ya out the door in a "right sizing."Originally Posted by whirlerz
Don't get me started on pensions vs CEO's making 300% more than the average worker.
Needless to say, my corporate loyalty is viewable via a microscope. I do what I can to never be a W2 worker.





I have a cousin who worked for WalMart. They never got breaks. At all. I work for a competetor (well, to an extent), and when customers ask me why WalMart has cheaper prices, I tell them that a) they sell edited versions of the media in question, b) they save money by not giving their employees breaks, and c) they save money by hiring illegals so they can afford to lower their prices.
I HATE that now that I'm in bumfuck, FL the only 24 hour grocery IS WalMart. Bleh.
Number of times Rickrolled on stage: 6
*******************************
Marasmus ... "Ladies don't fart. They butt-laugh."
Marasmus says, "Oh no, that wasn't gas, it was merely a rectal chuckle."
Marek says, "A friend of mine got punched in the face by a dominatrix stripper about two weeks ago and I thought of you."
Walmart should have simply fired her, no reasons provided. She sounds like a workplace risk, known history of injuring herself and equipment on the job and feels free to try and leech off the company for her own damned mistakes. Corproate loyalty, she was not. Nor does the article give us any information from the oppisite side.
I'll make sure I increase my Wal-Mart spending.
Never stand begging for that which you have the power to earn.
The truth lies in a man's dreams... perhaps in this unhappy world of ours whose madness is better than a foolish sanity.
Miguel de Cervantes (1547 - 1616)
I found this rather puzzling:
...she's really seeking an apology and some compensation for the last two years she has been unemployed.
Now, I don't know the job market in Tampa. However, doesn't it seem a little strange that in two years she's been unable to find another job? I really don't know, it just makes me wonder if there may be other factors the article didn't mention.
Dancing is wonderful training for girls, it's the first way you learn to guess what a man is going to do before he does it. ~Christopher Morley, Kitty Foyle
FENGHUA, CHINA-Chen Hsien, an employee of Fenghua Ningbo Plastic Works Ltd.,Originally Posted by Eques
a plastics factory that manufactures lightweight household items for Western
markets, expressed his disbelief Monday over the "sheer amount of shit
Americans will buy."
Above: Chen makes yet more stupid crap for consumers overseas.
"Often, when we're assigned a new order for, say, 'salad shooters,' I will
say to myself, 'There's no way that anyone will ever buy these,'" Chen said
during his lunch break in an open-air courtyard. "One month later, we will
receive an order for the same product, but three times the quantity. How can
anyone have a need for such useless shit?"
Chen, 23, who has worked as an injection-mold operator at the factory since
it opened in 1996, said he frequently asks himself these questions during
his workweek, which exceeds 60 hours and earns him the equivalent of $21.
"I hear that Americans can buy anything they want, and I believe it, judging
from the things I've made for them," Chen said. "And I also hear that, when
they no longer want an item, they simply throw it away. So wasteful and
contemptible."
Among the items that Chen has helped create are plastic-bag dispensers,
microwave omelet cookers, glow-in-the-dark page magnifiers, Christmas-themed
file baskets, animal-shaped contact-lens cases, and adhesive-backed wall
hooks.
"Sometimes, an item the factory produces resembles nothing I've ever seen,"
Chen said. "One time, we made something that looked like a ladle, but it had
holes in its cup and a handle that bent down 90 degrees. The foreman told us
that it was a soda-can holder for an automobile. If you are lucky enough to
own a car, sit back and enjoy the journey. Save the soda beverage for
later."
Chen added: "A cup holder is not a necessary thing to own."
Chen expressed similar confusion over the tens of thousands of pineapple
corers, plastic eyeshades, toothpick dispensers, and dog pull-toys that he
has helped manufacture.
"Why the demand for so many kitchen gadgets?" Chen said. "I can understand
having a good wok, a rice cooker, a tea kettle, a hot plate, some utensils,
good china, a teapot with a strainer, and maybe a thermos. But all these
extra things-where do the Americans put them? How many times will you use a
taco-shell holder? 'Oh, I really need this silverware-drawer sorter or I
will have fits.' Shut up, stupid American."
Chen added that many of the items break after only a few uses.
"None are built to last very long," Chen said. "That is probably so the
Americans can return to buy more. Not even the badly translated assembly
instructions deter them. If I bought a kitchen item that came with such poor
Mandarin instructions, I would return the item immediately."
May Gao of the Hong Kong-based labor-advocacy group China Labour Bulletin
said complaints like Chen's are common among workers in China's bustling
industrial cities.
"Last week, I took testimony from several young female workers from Shenzhen
who said they were locked in a work room for 18 straight hours making
inflatable Frisbees," Gao said. "Finally, the girls joined hands on the
factory floor and began to chant, 'No more insane flying toys for Western
pigs!' They quickly lost their jobs and were ostracized by their families,
but the incident was a testament to China's growing disillusionment with
producing needless crap for fat-ass foreigners."
Continued Gao: "As Chinese manufacturing and foreign investment continue to
grow, and more silly novelty products are invented, we can expect to see
more of these protests."
In the meantime, Chen continues to stew in bitterness. Though he dislikes
his work, competition for manufacturing jobs in Fenghua is stiff and he must
support his wife, mother, and 2-year-old son.
"My cousin Yuen is self-employed," Chen said. "He disassembles old computers
that are acquired from overseas and extracts the traces of valuable gold and
silver from the circuit boards. He asked me to join him. The work is very
toxic, but at least I would not be looking at suction-cup razor holders and
jumbo-dice keychains all day."
Chen added: "For now, I must refuse the job. Somehow, the only thing more
depressing than making plastic shit for Americans is destroying the plastic
shit they send back."





It's not puzzling at all. Some attorney has probably guaranteed her a win with hefty settlement in a pending lawsuit against WalMart ... from which the attorney will skim 33%. If she were to return to work somewhere else, it would very likely send an unspoken message to the jury that the alleged 'damages' weren't all that bad to begin with.Originally Posted by Destiny
You're probably correct. She should be glad I'm not on her jury. Her not working a job in two years would send exactly the opposite message to me.Originally Posted by Melonie
Dancing is wonderful training for girls, it's the first way you learn to guess what a man is going to do before he does it. ~Christopher Morley, Kitty Foyle
OTOH, more and more places are refusing to hire "disabled" people.
I would like to find out more about this...but, I think Wal-Mart is abhorrent...I've stopped shopping there...and shop less at Target, as well. Target requires all of their employees to work every holiday and pay only the higher level management holiday pay...but not any of the floor people.
*sigh* Corporate Greed... *sigh*
Come now, I've got more class than to buy microwave omeltte cookers (already been jipped on the one I.. ahem).Originally Posted by Deogol
So, microwave omelet cookers, frisbees, and more cup holders for the car. Thanks for the shopping tips. Mr. Chen is right. We Americans can afford to buy anything we want. Even if all we want to do is buy more stuff to piss of Chinese factory workers.
Its too bad The Onion isn't a real news source.
Never stand begging for that which you have the power to earn.
The truth lies in a man's dreams... perhaps in this unhappy world of ours whose madness is better than a foolish sanity.
Miguel de Cervantes (1547 - 1616)
Fac me cocleario vomere!Originally Posted by Eques
Unfortunately - sometimes The Onion is more true than the news is.
I think it is foolish for Americans to have SO MUCH SHIT they can't park in their own garages because it is full of CRAP.
Serving, Soup or Desert?Originally Posted by Deogol
Plenty of good stuff is made in China. Like um. Well I'll think of something eventually.Unfortunately - sometimes The Onion is more true than the news is.
My car is in the garage.I think it is foolish for Americans to have SO MUCH SHIT they can't park in their own garages because it is full of CRAP.
It just has stuff on top of it. (true.)
Never stand begging for that which you have the power to earn.
The truth lies in a man's dreams... perhaps in this unhappy world of ours whose madness is better than a foolish sanity.
Miguel de Cervantes (1547 - 1616)
You know, this story has just continued to puzzle me. So I went back and read it again. I didn't notice this before:
...Beavers, who recently filed to collect federal disability payments, which she received as a child.
Well now, this lady seems to want to have it both ways. On the one hand, she's telling the federal government that she is physically unable to work. On the other hand she is suing Wal-Mart for not allowing her to work.
Which is it?
Dancing is wonderful training for girls, it's the first way you learn to guess what a man is going to do before he does it. ~Christopher Morley, Kitty Foyle
I am disappointed in this case.
Reminds me of the chili finger woman.





I've only got two more words to say on this subject ... Tort Reform
Actually, it's not entirely this lady's fault. Undoubtedly she was promised 'easy money' as a result of a civil lawsuit against WalMart. There are a legion of Trial Lawyers out there, and a bevy of lower court judges as well, whose livelihood essentially depends on suing or threatening to sue big corporations. And speaking of co-incidence, the Trial Lawyers Association just happens to be the #1 contributor to the Democratic party - with the only point being that behind the scenes politics is involved even in individual cases like this one.
Nah, this case is a dog. No doubt she found some storefront lawyer desperate for clients.Originally Posted by Melonie
The article implies she's claiming her facial problems are her disability she was fired for, which is pretty weak. If she's claiming her back problems are the issue, publishing a picture of her doing laundry was pretty stupid. The AWDA definition of disability:(2) Disability.--The term "disability" means, with respect to an individual-The Walmart bunch are certainly high on the list of corporate evil-doers, but this is borderline abusive of the system.
(A) a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of such individual;
Last edited by stant; 06-19-2005 at 10:42 AM.
....and my daddy wanted me to be like him. A lawyer. Heh.





If you read the history of lawsuit settlements made by Wal Mart you will find that they rarely settle any cases monetarily, but just tie them up in court. They have shrewd attorneys.
On the flip side though, Wal mart may pay barebone wages and offer skimpy benefits, but look at Safeway, Albertsons and Kroger, who own the bulk of traditional grocery stores in this country. They literally rob the customer on virtually everything he/she buys. Of course some cities suffer higher "extortion" prices than others. Kroger is not as bad as the other two in highly competitive markets such as Houston.
An item that Wal Mart sells for $1.99 is around $3.09 in the abovementioned chains. On the west coast Albertsons has the nerve to charge more for a bottle of soda and a bag of ice than the convenience stores.
That is just plain greed.
Just like a bank charging $30 for a returned check or a credit card company abandoning it's grace period on payments and charging a late fee of $25-$30 for being one day late. They make plenty of profits without milking the customer. It's noting more than greed.
What Wal Mart does on the low end of the scale to it's employees, the competition does to it's customers on the high end. All these places have policies that suck.
Basically times have changed and unionized jobs are almost faded out. All retail jobs with the exception of high end boutiques where commission can be made, will be only viable to high school and college students and the uneducated.





well, Tina, this political polarization re Walmart being non-union, corporately shrewd, coldly efficient and charging very low prices, versus certain other retail chains being unionized, charging high prices, and looking to political connections to keep the competition (new WalMart construction) at bay so the other retail chains can continue to extort customers who can't afford to travel very far to find bargains is what underlies this entire issue.
Trader Joe's. http://www.traderjoes.com/
Don't know how many are familiar with this chain of grocery stores we have in Cali (started here but seems to be spreading fast). TJ's is sort of a "bargain" Whole Foods Market. They buy huge lots of overstock gourmet and organic foods and overstocks of wine from non-mainstream wineries, and pass on the savings to consumers. They are also non-union and pay HIGHER than union wages. And guess what, the service is great, and prices are phenomenal. Unfortunately the stores are always JAMMED!
Better business models are out there in the twilight of union labor, but businesses need to be much more nimble and creative to develop and implement them.
(I have no affiliation with these guys)
Most big corporations fight every suit VERY hard until the last possible second. It's a complete myth that they settle rather than spend money on litigation. They correctly believe that this would only encourage frivolous actions.Originally Posted by Tina
Regarding Wal-mart, they've had some dings, but they are one collosal beast of a company, and these are nothing to them (see link and below)
https://www.lawyersandsettlements.co...words=wal-mart
I agree with you, if you review the full list of pending suits, they're doing quite well fending off pesky peasants. The illegal immigrant case, however, may have hurt their rep in the red states. Of course it's all because of evil bastard greedy trial lawyers. Wal-mart is all about god-fearing Christians and family values. They'd never do anything wrong.
Federal authorities accused the world's largest retailer of employing illegal immigrants. Since, 1997, authorities have discovered over 250 cases of illegal immigrants employed by janitor contracting services and then hired by Wal-Mart. The employees sometimes worked 7 days a week without overtime or compensation and were often locked in stores overnight. Wal-Mart, which employs 1.1 million people throughout the US, has agreed to an $11 million settlement. (Mar-18-05)
A $7.35 million settlement has been reached in the class action lawsuit filed regarding the chain's alleged failure to comply with the state's item-pricing regulation. The company will spend $5.6 million in the next three years to bring its Massachusetts stores into compliance with the regulation, as well as $750,000 to attorneys and $1 million in grants to several consumer and charitable groups and the office of Attorney General. (Jan-22-04)
The two massive retail stores have agreed to pay a combined $650,000 settlement for selling an illegal product. The AbEnergizer Abdominal Muscle Stimulator is not approved by the US Food and Drug Administration; it is misbranded and therefore illegal. The medical device claimed to stimulate stomach muscles with an electrical current. Wal-Mart and Walgreens were selling the product and were ordered to pay the settlement for promoting deceptive advertising. (Mar-29-05
A $750,000 settlement has been reached in the lawsuit filed against Wal-Mart by the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Justice Department over the company's failure to report safety hazards that were found in defective Weider and Weslo brand exercise gliders. The suit alleged that the company was aware that at least 29 people had been injured by the machines, yet they did not report the defective machine to the Safety Commission. (Apr-25-03)
I remember when such a big deal was made over this. If my math is correct (always a dangerous assumption) that means that just 0.02% of Wal-Mart's workforce was comprised of illegal aliens. And that was worth all the media attention and massive investigation by the government? Please. Hell, I've been in lots of businesses where if an INS agent walked in, the owner would feel lucky if 2% of his employees were left. I'm convinced that if you scratched very lightly beneath the surface of most of these stories you would find the work of some union organizers.Originally Posted by stant
Dancing is wonderful training for girls, it's the first way you learn to guess what a man is going to do before he does it. ~Christopher Morley, Kitty Foyle
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