Wal-Mart And The Devil!

[MITCH RAPP]

My wife usually drags me to Wal-Mart about once a month to stock up on detergents, soaps, paper towels, toilet paper, etc, because they are so much cheaper there then at the super market. Everytime I go there I have pangs of Guilt because of Wal-Marts track record of how they treat their employees, sell "Made in China" junk, put Mom and Pop stores out of business etc. This News story below, for me is the last straw! I told my wife no more Wal-Mart, I will just pay the extra money and not give them anymore of my business.


"There is no story in recent memory that better illustrates the tattered social contract between workers and corporations in this country than the story of Debbie Shank and Wal-Mart. Ms. Shank recently became a "Gold Star" mother when her 18-year-old son, Jeremy, was killed in Iraq.

Years ago while she was working for miserable wages as a shelf stocker at Wal-Mart, Ms. Shank was the innocent victim of a terrible automobile accident when a big rig slammed into her on a Missouri freeway. She suffered severe neurological damage that has permanently impaired her memory and motor skills and has made it impossible for her to function outside of the constant care of a nursing home.

Shank and her husband, Jim (who is recovering from prostate cancer and works two jobs), were awarded about $750,000 in a lawsuit against the trucking company. After the Shanks paid their legal fees, $417,000 was placed in a trust to pay for Debbie's long-term care. Wal-Mart sued the Shanks for $470,000 in medical expenses.

The behemoth corporation that made $11 billion in profits last year claimed the Shanks owed it the money because of a fine-print clause in her employee health benefits package that stipulates that Wal-Mart would recoup all medical costs if any court settlement had been reached. A judge ruled in favor of Wal-Mart and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case. The ruling will completely clean out (and then some) the trust that was set aside for Debbie Shank's long-term care. Wal-Mart issued a terse statement worthy of an Adolf Eichmann defending their actions saying the corporation was only following "very specific rules." In other words, the Shanks could go F@#* themselves."

[4ever3]

Try this link out Mitch !



http://walmartwatch.com/blog/archives/n ... _wal_mart/

[gringo]

(expletives deleted)
i was already in a chew nails state...then i read that article this morning.
i need to go calm down. maybe try polishing that jap sword.

[zorrothegreyblade]

Wal-Mart took over the British supermarket chain Asda in 2001, and tried to impose anti-union terms and conditions on its workers. The result has been a long and at times bitter struggle between workers and management, during which public opinion and the law remained firmly on the side of the employees.

Wal-Marts culture of intimidation and abuse of employees and supliers has not gone down well here in the UK, where thankfully we have strong workers legal rights and a long history of social ethics which in our peculiarly British way seems to curb employer exploitation without discouraging entreprenurial flair, but there is a fine line between rights and freedoms, and people everywhere must be vigilant and aware of corporations who try to bend if not break the rules simply to increase profits.

Now I've had my little rant I'm going to make myself a cup of tea which was NOT bought at Asda

[justold52]

$750,000 -$417,000 = $333,000 paid their legal fees.

$750,000 x 33 1/3 = $249,750
------------
......................... $83,250 Looks like more than 33 1/3 to me.

If her auto INS had paid medical bills. They would do the same thing to get their money back from the law suite. Perhaps the legal boys did not tell her this? or Perhaps the $417,000 was placed in a trust to pay for Debbie's long-term care is safe from Wal Marts INS suite ? I do not know all the facts in this case. It sure would be nice to see wal-marts INS get the money reinburstment from her legal boys.. WRONGFUL LEGAL ADVICE. Perhaps her legal boys will charge her to declare bankrupcy next...

I am not a Wal-Mart fan my self but this can happen when your in a group ins policy at work not just a Wal-Marts INS policy. Thats the grounds for the law suite to pay medical expences past and future costs , and pain and suffering. It looks like her legal boys suffered dang near as much as she did...

The real problem as I see it is the Legal boys... on all sides.

[Hukk]

I am not a fan of big box store. Home Depot, Walmart, Lowes, Taget and even Penny's, Sears or Kmart now. ALL of these just suck the community coofers dry. The money that used to go into mom and pop stores is no longer recycled into the community. It is now sitting in large corporate accounts collecting large amounts of interests and paying corporate executives huges salaries with golden parachutes to bail out with 10's of millions should an executive screw up.

If you're tired of driving on roads full of pot holes because there is no money to repair them, now you know why, once the money leaves the community it leaves forever. If you shop at these big box stores you are to blame, don't blame the city for not having money, it is sitting in someone else's massive accout - helping no one just collecting interest, making the executives look good.

That my friends is merely the tip of the iceberg.

[Rupe]

If you're tired of driving on roads full of pot holes because there is no money to repair them, now you know why, once the money leaves the community it leaves forever. If you shop at these big box stores you are to blame, don't blame the city for not having money, it is sitting in someone else's massive accout - helping no one just collecting interest, making the executives look good.

That my friends is merely the tip of the iceberg.

Good Lord Hukk. Of all the threads/posts I've read on other forums about WalMart, buying American and the like, yours is the first that touches on this point that I've read and that was clear. Bravo!

I agree with you 100% and have tried to explain it to folks in the past. It usually falls on deaf ears. You want to make the world better - start in your own back yard.

Chris

[MITCH RAPP]

Wal-Mart Buckles Under Public Pressure

"Update: Wal-Mart no longer seeks money from disabled ex-worker
Posted on Tuesday, April 01, 2008 6:26 PM PT
By Rich Gardella and Lisa Myers, NBC News

On Saturday's Nightly News, NBC News Senior Investigative Correspondent Lisa Myers reported on Deborah Shank, a former employee of Wal-Mart permanently disabled in a car accident eight years ago. Wal-Mart's health plan had moved to collect some of the settlement money she won in a lawsuit against a trucking firm in order to reimburse itself for the more than $470,000 in medical expenses it had paid for Shank.

Although it had just contacted Shank's attorney to begin the process of actually collecting the money from Shank and her husband, Wal-Mart announced Tuesday it had reversed its decision and said that it no longer will seek any reimbursement from the Shanks.

Wal-Mart had won its case in several courts over the past few years. Recently, the Supreme Court declined to hear Shank's appeal.

Both CNN and NBC News broadcast Shank's story last week, generating a large viewer response.

"We have decided to modify our plan to allow us more discretion for individual cases, and are in the final stages of working out the details," Wal-Mart's statement, released Tuesday, reads. "Wal-Mart will not seek any reimbursement for the money already spent on Ms. Shank's care, and we will work with the family to ensure the remaining amounts in the trust can be used for her ongoing care."

Wal-Mart ended its statement with an apology "for any additional stress this has put on the Shank family."

Jim Shank, Deborah's husbnad, released a statement in response: "I am grateful that Wal-Mart has seen their error and decided to rectify it. I just wish it hadn't taken them so long, this never should have happened. I sincerely hope no other family ever has to go through this.

"My thanks go first and foremost to my lord and savior Jesus Christ for the strength to bear up under all this. Thanks also to the citizens of the United States - it wasn't me who made this happen, it was the outcry of the people, and if there's a lesson in this story it's that 'we the people' still means something."

[Hukk]

If Walmart were truly "apologetic for any additional stress this has put on the Shank family" they would award this family lifetime Medical Benefits. OR they would pay out a sum for the undue duress. Walmart's actions are merely those of a schoolyard bully with their hands caught in the cookie jar, reversing actions totally because of public outcry.

Yes, this is merely about public image - nothing more & nothing less. Has nothing to do with this family. It's merely a ploy to take bad press and use it to their advantage for being so "kind" as to ignore a court ruling and give up thousands in order to look good for customers. It's just marketing!

[Knifekid]

Yeah...what Hukk said! I still ain't goin' to Walmart

[MITCH RAPP]

Yeah...what Hukk said! I still ain't goin' to Walmart

Hukk You Are CORRECT! Sir. DITTO for me too!

[rigwelder]

walmart has been the death to alot of little towns, old down town stores. walmart builds a store and closes everything down. most little central texas towns, down towns are ghost towns.

[calico jack]

I'm a little embarassed to say I once worked for Wal-Mart about 10 yrs ago part-time. But, it's not all bad, because that's where I met my wife. Last June, she was let go because she clocked OUT(!!) 10 MINUTES(!!) late after helping a customer put more money in the Wally World till. She had been there for 19yrs7months. Including her, 5 associates within 8 months of their 20th anniversary were terminated in a 2wk period. They were told that this "Meal Violation" was to keep Wal-Mart from facing any more lawsuits for people working off the clock or during lunch breaks. She was also told that she could come back in 30days and reapply, but without benefits,seniority would begin again from day 1, and her pay would be equal to starting over. Now, she is a full-time mother and house wife who is over seeing the remodeling of our house. She says she is much happier and more relaxed without the stress of a $12.00/hr jail sentence.

[Forensic Jim]

That is the most disgusting treatment of a life long employee that I have ever heard. I steer clear of Walmart and that will only reinforce it more so.

[Sauconian]

Clocking out late was the excuse for letting her go.

The real reason was to replace an employee at the higher end of the pay scale, with a new employee at the bottom. Also to avoid any pension obligations....if there were any.

This has gotten to be common practice with many big corporations, and retail is one of the worse.

For all their faults, this is why unions exist, and are resisted by big business.

My 2 cents,
Fran

[bobby d]

I stay away from Walmart as much as possible, except when the wife drags me, Sam's Club is owned by walmart, and treat there people the same, like garbage & underpaid. They will fire someone at the drop of a hat. I don't even get on a self service line in a supermarket, because ss lines, because they eliminate jobs for people. To much job loss in this country.

[useem]

My son-in-law works at walmart, and he likes it there. But he's only 21, what the hell does he know