New web site

We recently came across a new Web site, walmartspeakout.com, a site in which current and former employees talk about the company.

First, the background and the disclaimers:

The site is a project of Wal-Mart Watch, a decidedly anti-Wal Mart group, and obviously not affiliated in any way with the company.

The stories deal with wages, discrimination, corporate culture. Site says all are true, but of course we have no way of independently verifying it. Many entries are anonymous; others signed just with initials.


Now, for some of the stories:
M.L. in Illinois on Wages

"When you have your evaluation each year, you get a very small raise. Then they cut your hours back so that you don't make anymore take home than you did before."


Anonymous on How Not to Vote

"We were told that if a Democrat president is voted in, that the first bill to be reviewed is the union bill and if it passes we will loose benefits, pay, etc."


Anonymous mother of two

"I am not available at night. That is not an option for me, being a single mom. I feel like I am getting pushed out of my full-time job because of being a single mom."


Late For Lunch

"I was a ten year Associate at a Wal-Mart. After all those years of dedicated service I was fired for going to lunch one minute late."

Some thoughts.
Now, we realize Wal-Mart is a business and must look out for its own interests. The mom of two, for example, she might not be able to work nights, but if that's when Wal-Mart needs workers, she needs to find way to make that work, or look for another job.

Wal-Mart is not a charity, and we are not expecting it to operate as if it were. We do ask for some compassion, though. Perhaps offer her a job at a different store, if she's an otherwise good employee? But that might not be possible. Not giving her day hours doesn't necessarily make Wal-Mart evil.

I have personally worked at several reputable companies, often working the late shift. That's just the nature of my business (journalism). But the companies have often tried to take into account that staffers have outside lives, too. It doesn't mean giving us all day shifts -- that just wasn't realistic -- but it meant maybe giving us a day off on short notice, when a family thing came up.

If Wal-Mart is making an effort, we can't blame them for asking the single mom to work night hours.

Now, for the one-minute late worker ... that, if true, is unexcusable.

We'll certainly be monitoring the site, and urge you to do so, too.