Walmart, a Boomerang:
The
Neo-Industrial Revolution
Walmart represents great controversy all over the
world, and we can easily feel the heat when we type in “Walmart” in Google or
Youtube. Some people nearly worship Walmart as their saviour for industry and
positive impact to many communities, while many others are infuriated by the
brutality of the company. In some Youtube videos, Walmart employees express
their anger by fierce demonstrations and creating provocative videos
criticizing Walmart. The truth is, both sides are right; Walmart serves a
function like a boomerang, as it seems to benefit citizens, but also creates a
viscious cycle.
At first, after watching a Youtube video “When Walmart
Comes to Town: A Success Story,” I was persuaded for a moment to believe that
Walmart actually improves the lives of people. The video showed complaints by
citizens of Chicago who complain about a lack of places to buy fresh vegetables
and other materials. People were shouting, "We want Walmart so that we can
have something more than some dollar stores…", and they were actually
demonstrating to demand the establishment of Walmart in their town. In 2006,
Chicago finally got what it wanted, and Walmart successfully fulfilled the
needs of people right away. First of all, Walmart boosted the employment rate in
Chicago. According to the video, statistics showed that 726 jobs were created,
298 were lost, for a total result gaining 428 jobs after bringing in Walmart.
Not only that, but also, since Walmart came in, it brought in 22 new businesses
to the area, including the Bank of America, Chase Bank, CVS, and Menards. As
more and more businesses were coming in, Chicago kept on moving towards more
economic development, also creating new streets and leading to more population within
Chicago. All of these positive aspects make it seem plausible to support
Walmart chains, as these things actually happened.
Now here’s the reality; after such seemingly-positive
effects on a society, Walmart often exacerbates people’s lives and infuriates
the employees through horrible treatment.
According to a news article from REUTERS, called “Wal-Mart trims some U.S. health coverage,”
Wal-Mart Stores Incorporation decided to no longer
offer health insurance to new part-time U.S. employees who work fewer than 24
hours a week and charge workers who use tobacco more for coverage as healthcare
costs rise (REUTERS).
Most American businesses provide healthcare systems
for their employees, especially huge retailers with a global chain system.
Plus, the system is vital for most people, particularly those who work in
Walmart, with such poor income and having nowhere else to go to earn money.
Walmart simply reduces funds that are put into health care system only to
produce more yields, but in the employees’ perspective, just a small reduction
of funds will greatly deteriorate people’s lives.
Walmart’s atrocious acts are not only about health
care systems; in fact, there exist other companies that do the same things. In
an article Wal-Mart: Merchant of Shame,
National Organization for Women (NOW) received complaints regarding workplace
environment and employment practices, which include the following:
Sex discrimination in pay, promotion and compensation,
wage abuse, exclusion of contraceptive coverage in insurance plans, violations
of child labor laws and the Americans with Disabilities Act, and discrimination
on the basis of sexual orientation (Merchant).
Reacting to Walmart’s discrimination against women,
Dukes filed a lawsuit on behalf of 1.5 million women employees, basing on
extensive public records filed against Wal-Mart. However, the Judge of the case
took Walmart’s side.
Justice Antonin Scalia wrote:
Even if every single one of these accounts is true,
that would not demonstrate that the entire company 'operate[s] under a general
policy of discrimination … Respondents have identified no 'specific employment
practice'--much less one that ties all their 1.5 million claims together.
Merely showing that Wal-Mart's policy of discretion has produced an overall
sex-based disparity does not suffice" (Merchant).
Now we know that Wal-Mart is actually a bad company
that disguises itself as a “revolutionary retailer,” and also know that
Wal-Mart power is already so prevalent all over the world that even governments
compromise integrity to Wal-Mart.
To sum up, Walmart seems to bring in a lot of things
and give positive impact to many communities, but viewing Walmart in the long
term, the situation goes back to the original state, if not worse. In this way,
I would describe Wal-Mart as industrialization, since industrialization also
seemed to greatly improve people’s lives, but then people understood later on that
there are more disadvantages than benefits. Also, as my title indicates: A
BOOMERANG, as it comes back to its original place after a long trip.
Works Cited
Walmart NYC. “When Walmart Comes to Town: A Success
Story.” Youtube (2 Feb. 2011): n.
pag. Mon. 5 March.
2012.
Jessica Wohl. “Wal-Mart trims some U.S. health
coverage.” REUTERS (2 Feb. 2011): n.
pag.
The
National Organization for Women (NOW) Website. “Wal-Mart: Merchant of Shame.” 2
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteYou emphasized your thesis by using comparison, but your essay seems to messy because you cited too many sources in your essay. But, I like the content of this essay.
DeleteWell Written! But if you include some pictures and video clips, it will be more easier to understand
DeleteMuch much better. This is what I am looking for on paper. Good use of quotes, but you don't have to indent them unless they are quite long - a few sentences or more. The first one you indent does not need it.
ReplyDeleteSo for the online version, please link and use pictures etc.
You are on the right track for MLA though.