- Target:
- Walmart Stores Inc. & Town Board of Cicero
- Region:
- United States of America
- Website:
- www.wakeupwalmart.com
• Walmart sales associates, who comprise the majority of workers within the company, only earned average annual wages of $13,861 in 2001 – roughly $769 below the poverty line for a family of three [“Is Wal-Mart Too Powerful?” Business Week, Oct. 6, 2003; US Dept. of Health and Human Services, 2001 Poverty Guidelines]. A 2003 wage analysis report found that Walmart cashiers fared even worse than their sales colleagues since they earned average annual wages of $11,948 [Dr. Richard Drogin, “Statistical Analysis of Gender Patterns in Wal-Mart’s Workforce,” 2003].
• As of 2006, only 43 percent of Walmart employees were covered by the company’s health insurance plan and company President and CEO Lee Scott admitted in 2005 that, “in some… states, the public (health care) program may actually be a better value (than Walmart’s plan)” [http://www.walmartfacts.com/docs/1625_jan2006healthcarebackgrounders_576890240.pdf; Transcript Lee Scott Speech, 4/5/05]. In addition, a 2004 report by the Democratic Staff of the Committee on Education and the Workforce estimated that Walmart’s low wages cost taxpayers roughly $420,750 per store per year in low-income housing and energy assistance, health care costs, and free or reduced lunches for Walmart associates and their families [“The Hidden Price We All Pay for Wal-Mart,” a Report by the Democratic Staff of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, February 16, 2004].
We, the concerned residents of Cicero, demand that the new Walmart (to be built at 31st and Laramie) provide its employees with a living wage and comprehensive, accessible benefits.
So far, in communities throughout the United States, Walmart’s expensive and inaccessible health care plan has forced taxpayers to subsidize the health care costs of its associates. The company also pays wages that are below the poverty line.
Therefore, the Cicero Town Board must hold Walmart accountable to its future associates by encouraging the company to provide all employees with a living wage and accessible, comprehensive benefits.
You can further help this campaign by sponsoring it
The Walmart Must Pay a Living Wage & Benefits to Cicero Associates! petition to Walmart Stores Inc. & Town Board of Cicero was written by UFCW and is in the category Employment at GoPetition.