Life In The Fast Lane

October 19, 2006 12:51 PM

Wal-Mart workers walk out. "It's the first time that Wal-Mart has faced a worker-led revolt of such scale, according to both employees and the company". Apparently the working conditions of Wal-Mart employees is not much of a concern to The Eagles though. Time to start greasing the wheels for the new album.
posted by gfrobe (46 comments total)

this just in: wal-mart sucks. working at wal-mart sucks.
posted by StrasbourgSecaucus at 1:00 PM on October 19, 2006

• If they don't like the rules, find another job.
• No-one put a gun to their heads and made them take the jobs.
Thought I'd get them in before someone who actually subscribes to those mottos uses them
posted by Thorzdad at 1:01 PM on October 19, 2006

So.... are the Eagles trying to make up for the time they dedicated "Peaceful Easy Feeling" to Sadaam? Either way, it's too bad. I can't imagine them needing money so bad that they'd play a gig for Walmart.
posted by Bageena at 1:02 PM on October 19, 2006

After reading Nickled and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich (I know I butchered the spelling.), I vowed never to consider working for Wal-Mart. I know they're not the only company to treat their workers like shit, but they're among the worst offenders.

The only things that are going to cause any change in the way the service industry in America works are a major minimum wage increase (Nickel and Dimed mentioned a study from 1999 that said the minimum wage needed to be $9.50/hr to allow someone to sustain a family), and unionization in service industries.

So, just when, exactly, did "Union" become a dirty word again?
posted by SansPoint at 1:06 PM on October 19, 2006

WE SMITE THE LAZY WORKERS
posted by matteo at 1:08 PM on October 19, 2006

In the memo, a Wal-Mart executive said it would find ways to rid its payroll of full-time and unhealthy employees....

Nice. Due to ambiguous pronoun reference, the article seems to refer to a Wal-Mart executive as "it".

As should we all.

I'm amazed that Wal-Mart, known for playing hardball, rolled over as soon as this happened. Encouraging.
posted by gurple at 1:09 PM on October 19, 2006 [1 favorite]

Yeah but Wal Mart is redesigning their employees uniforms. So that should placate them.
posted by spicynuts at 1:10 PM on October 19, 2006

Come on, man. I had a rough night and I hate the fuckin' Eagles, man!
posted by cellphone at 1:12 PM on October 19, 2006 [1 favorite]

Another tequila sunrise, cellphone?
posted by sourwookie at 1:17 PM on October 19, 2006

The proof is indisputable... the Eagles ARE corporate rock! And geez, it's not like they need the money. My impression of them has just multiplied by -1.
posted by rolypolyman at 1:24 PM on October 19, 2006

Apparently the working conditions of Wal-Mart employees is not much of a concern to The Eagles though

Life in the 12 items or less lane/at wal-mart sure is mighty fine...
posted by jonmc at 1:24 PM on October 19, 2006

Make mine a white russian. Do you really think The Eagles have repp'd for the everyman since they kicked Bernie out in '73? Can we agree they've now just duct-taped and cathetered cutouts to their mike stands to sponge every dime out of what's left of their integrity. I'll bet there's a nice distribution deal for the new CD exclusively at Wal-Mart. Good. So you probably won't hear their new songs chanted on the picket lines. But you might catch them on that tinny Wal-Mart sound system somewhere between this hour's specials in the jewelry department and "clean-up on Aisle 5".
posted by hal9k at 1:25 PM on October 19, 2006

Wow, so who sucks more, Walmart or the Eagles?
I'm actually not sure myself
posted by ernie at 1:29 PM on October 19, 2006

In fairness, the whole Eagles show was to celebrate Wal-Mart's massive new commitment to environmental reform. I'm not a big fan of the company myself, but this type of activity should get the props it deserves.

And besides, it's not like they peed on our rugs or anything.
posted by mullingitover at 1:30 PM on October 19, 2006

"We are a Spanish-speaking community, some from Cuba, some from Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, and if something affects my brothers and sisters, it affects me ... "

See? They are all related.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 1:30 PM on October 19, 2006 [1 favorite]

I really want to defend the Eagles on this stupid-ass Wal-Mart thing ("No band should play for an audience that includes people I don't approve of, even if they're playing because that person does something good -- the band must consider the totality of the person, and if there's anything about that person I don't approve of, the band should not play for him!").

But I hate the fucking Eagles. (Man.)
posted by pardonyou? at 1:40 PM on October 19, 2006

That concert really tied the two together.

Shut up Wal-Mart!
posted by hal9k at 1:44 PM on October 19, 2006

In fairness, the whole Eagles show was to celebrate Wal-Mart's massive new commitment to environmental reform.

The Eagles are notoriously money oriented, don't like each other very much and don't do anything for free. Without a new album coming up I'm sure they wouldn't be there or even in the same room with each other. I wouldn't be surprised if the album ends up being sold exclusively through Wal-Mart in return for a massive advance order.
posted by gfrobe at 1:44 PM on October 19, 2006

"For months, politicians and activists have been saying that the low prices at the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores, come at a tremendous cost to its low-paid employees."

Months?? Try years. Sheesh!
posted by hermitosis at 1:53 PM on October 19, 2006

Thorzdad:
"If they don't like the rules, find another job"

Sounds like: "if you aren't happy in your life, why don't you just kill yourself."

Funny, though, most of us prefer, "if you aren't happy in your life, make your life better". Which seems to be what these workers are doing.

Most "rules" are not some concrete and objective external reality, part of the "real world". Most are man-made, and subject to change, you know. Actually, when it comes to human societies, change itself is more of "the rule" than anything else.
posted by mano at 2:01 PM on October 19, 2006

So, just when, exactly, did "Union" become a dirty word again?

Somewhere around the time when people learned that complaining about their job was still satisfying even when it was totally fruitless and affected no change. So why not just do that instead of have to go to a bunch of meetings and, you know, figure shit out?

I think there's a direct tie there to how often people switch jobs now, as opposed to earlier in the 20th century. We would all rather just spin the wheel and hope we end up somewhere better than try to improve the hand we're dealt.
posted by hermitosis at 2:06 PM on October 19, 2006 [1 favorite]

/is in a union
posted by hermitosis at 2:07 PM on October 19, 2006

Thought I'd get them in before someone who actually subscribes to those mottos uses them

Like Eight year olds dude, Eight year olds.
posted by Deep Dish at 2:07 PM on October 19, 2006

This is actually encouraging news; maybe things have finally gotten so bad workers will remember why their grandfathers went to such effort to get unions going. (And good for you, hermitosis!)

And besides, it's not like they peed on our rugs or anything.

Speak for yourself. I can't get the stain out, and it's still smelly after all these years.
posted by languagehat at 2:16 PM on October 19, 2006

Fuck you man! You don't like my
fucking music, get your own fucking
cab!
posted by nola at 2:50 PM on October 19, 2006

employees to work through lunch breaks and after their shifts, without extra compensation.

Convince workers they work for a family , for ameruka, for the good of the free world ! 9/11 changed everything, except same ol same ol. CHECK

Wal-Mart has also been boosting its political contributions to stop initiatives aimed at forcing the retailer to raise pay and benefits

Pay the legislators so they are too busy spending easy money and convince themselves they are only in for power. CHECK

The protest wasn't led by any union group

Play an years long, smear and hate campagin against the very _idea_ of union of workers, while you emply the very same union of interest methods. CHECK

Rather, it was instigated by two department managers, Guillermo Vasquez and Rosie Larosa.

Latin American surnames. Pretend it's an ethnical thing, foment hate against the strangers, downplay the fact they are department managers. WILL DO

In addition, the shifts would be decided not by managers, but by a computer at company headquarters.

Smear the two dep manager saying they don't want to lose their corporal powers over the shifts. WILL DO

"We are a Spanish-speaking community, some from Cuba, some from Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, and if something affects my brothers and sisters, it affects me,"

Destroy this sense of identity, replace with belonging to "individual worker" each for their own, fake-darwinian style. WILL DO

"The new schedules posted made it seem like some hours were reduced, but that was inaccurate and we have corrected it."

Downplay all the fuzz as if it was a simply computer mistake, clerical error. CHECK
posted by elpapacito at 2:55 PM on October 19, 2006

The whole "Eagles" thing is moronic to include in your post. If the Eagles got hired for somebody's bar mitzvah, does it mean they are endorsing 13 year old kid? No, it means they want to cash the dad's check. The Walmart CEO is being honored by BOB & HARVEY WEINSTEIN (who I think founded Miramax and now own The Weinstein Company). They're writing the check for the party, not Walmart's CEO.

And to all Walmart employees: "So often time it happens, that we live our lives in chains and we never even know we have the key."
posted by spock at 3:07 PM on October 19, 2006

Note that this walkout/protest was not organized by any union or protest group, but by the workers themselves, with department managers were the organizers.

If they do attempt to unionize the NLRB's recent rulings in the "Kentucky River" cases would likely deny these first-rung managers union membership.

I foresee more unrest like this erupting outside the influence of the unions in the near future. I wonder if the AFL-CIO or SEIU will attempt to position themselves as the "lesser of two evils" to management?
posted by action man bow-tie at 3:27 PM on October 19, 2006

[x] Wal-Mart sucks.
[ ] Microsoft sucks.
posted by eyeballkid at 3:38 PM on October 19, 2006 [1 favorite]

why are the eagles oppressing us so?
posted by pyramid termite at 3:57 PM on October 19, 2006

Don't tell me Joe Walsh is gonna be there!
posted by Liquidwolf at 4:07 PM on October 19, 2006

They hate our freedom?
posted by Bageena at 4:08 PM on October 19, 2006

/me cranks up Mojo Nixon's "Don Henley Must Die"
posted by Eekacat at 4:12 PM on October 19, 2006

Blue Pumpkin strikes again.
posted by [insert clever name here] at 4:16 PM on October 19, 2006

So, just when, exactly, did "Union" become a dirty word again?

When they got too powerful and became what they were fighting against.
posted by smackfu at 4:37 PM on October 19, 2006

Didn't Wal Mart get into some trouble over women's health issues not all that long ago?
posted by Holy foxy moxie batman! at 4:42 PM on October 19, 2006

So, just when, exactly, did "Union" become a dirty word again?

When they got too powerful and became what they were fighting against.
posted by smackfu

Whoa, dude. You and I have different unions, I take it.
posted by leftcoastbob at 4:47 PM on October 19, 2006

haha. when they became too powerful. you mean in the early 20th century? they havent been powerful for decades.
posted by mano at 4:50 PM on October 19, 2006

I never said they were still powerful.
posted by smackfu at 5:00 PM on October 19, 2006

I must be getting old because I cannot remember it now though it was a big stink back in the day. Is it Henley or is it Frey who is supposed to be the sex predator? Both?
posted by bukvich at 5:15 PM on October 19, 2006

When they got too powerful and became what they were fighting against. What, the unions run all those sweatshops in China now?
posted by imperium at 5:19 PM on October 19, 2006

It's hard to figure why Jonah thinks he is unqualified to serve. A 52-year-old humvee gunner just died in Afghanistan -- and the gunner was a girl.
posted by JackFlash at 8:04 PM on October 19, 2006

So, just when, exactly...

About the same time Americans stopped taking voting seriously.

What the heck was happening in the culture at that time (or, say, 20-odd years earlier, during the voting public's childhood years) to cause the US to give up on social progress?

There was a time when we all understood we had to pull together to get ahead.

At least, I think we did. Isn't that how we got rid of things like child labour and got the vote and basically kicked ass? IMO there were huge strides in social progress during the first half of the last century (190x-195x). Then... something changed. A generation gap. Lost track of the ball, got distracted.
posted by five fresh fish at 8:39 PM on October 19, 2006

We fixed all the easy problems and were only left with hard ones.
posted by smackfu at 8:41 PM on October 19, 2006

So, just when, exactly, did "Union" become a dirty word again?

I think its always been a dirty word in the South (the land of Wal-Mart).

Second, unions are often criticized negatively in the news when you read about the airline industry or the car industry as being one of the major elements causing financial trouble for the companies (not saying they are or aren't).

Third, when the major industries in which unions found the greatest representation collapsed or vanished over the last thirty years, I.E. steel, coal, etc.

I do not forsee any growth in unionization anytime soon, either.
posted by Atreides at 6:12 AM on October 20, 2006

Atreides writes "Third, when the major industries in which unions found the greatest representation collapsed or vanished over the last thirty years, I.E. steel, coal, etc."

Collapsed ? Rather, they moved to other countries were the cost of workforce was comparatively lower , also because of less unionization. Obviously the governments and the corporate interest in U.S. addressed the "unfair competition" with "unfair moves" such a duties, while both the union and anti-union rethoric remained high, as if union was the only or the primary cause for a set of problems including

1. overproduction
2. dumping
3. really competitive production and pricing
4. difference in exchange rates favouring some country
5. inefficient organization, systematic parasitism, private interest burocratization

Nope, union can't cause all of these problems ; nor should the salaried workers (expecially these disguised as external collaborator or excecutive contracted management) get all of the financial risk of these problems on their shoulders, because they don't see but a fraction of the profits.
posted by elpapacito at 8:25 AM on October 20, 2006