Deep thoughts on Wal-Mart's pay raise announcement

"With a $400 incentive" ??? You mean they are trying to get you to retire early? I have not been there long enough to even think of that; even if I get the sixty cents each year, it'll take me another 6+ years to hit the cap for the slot I'm in now.

But I am betting there is going to be an age discrimination law suit next. One of our older associates came to overnights, having been promised a cashier slot (pay grade 3) but they quickly stuck her in the clothing area instead -- because she has lots of expertise there -- Overnight stocker in that area is only a pay grade 2. They were still short of cashiers, but put a new hire in the slot she was supposed to get, instead of putting the new hire in softlines. If we had a Union, they wouldn't get away with it...

They tell you, you need experience in different areas before you put in for management training, but if you are really good in one area, they never let you out of it.

The other end is you become a "floater" who gets moved around so much, you are a jack of all departments... but a master of none. They like that you are "versatile" -- but don't expect an "Exceeds Expectations" rating for it. :-(

Even the managers bring customers to me who are having trouble finding something -- I'm 3rd shifts' 'Shell Answerman' -- but I didn't rate an above average pay raise this year.

We have too many chiefs & not enough experienced peons in the trenches... and the fools in home office who don't seem to have a clue what goes on in the stores, keep paying for these crazy research teams to come up with ways to cut expenses.

The 'dead wood' that needs to be cut, is at the top!

You can't sell a thing if you don't have enough folks to unload the trucks & get the product on the shelves. It doesn't take a college degree to build that 'skill set' but it is your experienced workers who know how to get it done right -- AND care enough to put it in the right place & keep their area neat & tiddy.

Notice how messy most of the stores have become in the last year? It will only get worse as they get their way & chase all the long term associates out the door!

If this attitude coming from the top continues, this company is going to be nothing but trash inside of 5 years.

5 years ago, I would have said we did not need a union because Sam Walton set up the company so that management listened & responded to the associates directly -- no middleman, union rep needed -- but that is no longer true.

A union would have at least gotten us assurance that the caps would get a cost of living raise to adjust for inflation each year; we are just being told their reseach teams will "re-evaluate" the pay scales in each market area annually. With the way gas & utility costs are going up -- plus those who use WalMart's medical insurance can be sure those premiums go up annually -- that tells those who have hit their cap, that their buying power is most likely only going to go down from here out...

The "WalMart culture" of being a "WalMart family" -- Mom & Pop feel in a big box one stop shop, is quickly dying here. They want to show everyone over 40 the door & you don't have a "family" if there are no elders allowed.

We were #1 because we were different from the competition -- and they are out to kill the very things that made us better. :-(

I have worked for Wal-Mart going on 14 years.........I am so disappointed in my company.
What a sad day . I agree with above Post let's call in Dateline and get this investigated secretly and watch on Thursday night and see the Executives in their Mansions in Bentonville driving their luxury cars telling us as hourly's "I'm sorry $12.69 is all you are worth for checking out hundreds of thousands of people this past 14 years......but have a good day and look at the possibility of going into management........It is Immoral and Unethical what they are doing to us People, we must make a stand before the next flight hits us....
MOst associates in my store are calling news reporters and or lawyers to see what exactly can be done with the pay caps and this $400 buyout they are trying to force on us....you know if you take it you are saying ok I agree.......Don't take it , make a stand...........for all of us....Power in Numbers from Iowa to Floida let's do this.....

Yep.... I feel very shafted... The job i do for this company i have loved for 12 years.. now they bring me in an office to tell me .... you will not make a penny more with this company ... because you make TOO MUCH....and your job has not changed... That's crap... Most of us longer term associates know that WE are the ones with the knowledge and have carried their particular stores in the midst of assistant managers who know absolutely nothing... Really nice Wal Mart... not a penny more for me and my family!

Did any of the corporate execs cap out ? Did any of them get told that they will not earn a penny more ?

Let us know ....

I used to be a big cheer leader for this company.. Now, im gonna do my 8 hours.. go home...Yeah someone call dateline.... Penalties for longer term higher paid people

I Think Wal-Mart Store Inc. should have a Pay Scale cap as well, when sale reach 2 Billion dollars all store should shut down for the rest of the fiscal year. This way Wal-Mart Stores Inc. can't make anymore than it's pay wage price cap. What do you guys think of this idea? LOL

I was an associate for almost nine years. I feel that this is the latest ploy for the Walton family to "one up" its employees and ultimately give them the shaft. Things began changing within the company a week after Mr. Sam died, God rest his soul.
It used to amaze me how they could bring in people off of the street and give them management positions when they know little or nothing about retail. I once had to work with a girl who went to college with the regional manager and was given her job as a "favor" on the side. For almost three weeks I had to cover her job and mine because she was too busy bragging about the college education and perks that she had and nobody else in the store could have. Thank God somebody finally let her go.
A lot of the store managers they hire don't have any "people skills" and are only there to pick up a quick pay check for doing nothing. I have worked with a few good ones, but not many. For the most part they don't know their tails from a hole in the ground. I have to give the ones who do their jobs and care about their employees credit, but like I say, there aren't many of those left any more.
I once worked with a man for three years as an assistant manager who told everyone within earshot every day he worked at the store that he was getting his own store. After he made a woman furious and she complained to home office about him,he stayed right where he was the entire time. They finally "found" him a store about 1,500 miles away after he made his employees miserable the entire time he worked there.
The pay cap scheme is just the latest way of slapping the long term employees in the face and expecting them to still do the same jobs for less and less pay while some dumbass comes in off of the street making $3.00 more an hour than they do and they ultimately have to train them how to perform their jobs. Wal-Mart will eventually go the way of Roses...remember them???

I worked for Wal-Mart for 12 yrs and am so happy I got out when I did. Although many of my good friends still work there and I see how this has affected them. This just one more way for the company to get rid of long time employees and it disgusts me! Year by year it gets worse and I can hardly wait to see the bozos at corporate run it into the ground!

Yeah managers are a joke... I have worked with a very few who actually knew what they needed to know after coming off the "Training Program"... The company fails to realise the hourly's are the meat of the company...Kharma will come around...
As the other message read, they will "relocate" some of the managers only after lots of associates complain...I won't be showing any future managers the ins and outs... Hey... they came off the program... run the store!!!!

When hired at Walmart I was given an 'associate' handbook that explained how I was able to get pay raises (either a percentage of my pay at my annual review or a merit raise for doing great work). I have now been employed by this company for more than ten years. I think it was a couple of years ago when employees were informed of a 'new and improved' pay structure for Walmart. No longer could you get a percentage pay raise, but now it was a flat pay raise of $.40/hr or $.60/hr (and no one I have heard of got the $.60). Now Walmart has once again changed their promise to its employees. Now if you are one of the people who is unfortunate enough to have been employed by them for long enough then you no longer get any raise with their new pay caps. It seems like they could have at least kept the promises made to people when they were hired. I have no financial incentive at all to do anything more than the absolute minimum required to keep my job there. I hope anyone who expects good customer service realizes this when they choose where to spend their money because from all I have seen, Walmart's employees really don't care about them any more.

As a 6 year Walmart employee I have never complained about what they pay me but now I understand that I have reached my limit.I have always had "Exceeds" in my evaluations and enjoy my job. I don't want to move into management but in order to even match cost of living increases I must! Walmart is doomed. In the stores we have gone from presenting and selling merchandise to pleasing Bentonville... nothing else matters anymore.