The Evil of Walmart
Jun. 20th, 2005 04:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mamadebTwo weeks ago, my brother, who did web management at the New Mexico Distribution center for WalMart (I know, but he has a family to support) was fired.
This is what happened, in his own words (and, my goodness. I swear he was an English major.)
He's asked me to spread this around, although I know most of you know about WalMart.
He wrote this letter to a group specializing in such matters and gave me permission to post it, although I have eliminated all names.
This is what happened, in his own words (and, my goodness. I swear he was an English major.)
He's asked me to spread this around, although I know most of you know about WalMart.
My issues with my General Manager began last December. Wal-Mart has a Jewish associate named A* S*. Every year he had been allowed to hang a poster of a menorah prior to Hanukkah, along with the christmas trees, Santa's, christmas cards etc. My GM took exception and had called a meeting to discuss this situation. He had it with our senior staff. I was not invited to the meeting, but happened to have stayed over in the meeting room and heard everything. The meeting started off with the managers joking about the situation and laughing about old A* and Menorahs, and his wish to have this menorah. The meeting ended with their stategy to remove the poster. I had been employed for four years at this time, and had never experienced a meeting like this before. Nor, was such deplorable behavior allowed in a meeting room. This is our third GM in four years so that explained this partially.
Well, as I am also Jewish, I took tremendous offense to this. After the meeting I spoke with a member of senior management. He, at first, did not agree with me, but later told me that he understood why I thought this was discriminatory, and not only breaking my rights but especially A*.
From that point forward my relationship with my GM went sour. He became threatening, abusive, and discriminatory. Everything from putting me in seperate quarters during a convention in Tennessee, to denying me the same basic Wal-Mart rights such as the Open Door. He even verbally threatened me in front of my associates, calling me out. Now, since GM's come and go, I kept a low profile. Since most of senior staff was obviously anti-semetic, there was not much I thought I could do without losing my job.
Well, my GM terminated me anyway. It was a trumped up charge of mis-appropriating a laptop. This laptop had been around for years, in different manager's hands. I had permission, irregardless. What is so significant is that I was the only one punished for this laptop, and the other managers were completely held un-accountable.
Wal-Mart is happy to sell Menorahs and kosher foods, etc, but it is a different story in their workplace. They ruined my reputation with their false charges, and, since I live in a small town life has grown uncomfortable. I even receive harrassing phone calls at 2am. Wal-Mart is not the reputable place people believe. This same management group runs high stake poker games, and the involve other associates and minors. If you are not part of the clique you are ostracized.
He wrote this letter to a group specializing in such matters and gave me permission to post it, although I have eliminated all names.
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(no subject)
Date: 2005-06-20 08:25 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-06-20 08:42 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-06-20 08:40 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-06-20 08:51 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-06-20 08:52 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-06-20 08:58 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-06-20 09:47 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-06-21 01:12 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-06-21 01:49 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-06-20 08:55 pm (UTC)DH and I are going to switch to Costco this coming weekend, and this story only reaffirms that choice.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-06-20 09:00 pm (UTC)As if my gay-looking money is an important consideration to their bottom line...
I hope your brother finds a better job soon--and takes these mothers to the cleaners!
(no subject)
Date: 2005-06-20 09:03 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-06-20 09:09 pm (UTC)Good on him.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-06-20 09:31 pm (UTC)He's very much my late father's son - the needs of the family comes first.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-06-21 07:09 pm (UTC)May Hashem bless him with success in his new job and on his lawsuit.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-05 05:28 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-06-20 09:03 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-06-20 09:30 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-06-20 09:37 pm (UTC)Have you heard about the (local, not national) WalMart anti-Shabbat rule? Be available for any shift, any time, or be fired.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-06-21 01:14 am (UTC)I suggested the ACLU above, and I'm convinced that, with this, they would definitely be interested in the case.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-06 02:34 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-06-21 01:19 am (UTC)Glad your brother's okay; he sounds like a mensch.
We've been boycotting Wal-Mart for years (granted, not hard here, where none is handy) and shopping at Costco, BJ's, and Target instead. All are cleaner, more friendly, and less politically unfriendly than WallyWorld. (I mean, a company that has a 60' x 60' listening room hooked to its franchises for the purpose of preventing unionization!)
If the AFL-CIO wants into WM, I will support them any way I know how.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-06-21 04:41 am (UTC)Repeat:
Alan Dershowitz, Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law, Harvard University
Office: Hauser 520
Phone: (617) 495-4617
Fax: (617) 495-7855
Email: dersh@law.harvard.edu
NOW!
(no subject)
Date: 2005-06-21 04:47 am (UTC)The bastards should SUFFER for this.
Keep posting on whatever step happens, and I can make sure this gets on widely-diffused mailing lists. (Won't do it until you give me a green light, though.)
(no subject)
Date: 2005-06-21 03:09 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-05 11:29 am (UTC)I'm glad your brother has a new job. That is so clearly discriminatory it's frightening.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-05 02:33 pm (UTC)SPLC in particular is doing investigation regarding hate activity among dominionist groups as well as links with better-known hate groups; as Wal-mart's owners are funders of dominionist causes (and at least a few of the Waltons are members of the Coalition for National Policy, a secretive dominionist "think tank") I think SPLC would be *quite* interested.
SPLC also, of note, will give legal assistance to persons affected by such things as anti-Shabbat policies, etc. (SPLC is the group known formerly as KlanWatch, and they have successfully shut down multiple Klan and neo-Nazi groups in court--and gotten damages. If anything, they're probably one of *the* most successful groups at this.)
(no subject)
Date: 2005-06-21 12:09 pm (UTC)This is a surprise
Date: 2005-06-21 02:04 pm (UTC)South Park had it right.
Re: This is a surprise
Date: 2005-06-21 02:54 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-06-22 12:39 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-06-22 03:11 pm (UTC)If you can spread the word through other contacts, that would be good.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-05 01:26 pm (UTC)I'm so glad he has a new job to support his family, and that he has some legal action in the works. I sure hope he can get some retribution in this!
(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-05 04:27 pm (UTC)have you heard of Outfox?
Date: 2005-07-05 05:20 pm (UTC)The director was great, exposing stuff about Fox news channel
he's in the middle of making a documentry about Walmart.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-06 11:16 pm (UTC)I'm so glad - Wal-mart needs to be exposed.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-05 08:18 pm (UTC)Here by way of
(no subject)
Date: 2005-07-06 04:29 pm (UTC)