And now, the real reason Wal-Mart raised wages: informal worker action –>
http://t.co/fn0QhA1MuR pic.twitter.com/ofQvPacg4z
— Billmon (@billmon1) February 19, 2015
From the article:
… McMillon said Wal-Mart is trying to position itself ahead of the market in order to retain the best talent available as the employment situation continues to improve…
The National Employment Law Project’s Tsedeye Gebreselassie called Wal-Mart’s decision to raise wages a small step in the right direction. “It’s really not enough especially considering the company is so profitable, posting $16 billion in profit last year,” she said in an interview with CNBC’s Power Lunch. On top of that, she said, because Wal-Mart is the nation’s largest private employer, it has a real obligation to do better.
Retail expert Jan Kniffen of J. Rogers Kniffen Worldwide applauded the move, and said it will cause other retailers to follow suit. “Long term this is going to be a real positive for Wal-Mart. They’re going to have better employees. They’re going to have happier people. The federal government will be off their back. The state government is off their back. The local government is off their back,” he said. “Wal-Mart will no longer be the most hated retailer in America.” ….
I agree with Tim F’s comments this morning: “Whatever moved Wal Mart to do this, I think it stands as pretty definitive evidence that class anxiety has become a defining issue of our present time.” But clearly this went beyond social stigma, or vague fears of a future uprising — WalMart’s aggressive anti-worker policies were costing the company money, and that’s a result even the most case-hardened MBA understands and fears.
(Also, since I am mildly dyslexic, I’ll admit my first response was “WalMart’s CEO is named McMillions?”)
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