1 You have never lived in a small town where Wal-Mart moves in and runs all the retail off. I am legally blind. I worry that I would not be welcome in the world where Wal-Mart picks and chooses people based on health care cost. My wife as asthma. She would also not be welcome I bet. I hope you and your family never have to deal with health problems. If you do, remember, Wal-Mart doesn't want you. What employer is next? Me

2 Mike, The link "Just me" points to http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/<a href= obviously 404.

3

Clearly reading comprehension is old skool. The memo was not "freely" distributed. The memo was distributed when it was specifically asked for. Really though that is not what's important in this article. Let me point them out for you.

... 46 percent of the children of Wal-Mart's 1.33 million United States employees were uninsured or on Medicaid

These are gainfully employed contributing members of society. Does this not phase you in the least? These aren't people who just sit around waiting for the government. They are trying to do something.

cutting 401(k) contributions to 3 percent of wages from 4 percent ...

I think we all know there is something not right with social security. This should at least raise an eyebrow - at least one.

Her memo stated that 5 percent of Wal-Mart's workers were on Medicaid,...

On the flip side you have states like Ms and Fl axing benefits to these people who of all things ... are working. Lets discourage them a little more.

This is an article, not about some labor union thing, this is an article about the largest retailer in the United States struggling with health care costs that are rising at 15% a year! This is an inside view of the types of descisions that go on - this is business 101.

4 Kelly - I'm not unsympathetic to your situation, however, I sense that your attitude towards Wal-Mart was solidified prior to the latest memo. My contention is that Wal-Mart isn't doing anything that another company wouldn't do. Wal-Mart is unfairly demonized because it's non-union. Dave - Thanks.

5 To make things even more interesting, Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott wants the U.S. minimum wage raised.

6 Unions are full of coruption why dont we have a union watch to take adeep look at what the unions are doing especialy the ALF/CIO and the TEAMSTERS

7 my Father-in-law told me that a turbine engine that took 7 hours to strip down in their Texas plant (Non-Union) took 5 workdays in the California plant (Union) He said their work was constantly interrupted because they could not carry parts to an X-ray machine, or measuring machines because the Union manager would insist that another plant worker would have to pick up the parts, and take it to their destination for them, when my Father-in-law said he would do it himself, the Union manager would repeat the same mantra: This is union here Buddy, you're taking another mans job He said that was the last time he volunteered to go out there to help do an engine breakdown, and that shortly after that the company opened another plant in Mexico where it was cheaper for them to do repairs. No wonder some companies choose to outsource.

8 While I have no love for unions, who have almost single-handedly destroyed American industry, (as per Marx's plan), I cannot take sides with Wal-Mart, whose employees are only slighty better treated than the Chinese sweatshop workers whose near-slave labor produced products they sell. I saw Wal-Mart move into my area two decades ago and systematically turn all three towns in the county into ghost towns through their rapacious business practices. Family owned businesses that had been there for a hundred years were almost all boarded up, with the few survivors left to sell gas, beer and cigarettes. Wal-Mart is a plague upon the land, and anyone who shops there deserves to lose their job to Chinese prison labor.

9 Poor H. Lee Scott, send him a dollar he is paid 17.5 million dollars a year. The first thing Mr. Scott sould do is take responsibility for the memo. Fire the person who wrote the memo. and apologize to all the associates who work for this pitiful excuse for a Chineese 10 cent store. The managers and not professional just 90 day wonders with no back bone. They follow Mr. Scott like sheep. Mr. Scott when will the company evaluat people on their abilities rather than the color of their nose. We have some people who work at Wal Mart and if the store manager would stop suddenly they would have a brown ring around their neck. Suck ups and people who take advantage are part of your waste and fat. You have rules and your management team chooses not to follow ther rules. I have heard it is in the book. The problem is everyone has a different book. Ther truth of the matter is too many chiefs and not enough Indians. But I am sorry now you probably do not want to hire native Americans. Get a grip you never are so big you can not fall. It will be a sad world when the only choice you have is to shop at Wal Mart / the modern day Ben Franklin. We are a cheap company with greedy leadership and nothing for the worker. Take a up coming company who condsiders their people COSTCO, they provide the essentials. Mr. Scott the days of your power will soon be over. Let the people share in your wealth. You are putting Wal Mart in the toilet and the people you have in you management team are dragging the company and you along with them into the gutter. Associates have family friends and children. A back lash will most certainly occur. I am sick and tired of your failure and your weak promises. Remember FEMA Sam Walton would have done the right thing. Mr. Scott you are not Sam Walton, and this is not how he would have run this company. Call Benntonville, every day and have people tell them this is still the United States we do not treat people this way. Call congressmen, Call Senators. Email them call the local stores and talk to store managers. Call the newspapers call television call radio. Start phone grops. Together we all can show we are strong and united. We can not let H. Lee Scott and his band of demons destroy the principles started by Sam Walton. It is not the nice place ot company he started. This company does not care all they want is blood and sweat no matter who get hurt.

10 Does anyone want to know why Wal-Mart wants to raise the minimum wage? Because it would hurt small businesses, that's why. Wally World could absorb a little extra payroll cost with ease, but most mom & pops would have to lay off or close up, thereby broadening the Evil Empire's market share. Wal-Mart should be prosecuted under the anti-trust laws, and broken up just like Ma Bell and Standard Oil.

11 No person, not even Bush can stop Wal-Mart. There is only one way. Don't buy there stuff and do every thing you can to help others do the same. Wal-Mart is selling America and it is going to keep doing it because you let it, every American needs to stand up and do what they can to help save our country. Wal-Mart watch is just that. People who see the evil and trying to pass the word. So to who ever owns this blog I say this. Wal-Mart watch is a way to bring people with the same views together to support the ballot boxes you talk of. And you use the idea that if you donÂ’t like it, go some where else. Well maybe you should do the same with the blog you donÂ’t like. Seems to make your whole argument pointless.

12 No person, not even Bush can stop Wal-Mart. There is only one way. Don't buy there stuff and do every thing you can to help others do the same. Wal-Mart is selling America and it is going to keep doing it because you let it, every American needs to stand up and do what they can to help save our country. Wal-Mart watch is just that. People who see the evil and trying to pass the word. So to who ever owns this blog I say this. Wal-Mart watch is a way to bring people with the same views together to support the ballot boxes you talk of. And you use the idea that if you donÂ’t like it, go some where else. Well maybe you should do the same with the blog you donÂ’t like. Seems to make your whole argument pointless.

13 I shop at the local "Walmart Grocery Store" which, for those whom do not have them are just like the Grocery section in the Walmart SuperStore but freestanding. Sure they're hurting the competition here, Albertson's already closed one of their stores in our city, however they're also a large corporation and that's the nature of competition, and it's not like we have a single family owned Grocery store here anyway. Interestingly when people complain about Walmart taking jobs and peoples livelyhood, do you feel the same way about stores with automated checkouts? I'm not sure about most states but here Walmart, HomeDepot, Lowes, Albertsons, Target have automated scanners that you use to checkout your own merchandise, this of course save the stores about 8 checkout workers, and 1 manager per shift, many times a day, effectively replacing workers with "robots" (hah who said the 1950's campy comic books were wrong?) This I am sure is leading us down a road to where there will eventually be hardly any people in stores, by removing customer service Corporations can increase their profit margin. For those whom think that could never happen: remember at one time in this country, you could get your gas pumped for you, someone to clear your table at a fast food resturant, and someone to bag your groceries. Now of course, you pump your own gas, take your own tray to a waste receptacle, and now you have the pleasure of not only bagging your own groceries, but checking them out yourself too. While some people concider the above as conveniences for the lazy, they also kept a lot of people gainfully employed. When they were removed it wasn't like the savings were passed to you, but were pocketed as increased profits. It looks like we can look forward to shopping in stores with a skeleton crew, perhaps just kept round to maintain security, and deal with paperwork and management issues. Walmart could replace the "Greeter" with a motion detection monitor of a smiling actor, welcoming you to the store as you walk in, automatically dispensed shopping carts. They already have price scanners in the store you can check your own prices, and radiotag technology that activates inventory control in the need they're running low on an item. They're already taking automation to the extreme (in our Walmart store carpark they have a filling station that is completely unmanned, just place your ATM/Debit/Credit card in) It makes you wonder if stores like Walmart won't eventually consume themselves, the more jobs they destroy (including their own, by automation) they're effectively destroying the consumers who are now unemployed and cannot afford to shop there? Seeing as it's a relatively new trend, time will tell.

14 I don't shop at WalMart because they only sell Chinese made products, not because of the way they treat their workers.Also, IM watch those run on sentences, punctuation is important ! Let us keep all the posts to the highest standard.

15 Run-on sentences? Ever hear of clauses? That's what commas do, create clauses, so that a statement can be made, and explained, in once sentence.