Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price
7.72
Ratings: 7.72/10 from 98 users.
Wal-Mart has become one of America's most successful retail chains by offering everyday goods at low prices for working families.
But just how is Wal-Mart able to charge less than many of their rivals, and what has their success done for their employees?
Documentary filmmaker Robert Greenwald takes a look inside the discount retailer's empire in Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price, and discovers a company short on scruples and long on shabby treatment of the people who work for them.
WALMART ruined our once thriving small town in Blytheville, Arkansas. Before WM, our Main Street have 50-60 small, family owned businesses that served our town, one was my grandfather's pharmacy, ROTHROCK DRUG CO. However, as Walmart moved into Blytheville, our Main Street dried up. There MAY be 10 businesses left on Main. My dad had the foresight to move from Main Street to our current location, on North 6th Street, in 1970.
We are still in business as the smallest pharmacy in town, established in 1945. However, thanks to Walmart, MOST small businesses have not survived the corporate giant. We have only remained successful due to our PERSONALIZED, QUALITY SERVICE, and our customers.
We can't even begin to compete with their $4.00 prescriptions.
We are very lucky to have the most LOYAL CUSTOMERS! I have been the pharmacist for the last 30 years, and therefore have served, known, and loved as many as 3 generations of families!
However, even though MANY OF OUR PRICES ARE LOWER THAN WALMART'S, people still believe if it says "Discount" that they get a better deal there. I know for a fact that we have been HUNDREDS of dollars cheaper on certain prescriptions!!!
Between Walmart, sky-rocketing drug prices, generics going up by hundreds of dollars, insurance companies screwing us- PBMs paying us UNDER THE COST OF THE DRUG (yet they pay CVS pharmacists 5000% for the very same prescription than Independent pharmacists), not allowed to be a "preferred pharmacy", and mandatory mail order, we are barely able to keep our doors open!
I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT WHEN WE ARE FINALLY FORCED OUT OF BUSINESS, THAT HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE WILL BE LOST WITHOUT US. WE CARE ABOUT OUR CUSTOMERS. WE KNOW OUR CUSTOMERS' NAMES, WE WILL GO OUT AFTER HOURS FOR OUR CUSTOMERS, WALMART, CVS, WALGREENS, etc. DON'T GIVE A DAMN IF THEIR CUSTOMERS NEED THEM AFTER HOURS- ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS!!!!! I despise the dispicable, secretive practices of Walmart.
u.s. paper money is worthless this giant ponzi scheme is going to crash look how skinny the poor bastards in the far east making all the goods you consume are every person in this doc is over wait and ignorant of the real cause of the problems......over consumption no production and whats worst of all the every man for his self attitude
dont go there stop complaining stop getting fat and stupid eating junk and feeding this system it only exists cause each day millions shop there....wake up
Who does not benefit from Walmart?
Mrs. Clinton’s six-year tenure as a director of Wal-Mart
Maybe the public & Wal-Mart employees should boycott every Wal-Mart store out there!!!!!! Not only is Wal-Mart, treating its employees like crap, that has now carried over to its employees treating the public like crap!!!!!! And to make a documentary like this, just makes me NOT WANT GO INTO ANY WAL-MART EVER AGAIN!!!!!!!
Wlamart has gone up not just a few cents but $1.00 on many items. The underwear I buy my husband and sons has gone from $7.99 a pack to $11.47 a pack. That's a lot. Their ground turkey is high as is their ground beef. Just check it out. Cheese is higher and I could go on and on. Check it out and shop elsewhere when you see what I see. Smiths has much better prices if you have one in your area.
Walmart could be in the hero if they started purchasing from America and started paying their employees a livable wage. They could help us overcome this current financial depression very easily.
'Why Factories Shutdown' is a documentary in process discussing the effects of globalization and the boardroom discussions about shutdown. Perhaps gaining more knowledge is the key to...
i like walmart it has everything, the jobs you say that people have lost doesn't make sense as those locations that these sites are located create local jobs in that community
Well, WalMart's Phrase is "DO MORE FOR LESS" if you were given a job _would you settle for that ^^ Business's were there before walmart moved in,and closed down because of tax and less customers. Walmart "TAKES JOBS AND RUINS COMMUNITIES/LIVES" THATS what it does.
I *liked* Walmart
You dont get to be the biggest Company in the world without being evil. They made over $3Billion in one quarter in 2013. Why would anyone need that much money? Surely the employee's should receive huge bonus' and pay increases.
Im in mpls when is it on tv again
I am from Cobb County, GA, and I have no idea what they are talking about when they say we 'defeated' WalMart...there are several of them in the county, and one massive Super WM right on the main strip on Hwy 41. Where did they Stop WalMart?
What song was that when they were talking about karaoke? It sounded korean. I want to listen to the whole song.
something is wrong in the system. the philosophy should be to work for the benefit of people and local communities, not for the benefit of business itself.
And that's where the train has run off the tracks... within the philosophy and the morals.
I love Wal-Mart and hope they continue to offer low prices and good service. I think whatever they are doing they are doing it right. If you do no like it do not shop or work there.
how wonderful for you. Im sure it doesnt bother you at all what has to happen to other people so you can have everything all nicey nice in your own little world. People like you make me puke.
You have a flawed and selfish conscience.
Spoken like a person, who has never been on the lower end of the socio-economic spectrum.
I've always been there, but I won't support a company like Walmart. Worst company on the planet. I'll save elsewhere thank you very much.
Selfish by any chance?
until i saw this, i had heard rumors but .. and if i can help it, i will NEVER set foot in a walmart ever again. i was riveted to what these people were saying.
I like your opinion/suggestion.
But did you know that walmart's starters, the Walton Family gives to cherity less than 1% of their wealth and Bill Gates gives 58% of his wealth to cherity, the employees of walmart gives 5 Million and the walton family gives $6,000 --pretty pathetic, I KNOW. but yeah, what you say is true _ if you dont like it, dont shop or work there.
Buying American creates the demand for American goods which creates American Jobs. If we stop giving our jobs to foreigners, create the demand for american produced goods thus creating american jobs instead of giving these jobs to china, taiwan, mexico etc to save 10-15% then the american average payrate goes up, small businesses strive, the american dream is resurrected, the economy is stimulated, americans make more money, there is more money to spend and the 10-15% savings from walmart is rendered non existant. Good God, what are we willing to trade for a 50 cent savings? Talk about ignorance. I'm broke, I have more children than I can afford in this economy, yes I chose to have them and I love having them, yes I have to shop conservatively, but I still have enough sense to know that demand = jobs = more money = the lack of need for imported cheap goods to make the waltons richer. C'mon people, its not rocket science. If we get rid of the need of companies like walmart we create higher paid american jobs so we all have more money to spend so the economy starts working properly and we more than make up for the savings at walmart. We wouldnt need them anymore! Small businesses that pay fair wages with proper benefits would have their place again and we would be that much closer to a healthy economy. Wheres the their savings then? AS if they save us anything anyway when you look at the big picture. Stop being walmarts chumps.
Hey, I just wanted to point out Americans producing goods would drive up the costs of those goods. And since the only people who care about buying American are Americans, it means the rest of the world will continue to buy goods at cheaper prices, which means they wont buy American, which means you can't compete, which means.... collapse!
If we buy something b/c it is American-made, rewards inferior manufacturing. All else being equal, including quality, we should buy from the least cost producer. Otherwise you reward sloth.
Actually you will help the economy MORE if you just stop going to AMC theatres. They were bought out by a Chinese company. Since all theaters show the same movies then it is better to keep the money in US owned companies. Yet I can't see people stop going to AMC. I know I have.......
Read my other posts regarding how I don't think its a bad thing that WalMart sells commodity products and food staples cheaper than every one else. It makes our paychecks go farther. And I don't think its bad or evil to run the higher priced small business people out of business for selling the same things as WalMart for more money.
I want to express some sympathy for the small business person. I agree with the films position of being onthe small business person's side. I am a small business person. Most people in America work for small businesses of 50 employees or less. Small business is the heart and soul of America. Small business is the path out of this recession. Small businesses exist because they do something better or faster than the competition. The hardware store in the film should change its product offerings to supply the many things that WalMart does not. They will make more money than ever. For example supply expertise in how to use the tools and how to select different parts in the hardware store.
WalMart's niche is a limited selection of products one purchases primarily by price. WalMart leaves the rest of the market to those little niche companies that do a few things better than most. Leave the low margin commodity selling to WalMart. Small business takes the larger, more lucrative, and more fun market of knowledge, relationship, and consultative selling.
walmart has by no means "a niche" .. they carry a little of everything and the reason mom and pop stores are failing everywhere. i bet sam walton is spinning in his grave
I'm sure many people posting negative comments on here are Walmart employees. I would like to point out the fact that most of you are uneducated, unskilled and have an abundance of children. You complain that Walmart supports you so little, that you have to rely on government for medical assistance for you and your children. If you were any other species on the planet, with so little to contribute to your species, Darwin would have destroyed you already. Get an education, learn a skill and stop having offspring that you expect someone else to afford. I'm sorry you don't make a million dollars an hour to sigh when I come through your line and to swipe an item across a glowing red light. If you think food is too high, grow your own, furniture cost too much, make your own. Can't afford the new droid smart phone, stop wanting the government to compensate, get off the damn phone and get started on becoming a valuable member of society. You're all but useless and insist on populating the world with useless offspring that will insist on MORE government subsidies. Everyone wants to scream "All people are created equal" and even if that's true, some of us work very hard to learn skills to make us a valuable member of the company, neighborhood and society we belong to. Some of us scan groceries, pop out babies and complain about how they don't have the same as those who contribute. If your skills can be replaced by a "self check" register, you're lucky that the government insists that you make 7.25 an hour.
So...Darwin's theory doesn't apply to human beings?
Nice try. I work at Walmart, yes. I have one (1) child and I DO have an education. However, after being laid off from two companies having financial struggles, I decided to change career paths and go back to school for nursing. So then I can actually HELP someone who is a Patient on a higher level of patient care then a customer who thinks that cashiers are to be abused. Think this is the only thing that they will be good at. I have a brain. I know how to count (20 items or less) which is more than I can say for some! Thanks for listening
Perhaps a modicum of decorum would allow you to see the forest for the trees - a little less 'trainer' and a little more 'trainee' might suffice, but...sigh..I doubt it. I imagine it's just too late for you. Your stance is truly out of wack and I bet you don't have a clue why? Your lack of tolerance in your fellow man/woman reflects your own deep flaws. Preach less, learn more!
I cannot believe the government lets them get away with this terrible treatment to their people, not paying them wages they earn by cheating them out of it. My God this is America, how can this go on. How can these people who own Wal Mart get away with this ? Do they put money under the table so they can get away with this? ALL i CAN SAY THEY CAN GET AWAY WITH IT HERE ON EARTH BUT NOT WHEN THEY GO BEFORE GOD. THEIR LIFE ON EARTH IS SHORT, BUT ETERNITY GOES ON AND ON!!!!!! I feel sorry for these people for their greed. I hope they enjoy their money here on earth , but they won't in the after life.
If you want to say something feel free, but stay on topic and keep your religion and your gods out of this.
The chinese workers are slaves for Wal-Mart.
"GO GET SOMETING BETTER" : realize, there exists only so many seats ont he board.... someone has to grease the wheels... someone HAS TO! No minions, no millions....Respect that.
$75 bucks each check for medical is an awesome deal! I'm paying $900 a month out of my own pocket for health insurance because I'm self employed.
If these Walmart employees can't make a living working at Walmart, LEAVE! Go find a better job! Go get educated. You agreed to work for a specific wage, now do your damn job or LEAVE!!
These people think the world owes them a living. Go make a life for yourself. Till your soil, bake your break, hunt your food, chop your firewood and make a house for yourself.
Stop complaining. If you don't like it.....GO GET SOMETHING BETTER!
Did you know that 50% of American workers earn minimum wage? Let me rephrase that, 50% of American workers choose to earn minimum wage and should stop complaining! I am being facetious.
By definition most people are average. When you realize this you will understand the difficulties for the average person in implementing the changes you suggest. They can't afford land to "till the soil" when they can barely pay rent at the apartment complex they are living in whilst trying to save up for the down payment for a house whilst paying off their student loans from their first college degree. Baking their own bread is hardly cost effective and can not achieve economies of scale for single parent families with two or three people in the household. "Hunt your food"? Seriously? In this day and age of Greenpeace and PETA wackos. "Chop your wood"? After I buy a pickup truck, a wood cutting permit, pay $4.00/gallon for gas and buy a $2000 wood stove which I can't use because of EPA restrictions in my town? "Make a house for yourself"? This isn't 1870s Little House on the Prairie and most people don't live in Amish communes where they all chip in and build you a house after you get married.
Being self-employed, would you consider yourself greedy or benevolent, i.e. if you had any employees would you pay them as much as you could or as little as you could get away with? How about corporations? Do they have the upper hand or does the little worker have the upper hand? Maybe that's why unions came to exist, because almost no one is looking out for the worker? Example: Walmart buys deadbeat insurance (life insurance) on their employees (deadbeats) and then keeps the money rather than giving it to the employee's family after they die.
On a personal note, I'm guessing that you are not very well traveled. If you had any idea about the European workers you would probably want to work in Europe. They have a 35 hour work week with seven weeks of paid vacation per year and they have social welfare programs such as medical and dental. Their schooling is meritorious based and is paid for by the government, so when they graduate they aren't starting in the hole being buried in debt. By the way, Germany as of July 2012 has a 6.8% unemployment rate and some of the happiest and most productive workers in the world.
When you understand rhetoric, propaganda, misinformation, corporate greed, history and corruption, you will be better able to grasp the above concepts. I understand the essence of what you are saying, but the devil is in the details.
If everyone would "find a better job" to pay their bills, society would collapse without privates in the army, manual laborers on industry or clerks in stores. Or you'd have to pay MUCH more for everything you buy as the labor market compensates by raising salaries.
That is reality. If you don't like it, go Galt. I assure you, you won't be missed.
$75 per paycheck for health benefits IS NOT an “awesome deal” when one only makes $7.00 an hour and possibly is a single mother or father due to death or divorce. Also, maybe there is no “better job” where they live. I understand your points, and am inclined to say the same -- ‘you don’t like it - leave”, but I’ve also learned to not assume what other peoples situation is.
Did you miss the segment that told of workers being required to work off the clock? How fair is that?
Wal-Mart helps society far more than it hurts society.
Wal-Mart’s mission of making inexpensive goods and services available around the world is a far greater good to the world than any of the negatives presented in this film in my opinion.
All of the Anti- Wal-Mart people in this film still benefit from Wal-Mart whether they work or shop there or not by the cheaper cost of living and greater purchasing power that their neighbors enjoy and the taxes Wal-Mart itself and their employees pay.
When most people in the community pay less for the good and services they buy the increased spending power benefits all.
The film made it seem like a negative that Wal-Mart supplies goods less expensively than local mom and pops so the local mom and pops go out of business. It’s sad for the shop owners but it's good for 98% of the rest of the community that now can get the same goods and services for less. In most cases Wal-Mart provides more jobs to the community than it takes from all the small shop keepers. This higher aggregate employment leave the small rural communities economically better off after Wal-Mart than before Wal-Mart.
This higher standard of living is also provided to the third world employees that work for Wal-Mart. The poor conditions filmed are only poor compared to the industrialized western world of today. The conditions filmed are much better than the conditions from whence those workers came and much better than the conditions they would return to if Wal-Mart left.
The early industrialized world in the west had similar conditions but the higher relative wages of the factories compared to working a farm enabled the children of US factory workers to rise up the socio-economic ladder and become the middle class. Just as the industrialization of rural America created a comfortable middle class in the west, the industrialization of the third world will create a comfortable middle class world wide for the next generation.
No one comes off the farm working 12 hours a day for crops to work 12 hours a day in factory for pay unless it’s better pay and a better deal than the one they left. The reason Wal-Mart factories are full of workers is it’s better than the alternatives they have. Wal- Mart is using the same economic empowerment model that worked in the US and exporting it around the world. The United States middle class was created by coaxing yesterday’s workers off the farm and into the factories with higher wages. The world wide middle class of tomorrow will be created in a similar fashion by coaxing the third world workers off the farm and into today’s factories. It created a middle class in two generations in America; it will create a middle class in two generations around the world as well.
You have no concept of the reality of the economic situation. 99% of all goods sold in Wal Mart are made in China and other third world nations. That means there are no more American's employed making toys, tools or clothes etc. All of those goods being made off shore represents money flowing out of the USA.
Wal Mart is a privately owned company. All the profits made by Wal Mart are held and saved privately. Nothing is being fed back to American society.
To address your points you say WalMarts Goods are made in other countries so it costs Americans jobs. I disagree. Cheaper goods from other countries makes our US paychecks go farther. Americans can and should switch jobs. In economics its called the comparative advantage. The US finds it more cost effective to make software for example and China and the third world finds it easier to make toys and tools. US paychecks go farther, and the China population move off the farm and get employed in factories earning a paycheck for the first time. Its a win-win. Both countries and their people benefit.
Your second point that private investment serves no public good is also incorrect. Private invest funds banks which fund everything from big yachts to small public schools. A large part of the current economic crisis is the lack of private investment by the wealthy big fish that makes more funds available to all the little fish. Google the currency multiplier effect and currency circulation on how loans and investment by the big fish makes more capital avaialable for all.
Just say you are FOR worker exploitation and a future where we all live, work, and die at Wal Mart, and be done with it.
But look at it this way, the wealthy pay ~90% of all taxes, that means the owners of Walmart are combined probably paying at least half of medicare so they have full right to take advantage of it!! IMO. They pay the taxes they get to use the tax money! They are ultimately paying for your health care, ha!
What you have to really do is cut off medicare and all other government benefits completely, _then_ Walmart will have to pay for it (like they already are inadvertently doing anyways -- through corporate and personal taxes for medicare) because no one can possibly afford to work there.
Who are you trying to kid? The wealthy do not pay 90% of all taxes.
While you are getting rid of medicare why don't you get rid of public education at the same time, that should help keep the blissfully ignorant around for a really long time.
For alot of people these days, shopping at a mega mart, is a way to go.
ANY person who is willing to pay anywhere from .50 to 1.00 more for a gallon of milk just to support a small store has got it good and not worried or doesn't need to be as frugal, (good for them!)
I on the other hand need to be frugal and need to watch my budget closely, and Wal-Mart serves this purpose for me at least 90% of the time.
Maybe Wal-Mart doesn't care about it's customers, employees, country or whatever most of you video watchers are going on and ranting about, but in reality (for me) I only care about supporting my family and living the best quality of life that I can.
This should be a message to small stores, "Make your prices better for your customer, or we will go to Wal-Mart where they will match your price anyway, if you can't compete, move over" That's the American way! And all of you know this!
For ANY of you that have watched this documentary and are complaining on how Wal-Mart treats "people" I can think of numerous companies who have the same types of complaints, there are always going to be people who feel like they work to hard, or they are being asked too much from their employers, and I am sure you can too! You can't please everybody.
As for Wal-Mart only employing people who can't get jobs anywhere else..... SO! At least someone is hiring these days! Whether they are high school drop outs or ex-felons EVERYONE should work, and if any of you feel different then re-evaluate your thoughts and think about it again! This country has way too many homeless but able bodied people that would benefit from having ANY job.
It's ok to have morals and take the high road and take a stand in what you believe in, but everyone has their own realities in life that define them and their morals. In the end you have to do whats best for you and your family first!
John, unfortunately the small stores can't make their prices less expensive without losing money. They don't make their own products with a company that sends the labor overseas. Imagine how many jobs Walmart would save by making their products here in the US. So they may be "giving" jobs to the homeless and criminals, but they are taking away jobs from many more. There is a local plastics factory just 12 miles from where I live that will be laying off about 1300 people next month because they lost a product to Walmart's manufacturing, another company within Walmart. They came in $1 less than everyone else who bid the project because they are sending it over to China to make, where the people that are working are almost slaves making about 25% of what the minimum wage is in the US. My stance has nothing to do with morals and taking the high road, it has to do with the fact that if Walmart cared about it's employees, customers and the American needs, they would keep their production in the US and employ even more people. I've also found that by looking for sales and using coupons I can get things cheaper 90% of the time if I shop other places than Walmart. If you just want to buy things cheaper to support your family, there are many other ways than just going to Walmart.
Walmart not paying their emploees makes your taxes go up....... you PAY for thier Medical insurance as well as their food stamps and any other goverment assistance they recieve. We as TAXPAYERS subsiside the employees...... even if WalMart paid each associate an additional $5 an hour they would still be the most profitable in thw WORLD. So how is that right? They don't pay the employees and we as taxpayers get stuck with the BILL while they rake in BILLIONS each quarter?
Look at the proud flag waving American. Completely sold on the corporate idealogue. Can't see past saving fifty cents, probably drives half an hour to save that fifty cents.
Would love to rant about the economics of a healthy manufacturing sector at home, the powerful economy of small business and how important it is for workers to have rights, but you are obviously way beyond that having figured out how to save fifty cents.
Hey, it's cool with me that you want your kids to work at Wal Mart when they grow up!
America deserves wal mart and all the other crap long live junk food crap products and short life span.THE AMERICAN DREAM!!! i love it i want to dance.Bippidy bobdy at some point americans will wake up and smell the roses untill then i dance on ya graves bip bop de pop.
It seems good that the Indian Govt. made a bright move by blocking FDI in retail thus successfully stopping Walmart to enter India.
Boycott the giant corporations. If we dont give them our blood by buying and working for them, they will die of asphyxiation.
This documentary is so shocking. It amazes me how people complain about not making a livable wage and health benefits. I dare anyone to name one company or one job where someone can take a job that requires NO HIGHER EDUCATION..probably does not even require a HS diploma, but yet make a livable wage and still get health insurance benefits. Maybe working out in the sun on a construction site..but otherwise it doesn't exist
Hey, i am from India. Wal-mart doesn't operate till now in India. But after seeing this documentary i can realise that how wal-mart cheating people and create monopoly by using dirty tricks. I think Wal-mart willn't sustain in long term unless they change their behaviour towards people and their employee. I don't want wal-mart at all in India.
Don't trust them. The current heir, is a seemingly delightful person...
So she is either "insulated" from their systematic, worldwide human abuse, or she is aware.
Great options.
She is either clueless to the world around her...
Or she is an evil empress of a slave camp.
But, if they offer 10 dollars an hr and you need money....call 'em up. That's just being pragmatic.
As a former cake decorator at WM, everything in here is correct, sounds fancy I know, let me tell you, that fancy it was not. Have you ever decorated 4 cakes an hour? Had to stop what you were doing to answer a customer with a smile? Cleaned up after the deli people who trailed oil through the cake deco area because their equipment was also defective? Cleaned up after your fellow employees who were not only lazy but in a hurry to clock out before they were over in their hours? For $8.20 an hour, I was thankful to have a job job, but A LOT is expected for that $8,20 per hour. I can't say how many times I heard - NO Overtime. I worked 32 hours a week, and as a part time employee I would not be receiving benefits until after 1 year of employment. Was I making it, NO! As a single female with no children, most government programs do not apply to me. I have boycotted WM of late,, this gives me even more reason to. Thanks for the info.
Good for you. Even though you could have been surly, you took your responsibility as an employee seriously. I have the utmost respect for people who have had to endure working for this type of company.
(At a bad time in my life, I too submitted to a place with uniforms and a uniform policy)
But to still do it with personal values intact? Worthy of high praise.
Cheers.
You're right, most gov't programs do not apply to single women. I do apologize on their behalf.. Good luck to you
So let me see if I heard you correctly...You are thankful you have a job (that's great!), it expects you to decorate four cakes an hour. You are not happy with your employer because: 1. you have to stop to answer a customer and with a smile 2. Your coworkers are sloppy and lazy 3.That is clearly too much for 8.20/hr. Perhaps your problem is with the co-workers, not the company. And if decorating four cakes an hour is not what you want to do, then enroll into a community college part-time and pursue a degree in the area of your liking, but I have to say that most jobs in service will expect you to smile when you're answering a customer. Good luck.
i stopped buying anything that is not made in this country. LOOK ON LABELS PEOPLE!!!!! IF ITS NOT MADE HERE DONT BUY!!!!! WE CAN DO IT LETS NOT DEPEND ON THE GOVERNMENT!! RON PAUL2012
Things that say they are made in the USA aren't always completely made in the USA. Often times a lot of the pieces to a product is outsourced to reduce costs, and those pieces are shipped to the USA where they're assembled and then "stamped" made in the USA, when in actuality it was just assembled in the USA.
Only problem I have with this is the end of the movie when they are talking about areas that defeated Wal-mart from building in their towns. Yes its true that Front Royal, Va did say no to placing the store right beside the Shenandoah River and buying up farmland, they still placed it right outside of town by the major highways that link us to Washington, DC. Even then it wasnt the townspeople who fought it. It was an outside group from Fairfax, Va who were river conservators that started the "grass roots" campiagn. Other than that great video. I learned quite a bit between this and a few airings of The Age of Walmart on MSNBC I can say that I have made my decision . I currently work for Wal-mart have for about 3 and a half years now and after really seeing what it is doing to the commuinities, associates and other countries they serve I will be seeking alternate employment. It is one thing to see it on a video and think of it as being the overinflated opinions of people who just want attention, but it is quite another thing to live it everyday. As far as the associates that say they love their jobs at Walmart, that very well may be and maybe you are one of the lucky few who found a good store that does serve its community and associates well, but for most of us we live the lies, discrimination and disrespect everyday and I for one will no longer tolerate it by working or patronizing there.
I work for walmart and you should have put some factual info in here instead of bitter peoples opinions. But this video does make me mad. I love working for walmart but i dont like how they plan to get rid of full time hourly employees
Are you able to specify, properly, as you intimate others are not able to do, where this video's contents are inaccurate, Ken? If not, almost all readers will simply assume that you are what is commonly known as a stooge. The ball is in your court.
I don't know you or care to know you, but I can only hope that you will one day remove the wool from your eyes! You may love Wal-Mart, but as many other have statd before...They could care less about you and I pray that you don't have a family or children to take care of. :-(
Walmart is AWFUL. A good friend of mine worked there for ten years. After 10 years, he was making around 12.50$. His managers began to put pressure on him to quit voluntarily, and began to cut his hours, trying to force him out. His mother (a Walmart employee of over 20 years) experienced the same pressure. The more his salary crept out, the worse the harassment got, and the lower his hours went.
To put it simply, loyalty means nothing to them. They'd rather bully you out and hire a new associate for 7.50$ an hour.
Unfortunately that is true. They think it's cheaper that way. Tops Markets does the exact same thing.
If u r lookin' to score big fat chicks with a slew of fat kids, wal mart is da place to go....
And if you are looking for a rude, inarticulate, and illiterate ignoramus, "testicularfortitude" is the place to go.
Hold on a second.... I just read your other posts and it seems that you are in fact not an inarticulate, and illiterate ignoramus, probably far from it (I'm holding judgment on the rude part). I'm puzzled as to why you posted this comment. It just seems a bit out of character.
He posted it because it's the truth. Asda, the UK version of Walmart, has been blessed with the fattest, grubbiest examples of humanity as its customers. I don't know if it's because it's the cheapest or if it's because of where the stores are located, but it definitely has a disproportionate amount of underclass shopping there.
Anyone else cry during this?
There are plenty of other stores to purchase from in my area. I've lived in this area about a year, and all 3 times that I let someone talk me into going to Walmart I've regretted it! And, all 3 times, even though I tried to park far away and walk, ultimately with all the carts scattered in the parking lot, my car was damaged all 3 times when I got back out (less than 30 minutes inside each time). And Walmart corporate says they have reviewed the camera footage and that the amount of carts in the lot was reasonable?? -- Reasonable for them is completely outrageous and unacceptable at any other store. I've worked too hard to try to have a decent car and keep it nice, than have it ruined only to save a mere few pennies. Kiss Off Walmart!
I remember I did a group project on Walmart when I studied Business Admin in uni. One of the problem we need to assess is the Walmart-effect problem and how we (as Walmart management) can do on public relations to improve public opinions and well-being. 3 of us were distinction students and even when we achieve a distinction from that project, all 3 of us agreed that we cannot address that particular problem well. We cannot propose increase hourly rate or encouraging union because that is against the fundamental purpose of a business: Profit.
The whole Walmart story is a highly dilemma issue. People love low price merchandise so Walmart will persist no matter what kind of story been told. What comes around goes around.
Wal-mart is getting away with it because the goverment is letting them do it, remember, they don't care about us!!!
Let me correct you;
Wal-Mart is getting away with it because the people are too apathetic to make a change. I bet you still shop there, don't you? It's the PEOPLE that have to make the change. The government is made up of a tiny slice of the overall population.
To be honest, I don't shop at wal-mart, I shop at costco!! and I always try to shop at the local places near to were i live, and that are family owned. But you make sense in your comment RavenPup, One person can make a difference, and ever person must try.
You can ban Wall Mart and then go to Canadian Tire or your so called pharmacy or Zellers, Costco, Ikea or any of those...stuff is stuff and in all of those stores you will find cheap stuff.
Most people want cheap because that is what they can afford simply because they want a lot of stuff!
Our society is hooked on stuff!
az
and i will add not just our society of rich is hooked on stuff. Go to any third world countries, in the market you will see the local people buying *cheap stuff* there too.
az
The simple answer is and was not to buy from Wal-mart.If none of the towns people had ever gone and shopped there,then Wal-mart would have gone out of business and all the Ma and Pa shops would still be in business.
the point is that the ma and pa cant compete with an industry that does everything in its power to cut prices. simple example, if a pack of gum was $1 at your "ma and pa" shop, and 50 cents at walmart, whats going to be the obvious choice in our current economy? it's a pity, but it's not forever, :) stay optimistic my friends
I believe that it is not the fact that Wal-Mart has low prices, but the sad fact that the full time workers cannot afford to pay their bills, keep Wal-Mart healthcare, provide food for their families and eat lunch each day. Wal-Mart tells it's employees of the government aid that is available to them before they start working. Wal-Mart employees make an average of $4,000 less than the federal poverty level family of four. It isn't the price of an appliance, but the price the workers must pay in order to give you the appliance at such a low cost. The CEOs of Wal-Mart make more money than any other company because they take all the workers hard-earned money and keep it for themselves, forcing the government to come in and try to help these families. If you watch the documentary very closely, you will understand the severeness of Wal-Mart's low prices.
It seems a lot of people are more willing to swap their kids future using the logic of saving fifteen cents on crap at Wal Mart
I haven't set foot in a Wal-Mart in more than two years. My decision had more to do with the fact that I don't need their lowest common denominator Chinese plastic bauble crap in my life anymore, but this documentary only serves to make me feel better about my decision. But as long as the American consumer places their wallet above EVERY other consideration in making their consumer and lifestyle choices, stores like Wal-Mart are going to keep eating this country and this planet. Sad, but true.
Walmart's crap is certainly chinese, but living in asia, I can tell you first-hand that it's far from the lowest common denominator- it's simply the cheapest crap that the average american will willingly buy. So take a bit of heart: if it was as bad as you thought, the situation would be dire indeed.
Also to a certain extent there's an interpretation here of having things 'too good' (in terms of quality) over there. I can buy a tool for ~10 USD that will cost you ~100 USD for the american version- yours will last a hundred years, mine will last ten years- but the catch is that neither of us will last 100 years, and I will still have spent less.
what about quality? a japanese katana will last a thousand years.. If we are going to consume resources we should at least use them well.
Yes your 10 year tool will be usefull but you may have to buy it again in ten years, and that 100 year tool.. well it can be used by many different hands in it's time.
Ah, but planned obsclescense keeps the economy going! The logic is undeniable!
Chinese stuff usually won't even last 10 years. I used to work for an appliance company in their customer service division. We got a lot of feedback from customers about the longevity of their new appliances. Most of them were lasting 2-5 years, tops. I've been through 3 coffee makers since I left that job 5 years ago myself. My parents have a washer and dryer set (Kenmore) that they got as a wedding gift in 1980. The washer died last year, and we're still using the dryer. 31 years later.
By the way, the markup on coffee makers is crazy. I saw units that cost 3.00$ to manufacture being sold in department stores for over 100$. People think that just because they shop at Macy's, the stuff is made better. It's the same crap that goes to Walmart, with a higher markup.
Ironic that there was a google ad to buy walmart stock on this link. I've rarely shopped at walmart and might not any more considering the info given. I would prefer to go to the local business owner. One time I went to buy ice melt at a hardware store and they happened to be out and the owner asked why i didn't go to walmart, because they might be cheaper than him and I said I rather support a local business he looked rather shocked after I said that.
After thinking a bit I was wondering it would be humorous to enter one of the bathrooms and post a note talking about union's when no one is in there so as to not be seen doing it unless of course they have anti- union cameras in the restrooms which wouldn't affect me because I don't work for them.
And Techguy, I don't know why there was Japanese music either. I'm Asian and I thought that kinda racist.
A month ago, I just applied at Walmart. On a scale of 1-10, tell me my chances of getting hired and acually getting good payments there. After watching this documentary in my English class and writing a 5-paragraph essay on it, my opinion about Walmart changed too. Should I still consider shopping there?
Hey Chris,
Until we find a new way to live in our society. I hate to say this: Money makes the world go round. So if Walmart will pay you a larger salary + things like benefits after a few months. Then based upon a money paradigm, you are better off working for them vs. Ma & Pa. However, job satisfaction to me, means believing in what I am doing.
Basically, if you need to pay the rent, more than you need to be content in your position. Walmart, is probably a good choice.
An quick aside: I have to say that if English is your second language, you speak (or i guess, in this case, type it [possibly with spell check], it's ok, by the way, we all use that, much better than I speak or type any Asian language you could name. Even with spell check.)
:)
cheers
You once replied to one of my comment that you are an English Major....the third paragraph makes me doubt that!... or is your typing so bad? There is an editing possibility on here. Just teasing you, because of your remark, i have since paid a bit more attention to my writing.
thank you
az
I really don't think you watched this film or if you did, you didn't take it to heart. There are no benefits to working at Wal-Mart and the average full-time employee CAN'T afford their rent, bills, and food for their families. If you think they can, maybe you should watch this again...Wal-Mart is not a good choice, nor will it ever be. It is a bad company who doesn't care how their employees live or survive...profit is their only goal.
Sorry,if you misunderstood my intent. I was specifically telling this person, that "I", would prefer to work for a company with morals. But if Walmart pay him/her 9.00 an hour and the ma and pa can only pay 6.00 then you need to balance morals with paying rent or living behind the Walmart dumpsters.
I Don't support monopolistic practices...I am just a witness to them. You and I can boycott Walmart all we want....but they appeal to the masses.
And frankly, I don't know if they pay more....but if I was without a job....sorry I would take the higher offer.
If they pay they same then it's all academic.
walmart has been doing this for years guess who is helping walmart customers, our government, and many others! so until people quit shopping at walmart it will continue! it will take a nationwide effort to show that we are tired of the sweat shops, the lies, and utter communistic monopolies of this! that have monopolized thousands of communities in my region. and they treat their employees horrible! the lie to the customers, and they also cheat the customers, communities, and the poor individuals that have no choice but to work for them! the Walton family disgusts me! they need to be boycotted in every city they exist in! every time you buy something there it is contributing to the abuse of people in other countries! and here! this is pathetic the Walton family has done this and only cares about money and not getting sued!
i read all ur comments. stop shopping ther. cheap tack anywayz. wash ur clothes once from ther n u will signing up 4the gym to fit back into them.
Scary, is the only single word I could use to describe the total lack of Ethics, Morals, or plain human values. I am all for profit in business but not at the expense of our Country. Wal-Mart has taken the American worker back generations. The fact that they make a profit on not hiring full time and have the largest work force on welfare, and state health care plans.
we should boycott them.
sickening to watch the CEO with his million dollar estate when employees are struggling to make ends meet. I hope every other city that does not have a walmart accept this monster into their community, believe me it will eat you up and spit you back out. yeah Lee I hope you read this........
The problem when a company gets this big is that it will be far easier for government to take over if and when Communism takes control. I realize this is absurd on the surface but since we see how capitalism has failed far too often who can foretell the future? I doubt if pure communism can succeed mainly because of greed which is part of the human condition. Capitalism has most its success because of the intense competition for a job. Thousands standing in line outside a new Walmart proves my point.
Like what some people have already said...
I have both negative and positive reflections on the effectiveness of Robert Greenwald's documentary "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Prices." Greenwald was successful in the withdrawal of powerful emotional reactions in the film's biased contexts addressing the "evil-doings" by the Wal-Mart monopoly. However, this was also one of its main drawbacks to the film's credibility due to the fact that there was not one single interview from any of the pro-Wal-Mart side, any legal contract proving that Wal-Mart had "broken promises", and the repeated usage of false stock footages. For example, because I can understand the Mandarin tongue, words that the workers said did not correlate at all with the covering-up of the English translation. I understand that it was to show the poor working conditions of the low-paid factory workers but in a as topic as important as addressing human rights, Greenwald should have been more responsible in showing true documentations as proofs if he truly wanted to have a good chance of fighting for the reforms. Otherwise, it will only be effective in inflaming people's concerns but failing to truly make any physical changes. Another is that all the statics given in the film were without any contexts
Overall, this was definitely more of a propaganda film than a documentary and should be watched through a skeptical eye when without solid and factual evidences/information. Greenwald's objective was to destroy Wal-Mart at all cost. He was right in taking on one of the biggest targets but missed in short of his extreme "hate" for the corporation.
Exactly - corruption aside, the documentary was poorly done.
Completely leaves out the part about Walmart HELPING poverty stricken people make ends meet with cheap foods and products.
I'd like to hear Walmart's side of the story - because Unions are a MAJOR problem in this country. The most bankrupt states have highest Union workers.
I guess that's why Mississippi, which has more people living below the poverty line than any other state, also has a very small percentage of unionized workers -- only 4.5 %. Get your facts straight. Unions allowed the great American middle class to exist. Without them, we are a class of masters and servants.
Well said RitaCon!!!! Unions are misunderstood due to ignorance, i.e. people don’t understand what a union does, how it benefits us, et al., because they don’t bother to research and find out! How sad.
your fact are distorted at best ....lies at worst.....do research instead of relying on company talking points....the facts dont lie...but corporate culture does on a regular basis...use your mind and intellect instead of popular street myths and billionare propoganda.
this person has no idea what he is talking about past or present,i don't know him personally but i can deduce he has never read any articles in depth about the funding or the transparent neglect of poverty and the mass reduction of wealth when supermarkets enter a district striping the local economy.Jason you sir are a f**l and id**t!!!.
I have seen the effects of new stores by WalMart in dozens of communities in several states. In 100% of the situations, the long-term economic effect is negative.
I think the solution is very simple. If everyone stops shopping at WalMart, they will stop their expansion, and will be slowed down in their actions.
But I don't think they will ever go away! However, if no one shops there, maybe they will? I haven't shopped in one for more than 15 years.
"Always Lowest Prices" is just a slogan. It's not true.
I did a survey. I put a number of common items on a grocery list, by name brand or just put (lowest) by some things that don't have major brands. I made a second list of clothing and household items.
Guess what? Out of several stores I went to, my grocery bill was the HIGHEST. The lowest was an independently-run grocery store in the town where I live. The second-lowest was a regional chain-store in a nearby town.
They were about medium on the clothing and household items. All department stores were higher but didn't have everything. Dollar General had everything and was lower. The hardware store was similarly-priced but didn't have everything on the list.
Wow, I cannot believe how terrible and destructive Walmart is. I will never buy anything from them again. Those 3rd world workers for Walmart... There are going to be some tough conversations between the Lord and some Walmart executives/employees in the end...
The documentary concerning Tesco, is of interest to viewers in Britain, and is also available.
Tesco are not as offensive as WalMart. It seems that WalMart are really in a league of their own. The part I find most degrading is the workers in China getting 3 USD per day to be treated in such a ridiculous manner.
=> Wal Mart : Number 1 at hollowing out the industrial base of the USA.
Maybe this has something to do with the size of Britain - but nevertheless Tesco, and the Asda organization are also serial offenders in many respects.
Tesco and Asda are both very accomplished at buying produce from outside the EU, usually from countries with less strict labour practices. Food Hygeine in Tesco is obscene. In addition the food in Tesco is never what it is sold as.
Best of luck to those in the US who campaign against Walmart. And the ultimate way to punish WalMart - take your business elsewher - and it you cannot do that, then try to live without or find a product substitute !!!
expand, expand, growth, growth - cancer. the politics implemented at wallmart, and the incentives, I think, are beeing implemented on far larger scale.
by the way, I noticed that when monica jefferson was speaking, at 52minutes, it sounded like it was cut and put together. i mean the words came out like from computer or something. anyone noticed it too?
Back in 1998 I had a house and a very small plot of land. So did my neighbor next to me. And so did my neighbor on the other side. And so did the neighbor's neighbor and the other neighbor's neighbor. Walmart wanted our homes and our land. We refused to give it to them. We fought and organized protests. Walmart won, of course and the city took our homes and our land and built a Walmart Supercenter. The city repossessed our houses (well kept Victorian houses, quite lovely) and then Walmart gave us a check for $1,500....
Since 1998, we have had 4 Walmarts built in our town of 250,000 people.....
Wow! I had no idea that about Wal-Mart was operating like this. Wow! This is capitalism at it best. I cannot continue to shop there with a clear conscience. Absolutely no integrity at all! But there is a cost in the end. What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and loose his soul? The wealth of the wicked will be laid up for the just. The tables are sure to turn. Watch out Wal-Mart, the day is coming!
I found this fascinating. The Walmarts here in Spokane, WA should be poster children for this kind of thing. I haven't ever worked there but my gf's friend just got fired for failure to take mandated breaks. I know it sounds really stupid, but, what happened was that they are always short staffed but refuse to hire new people even though HR has a large stack of apps. Instead they want their current employees to make up the slack. This women was working 10 -12 hour a day in womens clothing and covering in the deli when they got backed up. She was actually glad for all the hours because she has 3 children and her husband is disabled. You have to take a half hour lunch at 6 hours. She would be covering in the deli and couldn't just go clock out for lunch with a line of people waiting to be served. Needless to say she ended up working through break twice and the third time was informed by the store manager that per corp policy she was being terminated. At first I was sure that she was making it up that she had to be showing up drunk or got caught stealing or some such thing until I talked to her boss in clothing and was told it was the truth. America is really starting to remind me of the saying about inmates running the asylum.
how to see the documentary?i only see the comments.
@peter huang,
Configure your PC for viewing online flash videos. Clear the cache and the cookies from your browser. Use a different browser.
I don't shop there, and probabaly never will because of this video. Even though, let's admit, it is preety pro-anti walmart. Obviously this company is horrible, but what company isn't. Were all making money and we all want to make more, that's the structure of the life we built. I suppose the over-all message is - this is an almost slavery system produced, however nobody else would give any one of these people jobs. No one. Who's really wrong?
A system where the economy is based on perpetual growth yet limited resources, and greed is nothing but encouraged and rewarded
Dear notsaying...
Everyone's probably gonna hate me for this, but, if you need a cheap pair of speakers so you can watch this doco... you'll probably get the best price at, you guessed it....
Glad we don't have this HERE, YET (Australia).... reminds me of Wesfarmers who created a mega-hardware store here which is taking over the rest of Australia...if you get them there. STAY AWAY!!! They sell cheap EVERYTHING-YOU'D-EVER-NEED hardware but cost us a vast portion of our amazing forests (wood-chipped it and sold in to Japan to make paper to sell it back to us for more, hence the $$$$ to start BUNNINGS).
Remember - BUNNINGS.... like WAL-MART... = B E W A R E.
peace and good luck to everyone!!
Want to shut a wal mart down get the employees to vote in a union. It happened here in Quebec.
Working at Walmart is like anywhere else that does starter jobs. Let me say that again. STARTER JOBS, for those of you who think you're supposed to start life at the top. If you want real money get a class "A" license and drive truck for Walmart. Great pay and great benefits.
As for this alleged news article, lots of lies and distortions and anyone dumb enough to take a word of it as Gospel deserves what they get. Funny how the unions and leftist politicos don't say the same thing about K-Mart. Walmart has far an away more U.S. made product, but the unions didn't get their way so now it's sit back and lie just like they did with Coors Brewing and host of other big companies they tried to force their way into and failed. K-Mart gets a pass from leftist because they donate to the right leftist people. Learn to read what goes on elsewhere and tell the writer of this blather being passed on as alleged news where to stuff it.
Just to put this in perspective. I had a job cleaning a target in my younger days. It's normal for them to lock you in until the store reopens because it's usually outside companies managing the cleaning and if you had free reign to just walk in and out with their merchandise that would trouble them. They also write down what you are wearing when you start your shift and when you leave to be sure you weren't trading into their clothing. So, it's not unreal for this to be done :P I did once hear of a worker though that stole lingerie for his g/f by wearing it under his clothes out in the morning lol
All I can say is that this documentary broke my heart to see massive unstoppable oligarchs exploit my brothers and sisters from china to north carolina and destroying what little basic human dignity this already cold world ALLOWS them. But as this documentary showed, the PEOPLE can and will fight back. Someday their entire 'Tower of Babel Enterprise' will fall and then people like the Esry's can once again stand on their own two feet and make wealth for themselves and successive generations as their OWN bosses and not have to watch what they built with 40 years of blood sweat and tears be washed down the drain and GIVEN to wal mart only to watch their own grandchildren have to work for slave wages AT wal mart.
Those people, the Esry's, are what MADE this country. The basic idea of a social contract where you can own your own business and employ people and when they do good work for you you are OBLIGATED, MANDATED and REQUIRED to give back to them. Give them a health care plan, maybe a raise, a Christmas party and all these things happened, not because a board of trustees or the police would come and get you, but because it's the foundation of what it means to be a good citizen, good Christian/Jew/Muslim, a good American, a good HUMAN BEING.
However, this documentary illustrates the larger nation wide breakdown of this social contract. There is an idea that seems to be permeating our national zeitgeist that says, "You better get yours while the getting is good because the whole thing is about to come crashing down and you don't wanna be caught out in the cold with no pants on."
I say FUCK THAT. We can all sink or we can all swim and that;s the damn truth. I don't know about the rest of you...but I prefer to start doing the backstroke.
This company has the world blinded, just like the government. I know I worked there for 3 1/2 years. They don't care about their employees because they know someone else is there to take your job for cheaper. Not to mention over half of the full time employees can't even afford their benefits there terrible company.
at Notsayining and Clark
Totally agree with Clark here, Notasaying, you say the Wal-Mart employees are making great wages!!!!! LOL I have a friend who is a student who works there (not for long, thank god for him) He has a 20 cents an hour increase a year(they start at 50 cents over the min. wage). He told me his boss, who he says is cool and not brain-washed by Wal-Mart propagandha, is earning 12.50$ an hour after 6 years of service! Not to mention all the people oversea who are making 10 cents on sneakers they sell you at 60$!
You should go see the top ten richest people in the world and you'll see that 4 of them are Waltons or inheritants of Waltons... Together they have more money than Bill Gates, yet they exploit people here and oversees.
You should really follow Clark suddestion and buy some speakers but please not at Wal Mart! I understand there's a lot of stores doing savage business as Wal-Mart does, but they are the leaders of exploitation.
As I said, Here in quebec, 2 Wal-Mart tried to unionize. One succeeded and is the only Wal–Mart with a union in North America as far as I know. The other succeeded also but a couple of weeks later it closed due to “being unviable economically”… They then opened a new one a few blocks away! What a bunch of overly greedy liars!
That is your good jobs, NotSaying?!??!
@NotSaying
I think it's important that people have their own opinions but are also knowledgeable about the subject... I think you should consider buying a cheap pair of speakers and giving this documentary a look at.
Personally I rarely shop at Walmart. Maybe once every few months when Im actually near one and have money. The nearest one is 45 mintes away. I go in to buy juice once in a while. I plan a trip there to buy my kids school clothes maybe this coming week. Low prices are good for people. I have no sound on my pc so wont be watching the documentary. So I will have no idea of what everyone is ranting about. The walmarts here are nice. They are clean, employees are friendly, the employees make great wages, and the few accidents I have heard of people having at near by walmarts have all been taken care of by the store. Then again I live in a small area at least 40 miles away from the nearest Walmart store so no one here is being driven out of bisness. If all the racket is about small bisness going under because of walmart having lower prices - thats to be expected. No one in their right mind would pay more for something when they can walk next door to buy it cheaper. As for the low class being given jobs - great at least their working and not sitting on welfare. More jobs in communities is great. You have no idea how many people in smaller communities and surrounding areas are sitting without jobs. They would kill for a big store thats offering lots of jobs to come anywhere within 30 miles of their home towns..
Corporate greed! How horrible. I like Target better anyway, though they're probably not much better that Wal-Mart. Woe the world we live in.
I am completely disgusted! I will NEVER shop at a walmart again. there are other companies like Target that are just as good on prices. Makes me sick how they treat Americans, and other people in different countries. The Waltons and Lee Scott should be ashamed of themselves.
Eating the fruits of capitalism?
Now think of replacing the one or two individuals (capitalists) who own these corporations amassing all these profits - at the more and more suffering of their workers and every community they set their feet in - by the workers themselves and imagine the money being used to develop the whole communities and families … which would be socialism.
Try it for a change.
America can do it! And can do it BETTER.
It’s all about a few guys with private jets vs. nice communities with nice public transportation, healthy recreation, higher GOOD education, etc. America is endowed with all the potentialb. But first, private property needs to be abolished .
This is the same for EVERY big company in America . Walmart is no different than any other employer in America .
Take for example , a foam finger at a sporting event . The players get their cut , the marketers get theirs , the organizers , the promotors , the list goes on and on . What do the employees who make them get , what are their working conditions like ?
Able minds and bodies are a dime a dozen , this is the mindset of ALL successful companies .
After watching this documentary I can't imagine ever going to another walmart. I hope more people watch this. Everyone should watch this because that is the best way to stop big business. Unity is a very powerful tool that not even our government has found a way to beat. I am going to make sure I burn this and give it to everyone I can think of. By the way tammy, no one is nieve about the fact that other big retail corperations operate the same way but if you really want it to change you cut the throat of the biggest, most corrupt giant you can find and wal-mart is that giant. It is the domino effect. Once you hurt the strongest one the others tend to fall in place. Anyway, I have seen a lot of documentaries and this is one of the best I have seen. Food inc. is probably the best ever though.
you think this is bad. Target is ten times worse. I have worked for both. At least walmart has stock options for thier employees. and not all walmarts treat their employees liek this. Im sure target is the same way. Walmart gives better raises than target, stock options, and bonuses at christmas. Target does none of the above. They shell out millions of dollars every week for communities at Target but they treat and pay their employees like crap. Its retail. Its almost the same way every where you go. But I would work at Walmart anyday before Target ever again
I'm not trying to insult you at all, I think this film is biased against Wal-Mart and at the very least the first 20 minutes are in fact biased. You can keep saying it's a fact, it's a fact....but that doesn't make it unbiased. I didn't mean to come off as rude saying the definition thing, just trying to get my point across that I like a fair and balanced documentary style and this documentary was a disappointment in the way it was presented.
Thanks for reminding me I can and will say what I please. Especially if it's plain fact. Don't try to insult people's intelligence to up the value of your opinion; no one's buying it, and it doesn't make you look good.
I think you don't quite understand what I was saying xxxx. For one, I completely believe that Wal-Mart is a monopoly, if you thought I was defending Wal-Mart. What I'm not defending is this documentary. It's biased, you can say whatever you want, but if you look up the definition of bias you'll see what I mean. I would just have rather this documentary been more facts and less sympathy.
clark... that's exactly why the film is anything but biased. Interviews, footage, and numbers speak for themselves. They can't be biased, cuz that's the way things simply are. A lot of people like to throw the word around when overwhelming factual evidence stacks up in a way they can't deny, and simply don't like. Too bad.
I didn't want to finish this documentary because it is so biased. When making a good documentary you want to remain neutral while showing the facts, 20 minutes in and all I see is interviews with people who lost their jobs to Wal-Mart.
I am sickened by this documentary. You have got to be kidding me!! How can Walmart get away with all of this?
I am floored. People being insulted, treated predjudicially and underpaid and totally mistreated. This is disgusting.
Anyone that can 'sue Walmart for this' - GO FOR IT!
Hearing these stories from employees has opened my eyes.
Video was good in terms of revealing truthful evidence about wal-marts cons, but I feel as though something was left out. The video is missing the other side to the argument, sure Wal-mart most likely is bad for our economy, but is their any other side to Wal-marts story? I'm sure there is something good that could have been said but wasn't...
Too bad most of the people that work at Wal-Mart couldn't get a job anywhere else and are paid to reflect the type of work they have to do. A majority of the people I know that work at my local Wal-Mart either did not graduate high school, are handicapped, elderly or criminals recently released from prisons. Just because the company can offer low prices on items and make a lot of money because of that, does not mean they should overpay their workers. If Wal-Mart was to disappear it would just be replaced by a combination of other large superstores like Target. Also, I can't quite grasp where all the Communism talk is coming from, if someone could please enlighten me that would be much appreciated.
Did you really just equate the elderly and disabled with high school dropouts and convicted criminals? I can understand why you might think that the uneducated and criminal should not be paid a living wage. But the elderly and disabled?
so your telling me that the uneducated and criminals don't deserve to work and make a decent lving also?
Where are you, Oprah.....
Fricken hell Joe - tell em to stick their job where the sun don't shine. Go fishing instead. Walmart cannot possibly be the only way to extract a crust surely?
Hell Vlatko will give you a job I`m sure!
I currently work at walmart. We are understaffed... In fact, today we got called useless... We have a meeting before we go to work (i work overnights as a stocker) and supposedly the store manager was very displeased with his "walk". And the next night we got chewed out, and got called worthless, going against their own code of "respect for the individual". My dad use to boast working the hardest at his job, but i can't see trying my best here if I am going to get yelled at whether i do or not. I have developed a non-personal attachment to my job. I will be their slave until 6:30, but I will not stay after that. Management, has you always doing something other than what your job is, there just isn't enough people to do do you job. In fact 3 people quit this week... and that is just on overnights. The management at walmart gets treated like c^ap, and/or are c^ap. It is a really dreadful place to work. But if you can just not care about your job, it isn't so bad.
These negative words are horrible for a Manager to say to their employees that actually work. There is no professionalism in today's society. There is a better way of communication. Unfortunately people are just plain nasty. I see this everywhere. Not just walmart. Some of these managers, I wonder how they got their jobs.
they treat their suppliers the same way... I worked for one... Turtle Wax, ever hear of it? They treated OUR employees who worked with Walmart rudely, callously and sometimes abusively. They told us what would we HAVE to do to if we wanted our products on their shelves. Their entire repetoire of how to use influence was FORCE end of story. Never cooperation.
Michelle please go into detail. Personal experiences make these discussions much more interesting.
I have to say I worked at a Walmart in Oshawa, Ontario for 2 years during college and the things I went through are ridiculous. Without getting into detail I wouldn't recommend anyone take a job at any Walmart store nor will I ever shop there again.
WM isn't a uniquely American phenomenon. In the UK and all over Europe we have supermarkets and hypermarkets crushing small businesses, and big corporation turning the main streets into clones. We may have better union and employee protection laws but the goods are all bought as cheaply as possible; often from china, india etc.
WM has also bought up our third biggest supermarket - Asda however the prices don't seem to be any different.
It is sickening to see how this unregulated village stomping dragon is ruining communities, controverting democracy, and leaving the masses essentially subservient to its demands.
Evl triumphs when good people do nothing. There are more of us than there are of them, & if we consciously collaborate our efforts to change what this conglomerate is doing, fundemental alterations can be made to guarantee worker respect and dismantle the entire "wealth above all" sentiment capitalism engenders.
In the quest for profits, human needs (such as food, water, education, saftey) are neglected. Wal-Mart is a prime example of this
Wal-Mart is America's future, if we let it be. Is it difficult to believe that enough Americans will get so fed up with the abuses of corporate capitalism that we will rebel against the corrupt political system that enables these abuses? Unfortunately, Obama is not as sympathetic to the average family's plight as we were led to believe. Wal-Mart has nothing to fear from either political party. The truth is, the American people are being marginalized politically and economically by a system rigged to favor the elites. Time for a BIG change, I think!
i had no idea about this all
i'll never shop at WM again
And why was there Japanese music when showing the Chinese people?
I can understand Mandarin and some of the Chinese people were talking about something else. It is hard to judge whether those people were employee actually worked for Wal-mart.
Here in quebec, 2 Wal-Mart tried to unionize. One succeeded and is the only Wal--Mart with a union in North America as far as I know. The other succeeded also but a couple of weeks later it closed due to "being unviable economically"... They then opened a new one a few blocks away! What a bunch of overly greedy liars!
lets boycott wall mart.. well me personally i wont got there anymore knowing how they treat people and get profit out of them
Where's Teddy Roosevelt when you need him?
He's rolling in his grave!
I'm never shopping at Wal-Mart again.
i used to work as a truck driver, delivering at times to walmart thru out the states. they treated the truckers in general as scum, we had to pay out of our own pockets to have walmart unload their own merchandise, we weren't allowed on the docks to unload ourselves or even do an inventory on what we delivered. if their was a discrepancy, we had no way to verify it, only accept their word for it. the guard shack was gestapo like to enter their premisses. this movies explains alot & if/ when i ever shop again in the USA, i wont be doing it at any walmart.
this can only happen because the U.S. Government as a whole is as corrupt, as what society calls, a 3 rd world country.
oh, and for renee, yes it does apply to walmarts in canada. walmart just shut down a store in quebec for attempting to unionize and left something like 170 people out of jobs.
This reinforces why I do not shop at walmart, and why I try to shop as locally as possible. I do not like financially supporting the beast that would treat people this way, and the environment this way. More people need to watch this documentary, more people need to support local business (which may in turn create lower prices on local product, less people should apply for jobs there and try to work somewhere else. There are so many things that we should be doing instead in order to reverse the progress of this company. Good work and my undying support to the people out there who make it their mission to keep Walmart OUT!
I'll never shop at a Walmart or a Sam's Club.
I'll never shop at a Walmart or a Sam's Club.
unreal that they can get away with this!
these multi millionaire owners have no moral's they must realize how much pain and hurt their pure and unashamable greed causes and to you the middlemanagement you will realize one day that you are only pawns in their game and that you are disposable.
this is the america that people strive to get into what a joke.
have these people no sense its been proven that people power works time and time again,the people that handed over funds (that could have been better spent) to get walmart into town must have been elected and should and can be held accountable.
although i feel for these people they must help themselves because most people dont care unless it really affects them
Sadly, this is still one of the greatest countries in the world.
Try Russia, China, etc...in fact, give it ten years and this country will be just as communist / socialist as the others. Our society uses its voice for a bunch of non-sensical foolishness.
STOP BEING SHEEPLE!!!
I live in Toronto, Canada
Does this also apply to Walmart's here?
Yes. It applies to all of WM as a corporation
Though it is an entertaining documentary, and quite informative, one cannot help but be disgusted by the incredible bias forced down our throats in this "happy music/EVIL music" film. Not once was there any narration, which is supposed to instill a "this is a very objective documentary!" thought in our mind; however, every time a good Mom 'n' Pop family was shown, sappy acoustic chords are sure to be stuffed in there! African-focused community happens to topple the wicked giant? Uplifting soul music, right on cue.
Eye-opening film, but presented in a very mediocre fashion.
I sure hope wal-mart won't enter australia. Will spread a viral campaign if they do!
No more Walmart in Germany! Great decission. You can too. Freedom for the People and prosperity for your comunities. Your constituion wasn't written for major coorperations like Walmart. I wish you all of luck!!
MONEY is all walmart is about,the arrogance and disregard 4 people is sickening. Glad to see people r still Uniting.
I'm boycotting Walmart. This is absolutely outrageous. I knew this was going on, but I had no idea as to the extent of the problem. Walmart is destroying America and we the people need to rise up against it. It's hard to believe we've let this happen.
Ashleen, if you had finished the video you would have seen that it does offer a message of hope. The last 5 or 10 minutes documents numerous cities that have succeeded in keeping Walmart out of their communities.
A 'Mallwort' was built in a community about 20 minutes away from me in the year 2001. The small community it was chosen to be built in was composed mainly of migrant workers and lower class individuals. Many people really did not oppose and took positions in the store. Today it is obvious how much economical devastation it has caused small businesses in the surrounding areas. I have worked for a couple of companies that did not survive. The kind of places that are mentioned in little stories containing phrases like "...when I travel up state I always stop in to a little cafe that makes the best..." and "..."the piano player that plays during dinner is amazing". Mallwort makes me sick.
I worked for Walmart when I was in high school. I started there three weeks before I turned 18. The schedule that went up right after i turned 18 had me scheduled 37 hours a week and most of those times while i was in class. When i brought it to their attention they told me i should have filled out a new availability. Then said, "why do i need school when i could make a future at Walmart." I told then i would be there as soon as i got out of class. They didn't push the point anymore.
Fast forward years latter and a friend of mine was walking through a walmart and slipped and fell onto a broken Sobe bottle. Glass went into her arm and she had to go to the emergency room. They wouldn't even cover her hospital bills. I hope walmart goes under. They don't care about their employees and they don't care about their patrons.
My brother worked for Walmart for a short time, and he said it was like working for a small communist country. No joke! He said the perfect Walmart employee has an I.Q of about 85; smart enough to work and do a good job but it is difficult for them to find something better and they know it. Kinda sad. There are exceptions of course.
I really couldn't finish watching this because I couldn't take any more footage of crap Wal-mart was and is doing to workers. It's a big realization for me and I probably wouldn't shop here anymore knowing how many tax dollars and subsidies are being wasted on Walmart. What's worse is that the documentary offers no hope in what can be done to stop walmart except reporting to the media. More people must watch this.
We can each do our part by supporting small businesses in our respective areas!
Their prices are higher than Wal-Mart because of WM's buying power, however, we CAN make an impact as a unified voice that says "NO MORE" to WM.
Folks, one voice can make a difference because others will join that voice. Even if your family & friends refuse to stop feeding the corporate machine, won't it feel good knowing that you're standing for something, instead of falling for anything?
One of my favorite quotes is: Curse the darkness if you must...but damn ya if you don't light a candle!!!
One candle may not light a dark canyon, however, that candle will serve to ultimately light millions of candles. LET'S LIGHT SOME CANDLES, ALREADY!!!
real stunner. professional presentation.