New York City residents want to decide for themselves where they shop and they want maximum choice in their options. Sound obvious? Not to everyone.
Some are following the lead of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union’s (UFCW) campaign to prevent Wal-Mart from coming to New York — no matter what most New Yorkers think.
Their strategy is simple: First, vilify Wal-Mart by heaping a flurry of allegations against it (throw everything against the wall and see what sticks). Second, ignore the needs of consumers and working class families who want, and often need, access to affordable products.
Indeed, everyday people invoke their unfettered right to decide for themselves where they shop — and more than 100 million of them choose Wal-Mart every week. Why? Because these shoppers very much want to stretch their hard-earned dollars and they know Wal-Mart is a place to do just that. Why should New Yorkers be denied the right to choose where they shop?
Although some New Yorkers are shopping at Wal-Mart outside the city ($128 million last year), what about those who don’t have cars or can’t afford to fill a tank of gas to get there?
In addition, while it may be tempting to believe some of the UFCW’s rhetoric about Wal-Mart’s so-called “bad jobs,” here are just a few facts that ought to be considered:
First, Wal-Mart is a place where people want to work. Wal-Mart recently opened stores in West Chicago, Illinois, and in Oakland, California. In Chicago, some 25,000 residents applied for about 400 jobs. In Oakland, some 11,000 people applied for some 350 jobs. Just how many unemployed New Yorkers, I wonder, would appreciate an opportunity to work for a Wal-Mart here?
One reason people want to work for Wal-Mart is that they know it is a place that offers a fair wage and true opportunity. In New York, the average hourly wage for regular full time associates would be $10.71 an hour, with health benefits. While no one is going to retire a millionaire making $10/hour, for many employees it is a first step into meaningful employment. For others, like college students or retirees, it can help to supplement their income.
In terms of opportunity, over 75% of Wal-Mart managers are hired from the ranks of hourly employees. Moreover, Wal-Mart provides opportunity to a diverse workforce. With 1.3 million associates in the United States, Wal-Mart employs 815,000 women, more than 225,000 African Americans, and more than 150,000 Hispanics.
Does everyone want to shop or work at Wal-Mart? Of course not. But New York City consumers and job seekers ought to be able to decide for themselves.
— Philip H. Serghini, Wal-Mart Senior Manager of Public Affairs
The Walton brothers entered the retail world in 1960 with fifteen stores that grossed $1.4 million per year. By 1990, the brothers owned the largest retail chain in the U.S., with 1,700 Wal-Marts. Today, this Fortune 500 company opens a new megastore every two business days, has expanded into one new country every year since 1991, and takes in over $300 billion in sales (in 2005). When you think of the “associates” at a Fortune 500 company, do you think of workers who earn below the poverty line, workers who don’t earn enough to support a family, or workers without health care and whose children must enroll in state Medicaid programs?
Consumers may be able to shop at Wal-Mart in Mexico City, Puerto Rico, Argentina, and North Versailles, Pennsylvania, but NOT in New York City. As Chairman of the New York City Council Finance Committee, I am in complete agreement with my colleagues and others in our city that have endeavored to keep the city Wal-Mart free until the company makes some drastic changes. Chief among my concerns are the issues of health care, wages, and the ultimate cost of Wal-Mart’s policies to New York taxpayers.
According to a report from the Kaiser Family Foundation, while nationwide the retail industry has a health care coverage rate of approximately 68 percent, only 48 percent of Wal-Mart’s 1.3 million U.S. employees are covered by the retailer’s health care plan. Moreover, those who are covered by Wal-Mart pay a hefty price to remain that way - substantially more than employees at similar large firms do. The average full-time Wal-Mart employee earns $17,114 a year. However, the deductible for single coverage is $1,000 and the deductible for family coverage is as high as $3,000.
In New York alone, Wal-Mart is the state’s largest employer, employing over 35,000 associates. Of this large number, nearly 5,000 workers are enrolled in a state health care program and almost 3,000 children of Wal-Mart workers are enrolled in state Medicaid programs. Therefore, because Wal-Mart refuses to pay for its employees’ health care, New York State taxpayers are forced to pick up the bill. In 2005, New Yorkers shelled out over $61 million to cover the health care costs of Wal-Mart employees.
In order to be labeled a responsible employer, one that New Yorkers would feel comfortable having in their city, Wal-Mart must be willing to spend more than 75 cents an hour per employee for health benefits. They must make health benefits easier to access, fall more in line with the retail industry’s standards and averages, stop using the New York State Medicaid program as their own private health care plan, and discontinue costing New York taxpayers millions of dollars. Until then, Wal-Mart stays out of our city.
— Councilmember David I. Weprin represents the 23rd District in Queens County. He is also Chair of the City Council Finance Committee
