ARIZONA – Un grupo de trabajadores de Arizona se ha unido a una campaña contra Walmart que también se planea llevar a nivel nacional.
Es por eso que decenas de activistas llegaron a la alcaldía de Phoenix asegurando que los bajos salarios de la compañía les cuestan a los contribuyentes en Arizona más de $143 milllones anualmente.
“Bueno hay varias injusticias. Voy a cumplir 10 años [en la compañía] y me están pagando a $12 y ellos están diciendo que cobramos más y eso es una mentira", dijo Gloria, empleada de la multimillonaria compañía.
La mujer también dice estar cansada de lo que ella califica como injusticias a las que diariamente se expone.
"Si uno se enferma eso es lo peor, no te sirve ni el papel del doctor. Te pueden correr si faltas 3 días inmediatamente", agregó.
La falta de seguridad en las distintas instalaciones de la compañía parece ser otro de los grandes problemas entre los manifestantes ya que según ellos, Walmart es uno de los principales destinos del Valle donde las autoridades reciben más llamadas de emergencia.
Telemundo Arizona contactó a la compañía para pedirle su opinión sobre dichas acusaciones y esto fue lo que nos respondieron:
"Estamos orgullosos de que más de 33 mil personas en Arizona han optado por trabajar en Walmart sirviendo a sus amigos y vecinos…En promedio nuestros empleados de tiempo completo en Arizona reciben pago de $13.62 por hora…Los asociados pueden comenzar a contribuir a su 401 (k) (plan de retiro), en su primer día con la empresa y Walmart ofrece un 6% adicional después de un año en el trabajo…En cuanto a las ausencias, nuestra política es que los asociados obtengan hasta nueve ausencias en un período de seis meses”.
A continuación te presentamos el comunicado completo y en inglés que nos envió un representante de la compañía:
“We’re proud that more than 33,000 people in Arizona have chosen to work at Walmart serving their friends and neighbors. Our people understand that at Walmart, you can start in an entry-level job and turn it into a career, earning more money and learning new skills along the way. Hundreds of thousands of associates have taken advantage of new opportunities to advance their career as a result of our $2.7 billion investment in training, education and higher pay. We believe that when our people succeed our business succeeds, and our customers are telling us they like what they’re seeing.”
Compensation, benefits and career advancement:
• Our average full-time hourly associate in Arizona makes $13.62/hour
• Hourly associates can earn as much as $24.70 per hour
• Associates are eligible for quarterly bonuses, and in 2016, associates in Arizona shared more than $19.3 million in bonuses
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• Associates can start contributing to their 401(k) on their first day with the company, and Walmart provides a 6% company match after one year on the job
• Walmart matches 15% of associate stock purchases up to $1,800 per plan year
• Walmart offers health benefits starting at around $24 per pay period (roughly half the national average for single person coverage)
• 75% of our store management teams started as hourly associates
• Last year, we promoted more than 5,800 Arizona associates to jobs with more responsibility and higher pay
• Salaried assistant manager positions start at $48,500 per year
Here’s some additional background on our crime deterrence measures:
• Through our “More at the Door” program, we’ve placed Customer Hosts in about a third of our U.S. Supercenters. In addition to greeting customers, checking receipts where appropriate, assisting with returns and keeping our entrances clean and safe, the Customer Hosts receive specific training to help deter shoplifting. The Customer Host wears a yellow vest, making it easier for customers to spot them. In recent months, we’ve added 9,000 new Customer Hosts across our Supercenter fleet.
• We’ve increased training for our Asset Protection associates, both at store level and through our training academies (the training academy program is part of our recent $2.7 billion investment in increased training, education and higher wages for our associates).
• We’ve deployed a Restorative Justice program in more than 1,500 stores, working with two Restorative Justice providers -- The Corrective Education Company and Turning Point Justice, who in turn partner with NASP (National Association for Shoplifting Prevention). The program offers first-time, low-risk offenders a second chance in order to make things right by participating in an educational course in lieu of prosecution. The recidivism rate (percentage of people who relapse into criminal behavior after an intervention) for Restorative Justice is just 2% to 3%, depending on the provider. And since implementing the program, we’ve seen a 35% decrease in the number of calls to law enforcement agencies nationwide, on average.
