All decent people should get happy when Wal-Mart gets a whuppin'. Wal-Mart isn't just big, the nations largest employer; it's also arguably the meanest junkyard dog in corporate America. But a class action suit on behalf of 1.5 million women is moving through the federal court system, and might yet bring the bully low. The former and current workers charge they were discriminated against in pay and promotions, in favor of men. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the women have presented credible evidence pointing to a nationwide "pattern and practice of discrimination."
The number of plaintiffs in the lawsuit is huge - actually larger than the current Wal-Mart workforce. If the women ultimately win, Wal-Mart could face billions of dollars in back pay. Not that that would bankrupt Wal-Mart. Bankruptcy is what Wal-Mart brings to other people, to whole communities of businesses, and not just small ones. Wal-Mart is the ultimate corporate predator, savaging both competitors and its own vendors - forcing the companies that make the products that Wal-Mart sells to cut their prices so low, it's hard for the vendors to stay in business.
"If the women ultimately win, Wal-Mart could face billions of dollars in back pay."
Wal-Mart has been described as a "Death Star." It sweeps through communities, wiping out virtually all commerce but its own, and then proclaims itself a good corporate citizen. Few previously existing retailers are left to argue the point, and the working folks of the area soon find that the floor has been knocked out of the standard of wages and working conditions they can demand. The fact is, Wal-Mart recognizes no one's demands, other than the greed of the family that owns it, the surviving heirs of the company's founder, Sam Walton. Together, the Waltons are worth more than $100 billion dollars, a chunk of which they invest every year in organizations intent on destroying public education in the United States, through privatization.
It's no wonder that the female plaintiffs were able to amass so much evidence of sex discrimination. Old Man Sam, the founder of Wal-Mart, started his first retail business in the mostly white Ozark Mountain region. He pretended that his employees were "family" and demanded the obedience due a patriarch. Women had their place - at the bottom of the company totem pole. From the very beginning, men were routinely placed in management positions over women. That's the way the world worked, thought Old Man Sam. Not coincidentally, women were not expected to be seeking life-long employment - so, what did they have to complain about? They didn't need careers and family-supporting salaries, like men.
Today's Wal-Mart operates under a clear policy of discouraging long term employment. Workers who start thinking about staying on the same job for years get ideas about joining a union. And Wal-Mart would rather shut down stores than allow unions to take root. This is one mean corporation. So we salute the 1.5 million women who are suing Wal-Mart. That junkyard dog needs to be put down. For Black Agenda Radio, I'm Glen Ford.
Amidst US bombs and lies about Venezuelan drug trafficking as a pretext for regime change, the subordinated position of Caribbean states’ economies plays a role in U.S. aggression.
In this week’s segment, we listen to a press conference in support of the sovereign rights of Venezuela and of the rights of those who support the Venezuelan people to travel to that country. But…
Abayomi Azikiwe, Editor of Pan-African Newswire, joins us from Detroit to discuss the recent coup attempt in the West African nation of Benin. The coup ended with assistance from neighboring Nigeria…
The Peoples Assembly for Peace and Sovereignty of Our Americas convened in Venezuela, but many delegates were unable to attend due to the Trump administration declaring a no-fly zone. The Workers…
Donald Trump’s anti-Somali rants are not directed solely at members of that group. All Black/African people are seen as suspects, as ungrateful criminals who are deserving of punishment and scorn.…
