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Let's Whine on WalmartFollow

#1 Oct 09 2014 at 9:35 AM Rating: Good
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Tracy Morgan the guy that was rear-ended by a Walmart truck whose driver had been at the wheel for 24 hours straight, is told by Walmart lawyers his injuries are a result of improper use of the restraint system (a passenger in Tracy's vehicle was killed).

Despite 4 of the top-ten spots for richest Americans going to Waltons, they've donated next to nothing to charity...
Quote:
The central finding of this report is simple: Our analysis of 23 years’ worth of the Walton Family Foundation’s tax returns shows that Rob, Jim, Alice and Christy Walton—the second generation Walmart heirs—have contributed almost none of their personal fortune to the foundation which bears their family name.Specifically:

- Rob and Alice Walton made zero individual contributions to the Foundation during the 23 years we examined;

- Jim Walton made a single personal contribution of $3 million to the Walton Family Foundation, more than 15 years ago;

- Rob, Jim, and Alice Walton and the family holding company they control (Walton Enterprises) have been responsible for only .13% of all contributions to the Walton Family Foundation ($6.4 million);

- Among the second generation Walton heirs, it is the in-law, Christy, who has been responsible for the largest share of contributions to the Foundation;

- The four Walmart heirs and Walton Enterprises combined have been responsible for only 1.2% of all contributions to the Walton Family Foundation.

The combined lifetime contributions of the second generation Walmart heirs and their family holding company to the Walton Family Foundation come to $58.49 million, or:

■■ About .04% of the Waltons’ net worth of $139.9 billion;
â– â–  About .34% of the estimated $17.1 Billion in Walmart dividends that Rob, Jim, Alice and Christy received during the years we analyzed;
■■ Less than one week’s worth of the Walmart dividends the Waltons will receive this year;
■■ Less than the estimated value of Rob Walton’s collection of vintage sports cars.


Furthermore they're charitable foundation is simply a tool for evading taxes....
Quote:
The Walmart heirs have built one of the largest and most powerful private foundations in the country—at almost no cost to themselves. They have done so with the assistance of financial experts who manage the family holding company, Walton Enterprises, and the Walton Family Foundation with a keen eye toward maximizing the family’s wealth. In addition, the Waltons are exploiting complex loopholes in the tax code in order to avoid billions of dollars in estate taxes by funding their Foundation with special trusts.”


The Walmart Corp recently dropped 30,000 employees from the rolls of those eligible to receive health insurance. Yet they offer up affordable health care for the insured at their super-store.

I bought tires and three bottles of wine from Sam's Club last month. I'm feeling kind of guilty about that now.


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#2 Oct 09 2014 at 9:42 AM Rating: Excellent
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The last time I was in a Walmart, I left partially convinced that a drop in the minimum wage wouldn't be unwarranted. Man, what a bunch of slothful retards they had working there.
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#3 Oct 09 2014 at 9:44 AM Rating: Good
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You've not been to a Goodwill recently.......
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#4 Oct 09 2014 at 9:51 AM Rating: Good
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My favorite Walton story was when Alice Walton was pretty recently arrested for DUI and not only had it expunged from her record but got the officer who detained her suspended for it.
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#5 Oct 09 2014 at 9:54 AM Rating: Excellent
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Elinda wrote:
You've not been to a Goodwill recently.......

I thought that hiring slothful retards (for 30¢ an hour) was part of Goodwill's mission statement.
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#6 Oct 09 2014 at 10:01 AM Rating: Good
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Jophiel wrote:
Elinda wrote:
You've not been to a Goodwill recently.......

I thought that hiring slothful retards (for 30¢ an hour) was part of Goodwill's mission statement.

It is. I can attest to that as my kid worked there for about six years. They pay more than Walmart.
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#7 Oct 09 2014 at 10:19 AM Rating: Excellent
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Haha, I was referring more to the supposed "job training" for disadvantaged types they talk about. My understanding is that said disadvantaged people work for far under minimum wage.
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#8 Oct 09 2014 at 10:24 AM Rating: Excellent
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But $0.64 snickers bars!

TBH I could care less about their charitable contributions, I'm more concerned about a truck driver who's been on the road for 24 hours straight. The "we abuse our employee's and pass the saving on to you!" culture isn't something I'm a fan of. Besides you can almost always get better prices else where anyway.
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#9 Oct 09 2014 at 10:29 AM Rating: Good
I actively avoid Wal-Mart unless there is literally no alternative.

Like when we first moved into our house, and the fire alarms got fried by a power surge and went off at 1AM. Alas, Wal-Mart was the only place in town selling tall ladders at 1AM, so they got our business.
#10 Oct 09 2014 at 11:57 AM Rating: Good
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I have no problem with Walmart making that defense. Yes, they are liable for a significant percent of the damages. But him not wearing a seatbelt reduces that liability.
#11 Oct 09 2014 at 12:18 PM Rating: Decent
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Jophiel wrote:
The last time I was in a Walmart, I left partially convinced that a drop in the minimum wage wouldn't be unwarranted. Man, what a bunch of slothful retards they had working there.

They have a hard time attracting quality candidates at their pay rates.
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#12 Oct 09 2014 at 12:32 PM Rating: Good
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trickybeck wrote:
I have no problem with Walmart making that defense. Yes, they are liable for a significant percent of the damages. But him not wearing a seatbelt reduces that liability.

The injuries are a direct result of being rear-ended by a tracker-trailer.
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#13 Oct 09 2014 at 12:34 PM Rating: Good
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someproteinguy wrote:
I'm more concerned about a truck driver who's been on the road for 24 hours straight. The "we abuse our employee's and pass the saving on to you!" culture isn't something I'm a fan of. Besides you can almost always get better prices else where anyway.
I don't think you can blame that on Walmart. The truck drivers I've known would drive their entire trip straight, consuming nothing but No-Doze, Red Bull and meth the whole way if you let them.
#14 Oct 09 2014 at 12:35 PM Rating: Good
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Jophiel wrote:
Haha, I was referring more to the supposed "job training" for disadvantaged types they talk about. My understanding is that said disadvantaged people work for far under minimum wage.

Yeah. I believe the ones that are actually employable in their stores start at their regular retail wage. I don't recall what that was, but it was something above minimum.

It was actually a decent company, as compared to say Bed, Bath and Beyond, where my daughter worked during through her HS/College career.
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#15 Oct 09 2014 at 12:36 PM Rating: Good
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The One and Only Poldaran wrote:
someproteinguy wrote:
I'm more concerned about a truck driver who's been on the road for 24 hours straight. The "we abuse our employee's and pass the saving on to you!" culture isn't something I'm a fan of. Besides you can almost always get better prices else where anyway.
I don't think you can blame that on Walmart. The truck drivers I've known would drive their entire trip straight, consuming nothing but No-Doze, Red Bull and meth the whole way if you let them.

They're Walmart employees.
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#16 Oct 09 2014 at 12:39 PM Rating: Excellent
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Elinda wrote:
The One and Only Poldaran wrote:
someproteinguy wrote:
I'm more concerned about a truck driver who's been on the road for 24 hours straight. The "we abuse our employee's and pass the saving on to you!" culture isn't something I'm a fan of. Besides you can almost always get better prices else where anyway.
I don't think you can blame that on Walmart. The truck drivers I've known would drive their entire trip straight, consuming nothing but No-Doze, Red Bull and meth the whole way if you let them.

They're Walmart employees.
That was actually going to be my next question. If they're your employees and picking up and dropping off stuff from your stores and warehouses you should be aware that they've been on the clock for 24 hours straight. I suppose if that's not against the law where they're operating that's another thing (yeah, I'm not up to par on knowing all that stuff), but if it is there's certainly some blame to be passed around.


Edited, Oct 9th 2014 11:40am by someproteinguy
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#17 Oct 09 2014 at 1:02 PM Rating: Decent
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Haha, I was referring more to the supposed "job training" for disadvantaged types they talk about. My understanding is that said disadvantaged people work for far under minimum wage.

Fun fact, essentially a franchise. What Goodwill in IL does and Goodwill in ME does are only tangentially related.
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#18 Oct 09 2014 at 1:06 PM Rating: Excellent
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Seems pretty widespread. But I'll admit that I don't spend a lot of time investigating the store-to-store pay rates of thrift shops.
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#19 Oct 09 2014 at 1:15 PM Rating: Decent
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Seems pretty widespread. But I'll admit that I don't spend a lot of time investigating the store-to-store pay rates of thrift shops.

Oh, me either. They might pay them in pine cones and vicious beatings in Maine, I have no idea. I just remember we were getting a family member a gift certificate to Goodwill, but we couldn't do it a worker's paradise store because the Arkansas with lobsters stores were a completely different organization.
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To make a long story short, I don't take any responsibility for anything I post here. It's not news, it's not truth, it's not serious. It's parody. It's satire. It's bitter. It's angsty. Your mother's a *****. You like to jack off dogs. That's right, you heard me. You like to grab that dog by the bone and rub it like a ski pole. Your dad? Gay. Your priest? Straight. **** off and let me post. It's not true, it's all in good fun. Now go away.

#20 Oct 09 2014 at 1:20 PM Rating: Good
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Yeah. I should have been more specific. This is the Goodwill of Northern New England which is supposedly a stand up business. They get all sorts of civic awards.

Here's a smattering of hourly wages. I don't know if disabled workers get paid less. They may have to because they also collect on SS disability.
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#21 Oct 09 2014 at 2:59 PM Rating: Good
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Elinda wrote:
trickybeck wrote:
I have no problem with Walmart making that defense. Yes, they are liable for a significant percent of the damages. But him not wearing a seatbelt reduces that liability.

The injuries are a direct result of being rear-ended by a tracker-trailer.

Right, but civil cases aren't all-or-nothing. For example, if you are car surfing on the roof of your car and get rear-ended by a drunk driver, you're going to be found at fault for most of the damages when you go flying off, assuming it was a low speed collision and that you'd have been uninjured if inside the cabin. Not wearing a seatbelt isn't that bad, but it's still irresponsible behavior that likely increased his injuries and monetary damages. So Walmart wants to be held say 80% at fault instead of 100%, which I think is a fair argument.

Edited, Oct 9th 2014 4:00pm by trickybeck
#22 Oct 09 2014 at 3:22 PM Rating: Decent
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someproteinguy wrote:
Elinda wrote:
The One and Only Poldaran wrote:
someproteinguy wrote:
I'm more concerned about a truck driver who's been on the road for 24 hours straight. The "we abuse our employee's and pass the saving on to you!" culture isn't something I'm a fan of. Besides you can almost always get better prices else where anyway.
I don't think you can blame that on Walmart. The truck drivers I've known would drive their entire trip straight, consuming nothing but No-Doze, Red Bull and meth the whole way if you let them.

They're Walmart employees.
That was actually going to be my next question. If they're your employees and picking up and dropping off stuff from your stores and warehouses you should be aware that they've been on the clock for 24 hours straight. I suppose if that's not against the law where they're operating that's another thing (yeah, I'm not up to par on knowing all that stuff), but if it is there's certainly some blame to be passed around.


I haven't researched this exhaustively or anything, but my understanding is that he was on the clock for 13 hours, not 24. He was "up for 25 hours straight (the number most folks remember and repeat), but not working the whole time. It's also unclear (again, because most stories are vague as hell about the details) if all 13 hours of that time was driving (which would be a violation) or if only some of it was, how many breaks were taken, etc. He can work up to 14 hours within a 24 hour period, but only 11 of those can be behind the wheel (and he's required to take 20 minute breaks every X number of hours, the precise number of which I don't feel like looking up).

Apparently, he drove 700 miles to pick up the truck for his shift. The question is whether the company should be responsible for this. They don't have any control over what he does prior to starting his shift. If they knew this and allowed him to drive anyway, then there's some liability issues (beyond the normal ones resulting from their truck causing the accident). Ultimately, it's the driver's fault, and he worked for them driving their truck, so they're responsible. I'm assuming, however, that we're really discussing whether there should be some additional punishment to Walmart because of the length of time the driver was awake, driving, or whatever. And IMO, that's not as clear as some of the reports make it out to be.
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#23 Oct 09 2014 at 3:54 PM Rating: Good
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Elinda wrote:
trickybeck wrote:
I have no problem with Walmart making that defense. Yes, they are liable for a significant percent of the damages. But him not wearing a seatbelt reduces that liability.

The injuries are a direct result of being rear-ended by a tracker-trailer.


Which would have been smaller had he been wearing a belt... hence "reduces that liability" in the previous posts. It helps to read.
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#24 Oct 09 2014 at 4:26 PM Rating: Good
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Elinda wrote:
The One and Only Poldaran wrote:
someproteinguy wrote:
I'm more concerned about a truck driver who's been on the road for 24 hours straight. The "we abuse our employee's and pass the saving on to you!" culture isn't something I'm a fan of. Besides you can almost always get better prices else where anyway.
I don't think you can blame that on Walmart. The truck drivers I've known would drive their entire trip straight, consuming nothing but No-Doze, Red Bull and meth the whole way if you let them.
They're Walmart employees.
I'm just saying, that if anything, it's that Walmart didn't reign them in rather than forcing them to work extra.
#25 Oct 09 2014 at 4:52 PM Rating: Excellent
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The One and Only Poldaran wrote:
Elinda wrote:
The One and Only Poldaran wrote:
someproteinguy wrote:
I'm more concerned about a truck driver who's been on the road for 24 hours straight. The "we abuse our employee's and pass the saving on to you!" culture isn't something I'm a fan of. Besides you can almost always get better prices else where anyway.
I don't think you can blame that on Walmart. The truck drivers I've known would drive their entire trip straight, consuming nothing but No-Doze, Red Bull and meth the whole way if you let them.
They're Walmart employees.
I'm just saying, that if anything, it's that Walmart didn't reign them in rather than forcing them to work extra.
Which seems like how these things like to work out.

Big boss looks at numbers and offers the little boss some reward if he can find a way to lower costs. Little boss doesn't keep up with oversight where he should since he's being encouraged to do other things than strictly make sure the rules are followed. Driver gets praised for pushing through and getting a job done, and no one gets upset with him because they weren't aware he wasn't doing everything by the books. Lots of little minor things add up to someone dying in a traffic accident, and everyone plays hot potato with the blame in front of the lawyers while we have a debate on the internet with half the facts.

Good times. Smiley: popcorn

Well, unless you're actually involved in it, then it probably sucks a lot...
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#26 Oct 09 2014 at 9:02 PM Rating: Good
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The One and Only Poldaran wrote:
I'm just saying, that if anything, it's that Walmart didn't reign them in rather than forcing them to work extra.


Wal-Mart can't make the driver drive "extra". The trucks have EOBR ( Electronic On Board Recorders) that monitor everything to ensure compliance with FMCSA regulations. If the truck doesn't have electronic logs the driver must log everything he does on paper.

In a nutshell. The driver starts his day by logging into the truck and performing his pre-trip inspection. (And as Gbaji mentioned, if he drove to the truck, or was up all night, this wouldn't be logged). This starts his 14 hour clock. He can then drive for 11 hours, but those must be within that 14 hour window. He can work beyond that ( loading, unloading, paper work etc) , but once that 14 hour clock is up he can no longer drive until he takes a 10 hour break to reset his 14 hour clock.

There's more to it than that,. but that's the basic gist. Not to defend Wal-Mart, but all they would have a record of is from when he logged into the truck. Wouldn't matter if he's been up 5 days straight smoking glass before he drove 3 days to get to the truck, they only see the truck logs. If they look legal, then as far as they know, everything's Kosher.


Edit: btw, technically, you are supposed to log everything,( in this case, the 5 days smoking glass) but that doesn't always happen in the real world.

Edited, Oct 9th 2014 11:08pm by CoalHeart
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