Does sustainability need a new definition? Can a company pay a “poverty wage” and still be considered a sustainability leader? When the working poor need government assistance to help them pay for their basic needs – the taxpayer is forced to step in and effectively tops up the wages of the workers. Is this good capitalism OR do we have a major system flaw.
_______________________________________________________________
To learn more about what a new economic system could look like – please visit the Sustainable Economy Project
You know that this Walmart story was retracted? It was not true. It was employees who were gather food for people with extreme situations like high medical bills of a spouse or spouse laid off at Christmas. The drop off was in the back room of the employees lounge and not a public request. And not for Walmart employees directly
There are things Walmart needs to do to be fair to employees but it makes it hard to make the case when the story you use was not what happened. WE need to go after the entire industry. Walmart is not the worst. IN fact, they are in the middle of the pack for retail workers. Federated Dept Stores which owns Macy’s is much worse to its employees, but we make it it impossible to see a system wide problem. Checking our facts gives us more credibility. Otherwise people do not take it seriously
Hi Carol, we always strive to post articles that are true – thanks for bringing this to our attention. Can you please share the source that confirms that the story is untrue?
I think it’s important to recognize that while this story may or may not be 100% accurate, I don’t believe that the spirit of the story deviates in any significant way from Walmart’s actual approach to its employees and how it ensures that they will live in poverty.
When you say that “WE need to go after the entire industry”, I completely agree. Please feel free to share any other stories that highlight the epidemic of “poverty wages” and how it destabilizes the broader economic system along with countless communities.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.