Employees Subdue Gunman; Fired

In mid February of this year, 4 Walmart employees, Lori Poulsen, Justin Richins, Shawn Ray and Gabriel Stewart, were on the clock at a Walmart location in Utah when they noticed a man, Trent Longton, attempting to steal from the store. When confronted by Poulsen, who was in charge of Asset Protection, Longton withdrew a loaded fire-arm, threatening the safety of those in the store.

The four employees acted in a way that was both brave and understandable given the situation: They subdued the gunman and removed the threat. And although they may have just saved lives (both their own or those of customers), they were promptly fired by Walmart for breaching the "code of conduct" for these situations, which states that should a customer become violent, employees should run to a safe place and then call authorities.

Walmart's official stance is that the actions of the 4 workers "put the lives of customers and employees in jeopardy." Although, considering that Longton is a convicted felon, it seems to me that lives were already in jeopardy, especially since Longton was forbidden by law to possess a fire arm in the first place.

Although this is an extreme case, it is interesting to see how quickly Walmart can throw long-time employees to the curb, even those who are essentially heroes. Stewart, who had been with Walmart for nearly 12 years before his termination, says that he felt betrayed by the actions of the store.

Walmart Corporate "Fact Sheet"

On their Corporate Website, Walmart provides a list of different fact sheets which detail different aspects of various charities and help funds which they have been a part of. Interestingly, and in contradiction to many arguments against Walmart, the opening sentence on the page says:

"At Walmart, we believe in a philosophy of operating globally and giving back locally. We are proud to support organizations that are helping people live better."

Whether or not their "charitable nature" is redemption for the various ways Walmart harms communities is up to the reader to decide. I just think it's interesting how Walmart presents itself on its website.

Walmart's Plan for a Healthy America (Continued from 3/18)

Earlier this month I mentioned the deal between Walmart stores and Michelle Obama to make healthy food alternatives more affordable in an effort to combat nationwide obesity.

An article found on Walmart's website, discusses the details of that deal, specifically what Walmart plans to do in order to make their plan a reality. Their "5-point" plan (found here) consists of several key points, including lowering the sodium content of packaged foods, creating a seal to identify healthy alternatives, and educating shoppers on shopping healthily.

Wal-Mart v. Dukes: The Basics

An article published by the National Womens Law Center earlier this month (Found Here) details a supreme court case involving Walmart and female employees who felt discriminated on the job. The case, which will go before the court on March 29th, will determine the future of women working at Walmart, at least for the time being.

The bill failed to pass last year, so the lawsuit could go either way. However, an interesting part of the article which I noticed was the fear of retaliation these women have when asking about their pay.

This is interesting because a key focus in Walmart's employee training is on their stated "No retaliation" policy, in which employees are encouraged to come forward and talk to management without fear of being fired or punished in other ways.

This article also points to a solution to the issue of big-box stores: Government Regulations. Because of the impacts these stores have, I am surprised the government hasn't stepped in more than they have to reduce some of the impacts (Specifically the environmental ones) which these stores have.

Walmart Teams Up With Michelle Obama to Fight Obesity

This interesting Video (Found Here) is a clip from a news report which talks about a surprising partnership between Michelle Obama and Walmart to fight increasing obesity in the nation.

Because Walmart is the largest retailer of groceries in the United States, they have lowered prices on healthy food items to make them more affordable. Although this could be a major risk taken by the company, the predicted outcome is that Walmart's competitors will in turn lower their prices to remain competitive.

This is a refreshing example of ways in which Walmart is working to help the community, and while it may not out-weigh the documented negatives which we have seen, it is a step in the right direction.

Man Wins Lawsuit Against Walmart After Injury On Job

A recent success story of an individual suing Walmart occurred earlier this month, when an employee filed a lawsuit against the corporation when he was "Significantly physically impaired" while on the job. Although the article (found here) was somewhat sparse on the details of who this man was, the store he worked at was in Chubbuck and he was awarded $1.6 million.

After working at two separate Walmart locations, my experience with the store chain is that employee safety comes second to productivity and profit. During my time at Walmart I witnessed many instances of employees being put at risk through the cutting of corners or negligence. I'm glad to see light being shed on this particular issue, though it is unfortunate the man had to be injured for it to happen.

Wal-Mart Employees speak out about low wages