Wal-Mart to Add Wage Caps and Expand Part-Timers

One of the not good places to work in America gets less good. Wal-Mart is so large it also affects the entire retail and retail goods industry.

Sally Wright, 67, an $11-an-hour greeter at the Wal-Mart in Ponca City, Okla., said she quit in August after 22 years with the company when managers pressed her to make herself available to work any time, day or night. She requested staying on the day shift, but her manager reduced her schedule from 32 hours a week to 8 and refused her pleas for more hours, she said.

“They were trying to get rid of me,” Ms. Wright said. “I think it was to save on health insurance and on the wages.”

Wal-Mart vigorously denies it is pushing out longtime or full-time employees and says its moves will ensure its competitiveness. The company says it gives employees three weeks’ notice of their schedules and takes their preferences into account, but that description differs from those of many workers interviewed. Workers said that their preferences were often ignored and that they were often given only a few days’ notice of scheduling changes.

So who are you going to believe, Wal-Mart or the workers? BTW - Wal-Mart considers 32 hours a week full-time when you look at that expanding part-timers to 40% of the workforce.

Tags: Wal-Mart, workers, labor, economy, retail