this post was submitted on 09 Sep 2023
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[–] MajorHavoc@lemmy.world 88 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Well I can't, personally, shop at Walmart less (then zero), but I hope others will consider it now.

It was already past due to support Walmart's competitors, anyway, if we want any choices in our communities. Bullshit like this just confirms it.

[–] ComfortablyGlum@sh.itjust.works 35 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I wish I could shop at Walmart less; there's nothing near by that fits my budget. I truly believe this is a tactic for Walmart to recoup their money; pay their employees less, forcing their employees to shop at Walmart because they can't afford anything else.

[–] MajorHavoc@lemmy.world 29 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I wish I could shop at Walmart less; there's nothing near by that fits my budget.

I totally get that, and hope you never feel bad about that.

I will keep voting with my money, when I can, for alternative options that may someday make your situation better.

Hang in there however you can.

[–] ComfortablyGlum@sh.itjust.works 14 points 1 year ago

Aaaaawwwww! Thank you so much for your kind words and compassion. It truly means a great deal.

[–] Mongostein@lemmy.ca 17 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Then they start offering apartments nearby, owned by WalMart, so you can save on gas. Then they start paying you in WalBucks which can only be used at WalMart or to pay for your apartment.

Suddenly you can’t afford the things you need to live, but it’s ok! WalMart has it all and they’ll give you credit! It gets even easier though! They’ll just your purchases out of your pay! …which is never enough to cover the purchases.

Now you’re a slave to WalMart.

[–] CancerMancer@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 year ago

How long until Walmart starts paying in scrip? I mean you could argue they already sort of do with how many of their staff are on food stamps.

[–] 11181514@lemm.ee 7 points 1 year ago

Yeah I haven't given Walmart a penny in the last decade or so but I also realize I'm incredibly privileged to be able to shop at the more expensive local stores.

Walmart is also directly responsible for the cost of sea freight though so they're still affecting your life whether you want them to or not.

[–] ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I can't, personally, shop at Walmart less (then zero)

Shoplifting?

[–] MajorHavoc@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

Other stores exist in my area, thankfully.

[–] Smite6645@lemmy.dbzer0.com 82 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Oh, one of the top employers whose employees use public assistance like food stamps cutting starting wages? Cool.

[–] WheeGeetheCat@sh.itjust.works 25 points 1 year ago

I tried to explain this to my boomer boss when they started praising the Walton family for 'employing most of the USA!'. Like no, you idiot. We taxpayers subsidize the Walton family enterprise, just like we subsidize SO MANY of these rich jackasses. I'm sick of the welfare royals who feel entitled to it. Surprised the good people of Arkansas haven't done anything about the Waltons

[–] WaxedWookie@lemmy.world 23 points 1 year ago

Remember folks - you are subsidising Walmart's wages. If you're doing that while pissing and moaning about socialism or similar, I've got a great place to start.

ahem

FOCUS ON PAYING WORKERS INSTEAD OF DO-NOTHING PATASITIC SHAREHOLDERS

As a bonus, those workers will have a far higher propensity to spend any money they get, stimulating the economy, and they're more likely to spend it in the local community, meaning it doesn't get immediately get sucked away, suffocating your town. Really simple stuff.

[–] psycho_driver@lemmy.world 75 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (8 children)

ALDI has great prices for groceries and I've never been disappointed with their brands. Oh, they pay their cashiers (remember, those people who help you check out faster?) pretty well, too.

[–] Breezy@lemmy.world 27 points 1 year ago

They also get chairs!

[–] bdonvr@thelemmy.club 13 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Though their business model is basically having a store staffed by like 8 people total.

[–] scottywh@lemmy.world 18 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You've been in an Aldi with more than 2 people working there?

[–] bdonvr@thelemmy.club 17 points 1 year ago (1 children)

No I mean across all shifts, including management.

[–] scottywh@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago

Now that makes sense.

[–] punkisundead 12 points 1 year ago

While they might pay better, I think the work at ALDI is super stressful and still underpaid.

[–] circuitfarmer@lemmy.sdf.org 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I hope they are successful enough to expand. I've also heard good things, but the closest one to me is 150+ miles away. In contrast there's like 4 Wal-Marts within a 30 mile radius (all of which I avoid).

[–] Yokozuna@lemmy.world 12 points 1 year ago (2 children)

They just bought a huge grocery chain in the south, Winn-Dixie. Hopefully, they will convert them all to Aldi because WD is overpriced as all hell. I just drove 30 minutes out of my way today to go to Aldi instead of a 2 minute drive to WD.

I'm a bit shocked Winn Dixie made it this long, I don't ever remember them being any good and Publix was similarly priced, also the Central Florida WDs kept getting in trouble for dyeing and selling expired meat.

[–] Jaysyn@kbin.social 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's not all great, we are losing our pharmacy.

[–] Yokozuna@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

Sorry to hear that :( usually towns have walgeens and things like that so hopefully you can find an easy replacement.

[–] Pirky@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

I have a friend who works at one and can confirm. They treat their workers really well.

[–] UniDestroyer@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

This is good to know. We've been trying to switch to Aldi anyway.

[–] LaunchesKayaks@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I can get Aldi doordashed to my house and it's incredible. There are like 3 dashers in my area, and the same person does my Aldi runs every time lol

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[–] ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

LiDL is also good - and they sell fresh-baked bread (maybe ALDI does too, I dunno).

[–] lyam23@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

They are better than Aldi in my city. Not sure if they are a better employer.

I've never seen an employee sitting down in the checkout line at LiDL, but otherwise they don't seem to radiate the same sense of raw menace towards customers like Walmart employees do.

[–] 31337@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Most Krogers are unionized, and have a better selection of groceries than Walmart. Looks like they're going through a merger right now, and plan to close a lot of stores though.

[–] hihellobyeoh@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I work at a Kroger in Michigan, our current contract is shit, and our pay is shit, we are having issues with staffing at my store (one of the busiest in the state) and a lot of it is caused by low wages. Also none of us want that merger, I know my union had us send a notice to some government office about it.

[–] 31337@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 year ago

Yeah, I worked there part time for a year a long time ago. Pay was shit (for people with no seniority) then too. I think it was because hardly anyone really participated in the union (I didn't and neither did anyone I knew). It was just a "stepping stone" job for most of us while we were going to tech school. And the manager was worst manager I've ever had; ineffective and abusive.

[–] Irishred88@lemmy.world 50 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Walmart employees desperately need union representation. Unfortunately Walmart goes at great lengths to demonize unions with their "Protect your Signature" training videos. It's part of orientation for every employee and the propaganda unfortunately is quite effective.

[–] mod@sh.itjust.works 20 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] Irishred88@lemmy.world 21 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yep, that's the one. When I really needed a job fast, Walmart was practically the only option I had in the small town I used to live in when I was a student. Hated every moment, not because the job itself was bad, but I recognized all the attempts at brainwashing and I was so disgusted by it.

[–] mod@sh.itjust.works 11 points 1 year ago (2 children)

So sad... Also I didn't realize the strong decline in unions in the USA.

[–] Irishred88@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It does depend on the state you live in and the industry you work in. This is just my opinion, but I get the sense that a rather significant proportion of the US population regards any kind of assistance as synonymous with admitting defeat. It's not just unions, but for any kind of welfare too, people think they are leeches if they have to ask for help. But it's what our tax money is for; we pay a certain percentage of our income to support the unemployed and medically needy. We also have food programs and shelter to provide to the poor and homeless. Many of these programs don't get enough funding to provide enough for those in need because their use is stigmatized and importance minimized in our culture. The propaganda about the American dream is at least in part responsible, I think. When people speak against welfare programs you hear a lot of selfish talk, such as, "I work hard, why would I pay more taxes so that someone else can sit on their ass all day?" Or sometimes these heated discussions have a racist overtone; that immigrants will come and sponge off our welfare programs if we expand them. Whether that is true or not is irrelevant to me. Compassion for fellow citizens is the point for me and it's why I would support any assistance programs no matter the risk of whether bad actors will try to take advantage, that's the government's responsibility to provide a tidy set of policies so that help falls into the hands of those truly in need.

Sorry for the digression but I see the attitudes about welfare as linked to that about unions. Many citizens don't believe that unions would have their best interests in mind (as with government on welfare programs) and that to pay dues would be simply to line the pockets of the union reps at the top for little to no benefit. Some people also buy into the notion that they can rather earn the trust and loyalty of their employer by working hard and that working hard is a virtue in and of itself. If they mean working hard to achieve a personal goal, then I do see the virtue of that point of view, but otherwise, I disagree, work is simply a means of making an income to support life in society.

[–] mod@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 year ago

It seems like think tanks and similar entities are quite effective in shaping the general mind's perspective on a social state. I hope that some of the people holding these beliefs of being robbed by their fellow citizens can readjust to reality by a comparison of the size of welfare budgets and cuts that are taken by hard working leeches along the way. I think one of the more prominent examples are the US healthcare system: it has the highest cost per person, yet is unable to deliver, with people having to pay for services out of their own pockets on top of this. I see this system to be ineffective and inefficient mostly because of people in the chain that grab whatever they can.

[–] some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 1 year ago

Oh, they've been villainized my entire life. I grew up believing that they caused harm. I'm super-pro union, now. But I had to radically shift my politics before that happened and I wasn't ever even on the Right.

Basically every big chain I've worked for has had a similar video.

[–] Rentlar@lemmy.ca 38 points 1 year ago

Easy example for me to point to, when anyone thinks management will advocate for better employee working conditions than a union.

[–] negativeyoda@lemmy.world 33 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Man. If walmart hadn't closed all of their stores in my city this would make me want to shoplift

[–] ButtCheekOnAStick@lemmy.world 15 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I got you boo! I'll go double hard for both of us!

[–] negativeyoda@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago
[–] WilliamTheWicked@lemmy.world 24 points 1 year ago (2 children)
[–] BlackNo1@lemmy.world 15 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] Albbi@lemmy.ca 9 points 1 year ago

My boycott is already over 5 years old.

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