Wal-Mart about to get the shaft in MD


Strut10

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Have you seen the latest from the People's Republic of Maryland?? Legislators there have passed a bill requiring all private employers with over 10,000 employees (read: Wal-Mart and Wal-Mart alone) are going to be required by law to spend 8% of their annual cash revenues on employee health & welfare benefits. Wal-Mart employs 17,000 in Maryland.

Seems the lawmakers in Maryland can't stand to see capitalism at work and the unions can't stand to see money being made without them. They are calling it somewthing like the "Fair Share" initiative. So, now, I guess, it's up to the government to tell us what our "fair share" is.

30 other states have already said they will use this as the precedent-setting case to screw big business in the same manner. Already, West Virginia has drafted an, almost, identical bill.

IMHO....... Wal-Mart should either,

A: Lay off 7001 employees in Maryland to avoid (until the legislators lower the employee ceiling) the payout, or,

B: Inform the governor of Maryland that as of Friday, all its stores will close and he can explain to 17,000 unemployed folks where they can go get a new job.

This is crap with a capital "C"!! If this goes through and Wal-Mart lets it.......the effect will be so far-reaching it'll be unreal.

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Re: Wal-Mart about to get the shaft in MD

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......lets face it they got there in the last 30 years or so by hard work and low prices, why punish them for it?

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Because that's the #1 strategy right out of the liberals' playbook...... penalize people/companies for being succesful. Look at the tax code. The more you make, the more they take. Some incentive to do better in life, ain't it??

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Re: Wal-Mart about to get the shaft in MD

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If they would just break down and socilize medicine, they wouldn't have to worry about Wal-mart and their insurrance policies.

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No. Then we'd have to wonder how many weeks or months the wait was going to be for an apendectomy or an MRI. smirk.gif

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Re: Wal-Mart about to get the shaft in MD

[ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]

If they would just break down and socilize medicine, they wouldn't have to worry about Wal-mart and their insurrance policies.

[/ QUOTE ]

No. Then we'd have to wonder how many weeks or months the wait was going to be for an apendectomy or an MRI. smirk.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

I was talking about Maryland, not the states with working brains.

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Re: Wal-Mart about to get the shaft in MD

[ QUOTE ]

Because that's the #1 strategy right out of the liberals' playbook...... penalize people/companies for being succesful. Look at the tax code. The more you make, the more they take. Some incentive to do better in life, ain't it??

[/ QUOTE ]

Ain't that the truth. Work harder so others can work less...or better yet...not at all! mad.gif

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Re: Wal-Mart about to get the shaft in MD

I bet wal mart is furious over this. I really don't have a problem with it. My wife worked at wal mart for years when she was younger and they pushed her to work harder and harder everyday and the pay was horrible with no benefits. Wal Mart takes advantage of their workers. My mother in law still works at Wal Mart. They have here as head over sporting goods and automotive. She is supposed to be making around $12. Her manager has her at nine and she called corporate and they said they can't approve it without the managers paperwork and authorization.

I buy from Wal Mart but I am not a fan of their policies. I try to buy as little as possible there but living in a small town you don't have alot of choice.

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Re: Wal-Mart about to get the shaft in MD

I agree that WalMart has some problems, but getting the government involved isn't the way to address them. This is an issue that needs to be worked out between the company and it's employees. If enough employees don't like the way the company's run, they can try to force the company to change or they can find employment elsewhere. And I have a hard time believing that the state of Maryland is really that concerned about the welfare of some particular group of people. Sounds more like a money/power grab to me.

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Re: Wal-Mart about to get the shaft in MD

If 17000 people quit they have exercised their freedom to do that. This is all over medical expenses. Wal Mart has 18 different plans to choose from. I think the Gov't needs to stay out of it.

If they are that worried about healthcare then the military offers a great plan, good retirement too. The added bonus then that they will protect peoples rights to continue to work where they please.

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Re: Wal-Mart about to get the shaft in MD

So, is the problem here that Wal-Mart should be praised for not offering decent health care to their workers. I am trying to figure out what the main beef here is. I wouldn't praise all the great things Wal-Mart has done unless you have worked there, which for close to 2 years I worked at a distribution center, which is much different from a store. The pay was good, I never had a problem getting paid my overtime wages, I was never told to work off the clock, and I never had a problem with the health plan I used. The downside is you get treated like crap and worked to the bone and it is implied that if you don't agree with the "Wal-Mart Way" you can go elsewhere. The upper management in the DC thought they controlled the universe, and Wal-Mart feeds that thought.

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Re: Wal-Mart about to get the shaft in MD

From what I heard on the news Walmart is the only company in the entire state that is paying less than 8% for health and welfare benefits. Why not make them pay the same as everyone else? Seems fair to me. If they were having to pay more I could see you saying they were getting screwed but since they were paying less I say they were getting treated better than everyone else which isn't fair either.

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Re: Wal-Mart about to get the shaft in MD

Not at all. I'm saying that if the employees dislike the way WalMart (or any other company for that matter) handles their benefits then they should either try to get it changed internally or find another job.

Again, i'm not siding with WalMart because I think their practices are perfect. I'm siding with them because I don't think it's any of the government's business what health benefits are offered.

In other words, I see this as just another example of government intrusion into an area where they should have no say what so ever.

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Re: Wal-Mart about to get the shaft in MD

I heard on the news that Wal Mart actually spends more than the 8%. The problem as I see it is that the state is using this as precedent to establish a concept. Then they can later modify it to any company that employs 5000 or 1000 or 500. They can also modify the 8% to 10% or 12% or 25%.

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Re: Wal-Mart about to get the shaft in MD

I bet there are TONS of Mexicans that would LOVE a WalMart job!!!! people in this country forgot how to work and appreciate a paycheck if you ask me...

Keep the Government out of it..this will only be a quagmire when they get done with it. Then wheres your everyday low price??? GONE!!!!!!!

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Re: Wal-Mart about to get the shaft in MD

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The problem as I see it is that the state is using this as precedent to establish a concept. Then they can later modify it to any company that employs 5000 or 1000 or 500. They can also modify the 8% to 10% or 12% or 25%.

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EXACTLY!!!!!!!

Once the foot is in the door, the sky's the limit. Plus the precedent is set for other states. Rhode Island is waiting in the wings with a very similar plan.......except their benchmark is companies with 1000 or more employees. Which state will be next?? Which state will set it at 100 employees?? Will your boss be looking at you and thinking "Can I do without this person to get me down under the employee ceiling??"

Whether you like Wal-Mart or agree with its employee relations policies, you gotta understand how far-reaching the effects of the implementation of this law will be.

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Re: Wal-Mart about to get the shaft in MD

Sounds to me like MD is singling out large chain stores like Walmart with this law.Honestly, if they made it a law for all employees in the state of MD to pay out 8% in health care I wouldnt have a problem with it, Id almost think it was a good idea actually.But limiting it to places employing 10,000 or more is a crock IMO, the government has no businuesse singling these large corporations out crazy.gif

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