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The CEO certainly says he pays more than minimum wage (when the statement was clarified, it turns out it doesn't include part time labor or contract labor, so i
by icambron 13y ago
The CEO certainly says he pays more than minimum wage (when the statement was clarified, it turns out it doesn't include part time labor or contract labor, so it's not clear how true that actually is). But why would he pay more than his competitors? (I can find no evidence that it does and a fair amount of evidence that it doesn't.) And paying above minimum wage does not remove the labor market pressure that comes from increasing it.
All that aside, you may be right that it was a chiefly PR stunt and perhaps Walmart is in fact a poor example.
I was enjoying this discussion until your edit.
- alexeisadeski3 13y agoRemoved the edit, my apologies. I'd venture that most well run and dominant companies pay more than their competitors. This is likely (speculation ahead) because these companies know that they must obtain and retain higher quality employees than do their competition. Even for Walmart, their employees are the most important asset. From top to bottom. People like you and me (I'm assuming you've never worked there - I haven't) aren't aware, but supposedly Walmart really does treat their workers well. All in relative terms of course... And based upon pure hearsay of course. Finally, regarding whether or not it was a publicity stunt: Maybe I'm jaded, but I consider everything that a corporate employee says publicly and in official capacity to be a publicity stunt, almost by definition.
- mistermann 13y agoFWIW, I am always shocked by how more helpful I find Walmart employees than their counterparts at competitors.