[Vision2020] Wal- Mart as food retailer

[Stephen Cooke]

Thanks Judy for the websites.
 I was not aware of Wal-Mart's status as the nation's largest food retailer
(see below). The news on wages in this sector is twice as bad as for general
manufacturing stores. Food store wages in the U.S. have decreased at a rate
of -1.4%/yr between 1978 and 1998. The average wages in food stores was also
$16k/yr in 1998 (1998 dollars). The news just gets better and better -- for
Wal-Mart. 
Steve Cooke

"Wal-Mart is the largest employer in the
United States, with over one million workers.
It is the largest food retailer and the third
largest pharmacy in the nation. The company
employs approximately 44,000 workers in
California, and has plans to expand significantly
in the state over the next four years.
Wal-Mart workers receive lower wages than
other retail workers and are less likely to have
health benefits. Other major retailers have
begun to scale back wages and benefits in the
state, citing their concerns about competition
from Wal-Mart.
We estimate that Wal-Mart workers in
California earn on average 31 percent less than
workers employed in large retail as a whole,
receiving an average wage of $9.70 per hour
compared to the $14.01 average hourly earn-ings
for employees in large retail (firms with
1,000 or more employees). In addition, 23 per-cent
fewer Wal-Mart workers are covered by
employer-sponsored health insurance than
large retail workers as a whole. The differences
are even greater when Wal-Mart workers are
compared to unionized grocery workers. In
the San Francisco Bay Area, non-managerial
Wal-Mart employees earn on average $9.40 an
hour, compared to $15.31 for unionized grocery
workers-39 percent less-and are half
as likely to have health benefits.


At these low-wages, many Wal-Mart
workers rely on public safety net pro-grams-
such as food stamps, Medi-Cal, and
subsidized housing-to make ends meet. ..."

Executive Summary
HIDDEN COST OF WAL-MART JOBS: USE OF SAFETY NET PROGRAMS BY WAL-MART WORKERS
IN CALIFORNIA
http://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/lowwage/walmart.pdf