Walmart's New Health Food Push: Is It Too Hard to Swallow?
Bonds Are a 'Safe' Investment: A Big Lie Gets Even BiggerStung by criticism that the benefits it gives employees are chintzy, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT) is striking back with a PR offiensive.
The top private employer released data today showing that 47.4 percent of its 1.3 million workers are covered by its health plans, up 8 percent. Another 43 percent get insurance from another source, according to Reuters. This is all part of the company's newest PR offensive.
Wal-Mart is trying hard to counter claims by its critics, that its benefits are so poor that workers are forced to rely on government assistance for their health care. This reputation turns off shoppers, particularly those in the middle class that the company wants to attract, and encourages states to try to enact mandatory coverage laws the company opposes.
Over the years, Wal-Mart's critics have claimed that the low prices it crows about come on the backs of its workers. This reputation has hurt the company's image, particularly among middle class shoppers who are finding Target Stores Corp. (NYSE:TGT) and other rivals more to their liking. Wal-Mart has tried PR campaigs to bolster its reputation before and will no doubt try them again.
Like everything else connected with Wal-Mart, there are two sides to the story. The union-funded Wake-Up Wal-Mart group has a much different take on the company's health care benefits. It claims that the retailer's health insurance is too expensive for most workers.
"Since the average full-time Wal-Mart employee earned $17,114 in 2005, he or she would have to spend between 7 and 25 percent of his or her income just to cover the premiums and medical deductibles, if electing for single coverage," the group says on its Web site. "The average full-time employee electing for family coverage would have to spend between 22 and 40 percent of his or her income just to cover the premiums and medical deductibles. These costs do not include other health-related expenses such as medical co-pays, prescription coverage, emergency room deductibles, and ambulance deductibles."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-11-2007 @ 10:17AM
Marty said...
My latest WalMart moment: While at the Sporting Goods counter, the clerk was cutting a key for another customer. While doing this, he was repeatedly pushing his lower plate in and out with his tongue. When finished with the key, he rang it up on the register and the customer handed him 2 more keys to be cut. The clerk said,"why didn't you tell me that when I was making the first one". At $17,114 per year, I suppose you get what you pay for.
1-11-2007 @ 3:52PM
Jack Schneider said...
what you don' get rude people at the up scale dept stores? Marty you live in a dream world. The health insurance is expensive but that not wal- mart fault Our gov certainly shoulder some of fault here. I am married to a walmart employee for $130 a month I get an excellent health insurance that match up to anybody elses.
1-15-2007 @ 4:30PM
Mike Walsh said...
I have never been treated anything but fairly by Walmart. However, my son and I were victim to a Walmart cashier who used the occasion of our purchase to "educate" us about the supposed abuses of Walmart financially to their employees (especially women) and the number of employees at her store who were on foodstamps. Luckily for her, I am a caring person, and did not report her to the manager. She is free to work elsewhere if she chooses. It reminds me of former Senator John Edwards signing his book at a large bookstore chain instead of the Walmart across the road because of Walmart's minimum wage abuses. Come to find out, the bookstore chain paid their hourly employees less than Walmart!! Get over it---Walmart will be around and flourishing long after their clueless detractors have gone the way of the dodo.