Wal-Mart employees with health insurance 48%
Costco employees with company health insurance 82%
NY Times, 5/4/05
Wal-Mart employees must wait 6 months (full time) and 2 yrs (part-time) to qualify for benefits and the deductible can be $1000.
Philadelphia Inquirer, 5/16/05
Employees on the “Value Plan” cannot count the following services towards the $1,000 or $3,000 deductible: pharmacy copays, mammograms, pap smears, well-child benefits, ER and Ambulance deductibles, and per event deductibles. As a result, Wal-Mart makes it hard to ever meet its high deductibles forcing employees to shoulder more costs. Unlike many small local businesses, Wal-Mart can afford to do better.
"There are government assistance programs out there that are so lucrative it's hard to be competitive, and it's expensive to be competitive," Lee Scott, Wal-Mart CEO
St. Louis Post Dispatch, 04/06/05
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4 comments:
To be fair Pete I think you should include health care benefit percentages for current Saranac Lake Retailers also. I bet many of them don't offer FULL benefits to their current employees - Give me a break!
Reading comprehension problems? Last sentence "unlike many small businesses, Wal-Mart can afford to do better".
Wal-Mart is a company that can AFFORD to do better by their employees, but CHOOSES NOT TO. Maryland recently passed the fair care health share bill. This bill forces any large corporation not paying so much for employee health care, to kick into the states medicaid fund. They are presently the only corporation that falls into this category in Maryland. Since Maryland did this other states are lining up to pass a similar bill. They are California, New Jersey, Michiagn, Wisconsin, Connecticut. New Hampshire, Washington, West Virginia, Colorado, Texas, Alaska, Florida, Georgia and Kentucky. And New York passed the same bill but only for Suffolk County.
Sam Walton who founded this company is probably rolling over in his grave at what Wal-Mart has become. Read his autobiography someday. Wal-Mart has become something Sam NEVER INTENDED.
I know a teacher at SUNY P'Burgh who picks up a friend that works at the Wal-Mart in P'Burgh. This Wal-Mart employee is 3 months from her 7th year anniversary date. Now keep in mind that at 7 years you become vested in the company and Wal-Mart must then provide you with your health benefits.
Just last week Wal-Mart cut her hours to 6 per week and instead of her leaving at 6:00 pm (when her ride comes) they changed her schedule to 6:15.
When this Wal-Mart employee told her boss that 6:15 was inconvenient for her ride, they just told her if she had to go just leave her register and go. Well that is automatic grounds for dismissal.
Hmmm do you think they could be trying to squeeze her out before her anniversary date? I certainly do!
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