How Will Wal-Mart Spin This?

A 34 year old Wal-Mart worker was reportedly trampled-to-death by shoppers at the Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream. At least 4 other people were hospitalized and others refused to be treated at the scene. This day after Thanksgiving sale was truly a Black Friday for Wal-Mart.

Lines began to form as early as 10pm on Thanksgiving night. Lured by cheap prices for flat screen televisions and other consumer electronics witnesses say the crowd grew to over 2,000 people by morning. With secret in-store bargains enough for only the most desperate shoppers, WalMart associates found themselves the victims of the mega-corporations advertising hype. At 5am doors opened marking the beginning of the holiday shopping rush.

Surveillance cameras will undoubtedly reveal what happened when the crowd surged forward at the start of the aptly named Door-Buster Sale. As a result, at least one family will not be celebrating this Christmas. Video of the scene shows paramedics performing CPR on the man. He died minutes after Wal-Mart opened for their Black Friday Door Buster Sale.

No doubt the Wal-Mart War Room is filled with executives discussing how to spin this story. Instead of admitting they cut corners and hired too few security guards look for Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott to lay blame on the employee, local police or the struggling economy. Scott is set to retire on January 31st, 2009 to the relief of stockholders. He has a reputation for deflecting any criticism onto lower level associates. Reps are probably already in the field planting stories and pressuring local politicians like Wal-Mart has been known to do when community groups appose the opening of a mega-store in their neighborhood.

One thing is for sure, Wal-Mart won’t be calling it a “Black Friday Door Buster Sale” next year.” Look for them to have a much more peaceful name like “Early Bird Customer Appreciation Holiday Sale.” What do you bet they have a moment of silence for the fallen employee and lots and lots of security guards on hand? They might also finally close the store to the delight of many in the community. After all, out of sight out of mind right?

Wal-Mart Workers Owed Back Pay

I read with interest the Reuters story by Nichola Groom and Brad Dorfman about Wal-Mart repaying nearly $4,000,000.00 to employees in California for “underpaid overtime”. Of course the employee’s weren’t overpaid. Would that ever happen at Wal-Mart?

The giant retailer was charged nearly $200,000.00 in penalties. That’s a pretty big fine, but to a monster like Wal-Mart it’s a slap on the wrist.

The story was really disappointing. Groom and Dorfman let Wal-Mart off the hook without even one opposing view sited. It reads like a Wal-Mart press release. In fact, I would guess that they probably read a press release and said to themselves, “let’s just use this and call it a day”. The least these two crack reporters could do is track down a few Wal-Mart workers and ask their opinion. Here’s a short list of questions they might want to consider next time:

For Angela Bradstreet, Labor Commissioner

• When you say “out of compliance”, you mean” breaking the law” right?


• Did Wal-Mart underpay their workers on purpose? (I know the answer to this one)

For John Smiley, Wal-Mart Representative

• Why should the public believe anything you say?


• Were any top-executives underpaid? (I know the answer to this one too)

To the Wal-Mart workers

• Were you aware that you were underpaid for overtime?


• Do you think Wal-Mart underpaid you on purpose?


• Did you ever discuss these problems with your supervisors or coworkers?


• Do you feel this is a fair settlement?


• Do you think this will have any effect on how Wal-Mart does business in the future?


• How has being underpaid affected your quality of life?

What questions would you like to see asked? Do you think the penalty was enough to discourage Wal-Mart from underpaying workers in the future?