Workers Ordered to Schedule Life Around the Corporation
Employees told to be available 7-11, 7 days or lose their job
First published by the USA Today
June 15, 2005
Editor's note: The day after this article was published, the Charlestone Gazette reported that Wal-Mart corporate headquarters would reverse this policy. "It is unfortunate that our store manager incorrectly communicated a message that was not only inaccurate but also disruptive to our associates at the store," said corporate PR specialist Dan Fogleman. "We do not have any policy that mandates termination."
It's not surprising that Wal-Mart is backing away from the policy after another flare-up of negative publicity. The manager maintained that he was acting on orders from corporate headquarters, while Wal-Mart's PR department claims he acted independently.
NITRO, W.V. -- Workers at a West Virginia Wal-Mart Inc. store have been ordered to be available to work any shift at any time or face dismissal.
The new "open-availability" policy at the Wal-Mart store in Nitro is needed to ensure there is adequate staff during peak hours, said John Knuckles, a manager at the store.
"We have many people with set schedules who aren't here when we need them for our customers," Knuckles said.
"It is to take care of the customers, that's the only reason."
Workers who cannot commit to being available for any shift between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m., seven days a week, will be fired by the end of this week. The store employs more than 400 workers.
"It shouldn't cause any problem, if they are concerned about their customers," Knuckles said.
Wal-Mart corporate spokesman Dan Fogelman said other stores have such rules.
"This is something that is done throughout Wal-Mart stores," Fogelman said. "The reality of retail is that our busiest times are evenings and weekends, so it only makes sense that we have higher staffing levels at those times."
Workers who are fired because they cannot meet the new requirement likely will qualify for unemployment benefits, said David McMahon with Legal Aid of West Virginia.
"If these people lose their jobs through no fault of their own, as a general rule they will be eligible for unemployment benefits," McMahon said Wednesday.
A union spokesman criticized the policy at the non-union retailer's store.
"This is a chilling new direction for Wal-Mart," said Chris Kofinis, communications adviser for Wake Up Wal-Mart, a promotional campaign financed by the United Food and Commercial Workers union. "It shows that when you work at Wal-Mart, you can neither afford a decent standard of life or even have a life."
Information from: The Charleston Gazette
© 2005 USA Today
See our huge collection of articles, studies, internal documents and more on Wal-Mart and big box stores.
Visit our Merchandise Page to see these stickers, buttons, and more.
Please help support this work -- make a tax-deductible donation to ReclaimDemocracy.org today!
Go to Home Page
We review dozens of articles and essays from both corporate and independent media sources each weeek and occassionally post those we believe offers unique or important information or perspectives relating to democracy and corporate power. Opinions presented do not necessarily reflect those of ReclaimDemocracy.org. Index of past features
Fair Use Notice
This site occasionally reprints copyrighted material, the use of which
has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner.
We make such material available free of charge in our efforts to advance understanding
of issues. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted
material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In
accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107.. For more information go to: http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html.
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes
of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission
from the copyright owner. Article titles here are not always those used by the originating publication.
