ratings for stores?

[lazydays]

I know that stores often employ people part time to avoid paying health benefits, Walmart being the poster child. I would prefer to spend my money at stores that treat their employees well even if it costs me a little more. So Walmart, Target, Fred meyer, Kmart are all pretty similar in what they sell, how can I find out who treats their employees the best? Maybe it is just a game but I'd like to know.

[AlphaDog]

Keep in mind these are all big box retailers, and there's a huge amount of part time work simply because of staffing needs, so it might be kind of hard to determine which employees are part time for a "good" reason and which are not. Of those you mentioned, I think Fred Meyer might have, historically, been one of the best in terms of how they treat their employees. A friend of my son's worked there for years and did quite well. Now that they're part of Kroger, I don't know if that's still true, but most of the Fred Meyer stores are also union. Because of all the public pressure, I hear even Walmart employees are doing better. I don't shop Walmart, and I rarely shop Kmart, but I continue to do a lot of shopping at Fred Meyer. Staff turnover at the store seems very low and the employees happy, if that means anything! I also like Target, but I don't shop there as often as I do Freddy's, because I don't have a SuperTarget around here. In terms of how you'd access specific information, I did find a book available on Amazon, if it's worth $20 for you to find out.

[mikebw]

This might be a good question to pose over at the Consumerist

[jardster]

Yeah, but how do you find out how Amazon treats their employees?

AlphaDog wrote:
Keep in mind these are all big box retailers, and there's a huge amount of part time work simply because of staffing needs, so it might be kind of hard to determine which employees are part time for a "good" reason and which are not. Of those you mentioned, I think Fred Meyer might have, historically, been one of the best in terms of how they treat their employees. A friend of my son's worked there for years and did quite well. Now that they're part of Kroger, I don't know if that's still true, but most of the Fred Meyer stores are also union. Because of all the public pressure, I hear even Walmart employees are doing better. I don't shop Walmart, and I rarely shop Kmart, but I continue to do a lot of shopping at Fred Meyer. Staff turnover at the store seems very low and the employees happy, if that means anything! I also like Target, but I don't shop there as often as I do Freddy's, because I don't have a SuperTarget around here. In terms of how you'd access specific information, I did find a book available on Amazon, if it's worth $20 for you to find out.

[Robert M]

Lazy,

Very good question! But, I think there is something else to take into consideration. The type of employees hired by a store doesn't necessarily have a bearing on how said store treats its employees. So, a store that hires part-timers as a means of not having to pay for health insurance may still treat its employees well.

Health insurance is expensive. Full-timers get other benefits, too. In the end, you're talking monstrous amounts of money. So, you can't blame them for hiring a part-timer or two when they can do the job just as well as a full-timer and save them money in the long run.

So, to me, it's less a question of the type of employees hired by the company and more of one of how the company treats all of its employees, part-time and full-time alike.

Robert

[dmann]

Please don't assume that simply because the company is a big, bad corporation, they treat their employees poorly.

People here love to bash Starbucks, but they offer health benefits to ALL employees, including part timers (20 hr./week minimum IIRC.) My sis and BIL both work for them (well, my BIL did until he was laid off in March.)

Trader Joe's, Nordstrom, IKEA, Target and more offer benefits to part time employees as well.

That said, simply offering the benefits and the affordability of the benefits are two different things. I do know people who have worked for the above companies and found themselves unable to afford the programs offered.

DM

[Filliam H. Muffman]

Walmart* is in a class by itself. In every state that has done a study, Walmart* has the highest percentage of workers receiving indigent benefits. There are over a dozen sites that track different aspects of their problems.

The International Labor Rights Forum listed Walmart* as one of the top five worst in the world for treating their workers. That was problems in the U.S. and Canada. Some of the other four companies are accused of shooting union leaders in other countries, so it is a pretty bad group to be associated with.
http://www.laborrights.org/files/WorkingForScrooge.pdf

Of the stores mentioned by lazydays, Walmart* seems to be the only company that has its' own category on the SEIU website. Target, Home Depot, Lowes, and Sears/Kmart are mentioned in a quoted article about opposing EFCA, but Walmart* is the only company with a corporate fast response anti-union hit squad.

[Ken Sp.]

Filliam H. Muffman wrote:
Walmart* is in a class by itself. In every state that has done a study, Walmart* has the highest percentage of workers receiving indigent benefits. There are over a dozen sites that track different aspects of their problems.

The International Labor Rights Forum listed Walmart* as one of the top five worst in the world for treating their workers. That was problems in the U.S. and Canada. Some of the other four companies are accused of shooting union leaders in other countries, so it is a pretty bad group to be associated with.
http://www.laborrights.org/files/WorkingForScrooge.pdf

Of the stores mentioned by lazydays, Walmart* seems to be the only company that has its' own category on the SEIU website. Target, Home Depot, Lowes, and Sears/Kmart are mentioned in a quoted article about opposing EFCA, but Walmart* is the only company with a corporate fast response anti-union hit squad.

That is the same as getting reviews on Apple products from Microsoft.

Of course the unions and their sponsored sites will spread FUD about Wal Mart.

Unions have been great for the car companies and they are so flexible now that they represent government workers!!!

[Filliam H. Muffman]

It is not just unions and their sponsored sites, but Walmart* has set themselves up as a target for those groups by being almost rabidly anti union.

[Ken Sp.]

Filliam H. Muffman wrote:
It is not just unions and their sponsored sites, but Walmart* has set themselves up as a target for those groups by being almost rabidly anti union.

This is the US-they and their shareholders have every RIGHT to do business as they wish. You have the RIGHT to not shop their and to not buy WalMart stock. They owe you, me or the unions nothing.

If WalMart was so bad to workers, why do people line up for jobs there, and why do most employees work there longer than other retailers?

They are economically healthy, and can the same be said for union shops?