Hey All,
Saw this yesterday and thought it was particularly relevant to our discussion on Wal-Mart (If you don't want to read the article, long story short, Wal-Mart just raised their employees entry-level wage to $9).
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/19/us-walmartstores-results-idUSKBN0LN1BD20150219
Wall Street Journal's take on it
http://www.wsj.com/articles/tighter-labor-market-helped-to-drive-wal-mart-wage-rise-1424383918?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories
What do you think the reason for this is?
After reading these articles I feel as though this is just another way for Walmart to misdirect media attention away from their more heinous actions, such as closing down stores that have workers trying to unionize. While this raise will no doubt be appreciated by its workers, the actual gain for these individuals still falls flat when one considers the benefit of an extra dollar or two per hours, compared to better health, dental, or other such plans.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Walmart is not being morally just to it's employees even though it has raised the wages due to public backlash. Walmart has a moral obligation to it's employees to provide them with a minimal standard that is consistent with basic human rights. I found it interesting that in a previous class it was said that Walmart is doing its employees a favor by providing them with jobs, yet low wages and poor health care are not morally just to the working class. Walmart is exploiting people who are desperate for jobs and that are living day to day. These members of society can't afford to argue against Walmart who will just find someone else that is willing and able to replace them. This ties in well with what we discussed today in class about how corporations have a moral responsibility for stakeholders. Employees are also stakeholders as they are affected by corporation decisions. Just because Walmart can treat their employees poorly and the economy allows it, does not mean that they do not have a moral responsibility to those they employ.
ReplyDelete