

Hackers Leak Walmart’s Guide on How to Silence Workers - thejacenxpress
http://makingchangeatwalmart.org/2014/01/16/hackers-leak-walmarts-guide-on-how-to-silence-workers/

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bjt
I went looking for the guide. Couldn't see it linked from the page linked
here, so I followed their Gawker link, and couldn't see it there, so I
followed the link to occupywallst.org. I couldn't get their embedded PDF
viewer to turn pages, so I clicked the raw PDF.

To save others the trouble, the link is here:
[http://www.docdroid.net/file/view/86lk/walmart-on-
ourwalmart...](http://www.docdroid.net/file/view/86lk/walmart-on-
ourwalmart.pdf)

A "Guide on How to Silence Workers" is not a good characterization of this
document. From the post title, I expected something like "Here's how you
subtly threaten and intimidate people into doing what you want." I don't see
anything like that here. There are 13 slides. Several of them depict links
between the UFCW, various anti-WalMart organizations, and one consulting
group. A couple are pure propaganda along the lines of "Is OURWalMart/UFCW
really here to help you? No!"

One of the organizations listed in the document is the same
makingchangeatwalmart.org to which the OP links.

Maybe there are things about WalMart that one should get outraged about, but
this doesn't seem like one of them. There's more heat than light here.

~~~
mcormier
You're looking at the wrong slideshow:

[http://www.docdroid.net/file/view/86ln/manager-
training.pdf](http://www.docdroid.net/file/view/86ln/manager-training.pdf)

[http://occupywallst.org/article/point-of-public-
information/](http://occupywallst.org/article/point-of-public-information/)

The articles aren't organized well, and you have to click around to find the
actual info.

------
scotch_drinker
Always lost in these conversations are the hundreds of thousands of people who
shop at Walmart because it stretches the meager family budget far enough to
allow those low income people a reasonable existence. All else being equal,
Walmart would have better work environments and more protections for its
workers. But all else isn't equal and higher wages and more protections for
the workers will likely result in higher prices which has an immediate effect
on the poor and lower class. It's not a vacuum. Walmart is the logical
conclusion of the uniquely American desire to pay the lowest price for
everything.

Ironically, those who argue that Walmart is terrible to their workers almost
never shop there because they have nice jobs and the ability to choose where
to buy their staples.

~~~
smutticus
Incorrect, Walmart can raise the wages of its employees without increasing
their prices.

[http://www.demos.org/sites/default/files/publications/A%20Hi...](http://www.demos.org/sites/default/files/publications/A%20Higher%20Wage%20Is%20Possible.pdf)

TLDR: Walmart could give all it's low-wage employees a $5.83 raise in exchange
for not doing a stock buyback. Their profits would not even suffer.

The other obvious point is that Walmart could pay its workers more in exchange
for less profit. That would also not require any price hikes.

~~~
kbolino
From a short-term perspective, increasing the bottom end of the pay scale is
not an isolated event. All levels of the scale must be adjusted upward to
offset the effect of condensing (in this case drastically) the pay differences
between positions with different levels of responsibility.

From a long-term perspective, the management of Walmart does not own the
equity in the company. They must act in the interests of the company's owners
in order to at least preserve, if not expand, the company itself. The evidence
against buybacks presented in the paper you link is quite thin. The management
may be making a bad decision, but it is up to the shareholders to correct
them.

~~~
smutticus
> From a short-term perspective, increasing the bottom end of the pay scale is
> not an isolated event. All levels of the scale must be adjusted upward to
> offset the effect of condensing (in this case drastically) the pay
> differences between positions with different levels of responsibility.

Prove it.

> From a short-term perspective, increasing the bottom end of the pay scale is
> not an isolated event. All levels of the scale must be adjusted upward to
> offset the effect of condensing (in this case drastically) the pay
> differences between positions with different levels of responsibility.

You're correct, and this is why we need to raise the federal minimum wage.

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rthomas6
Maybe I missed it, but I don't see the actual guide. And I doubt
makingchangeatwalmart.org is an objective source on what it contains. I'd like
to see the actual guide, or at least direct quotations from it, so I can make
my own judgements.

~~~
qwerty_asdf
It's about three more clicks deep:

> Original Post <[http://makingchangeatwalmart.org/2014/01/16/hackers-leak-
> wal...](http://makingchangeatwalmart.org/2014/01/16/hackers-leak-walmarts-
> guide-on-how-to-silence-workers/) >
    
    
      1. (OP) Hackers Leak Walmart’s Guide on How to Silence Workers 
    

> ...in the words of [Gawker’s Hamilton Nolan<[http://gawker.com/walmarts-
> anti-union-training-documents-dem...](http://gawker.com/walmarts-anti-union-
> training-documents-demand-loyalty-1501887448) >].
    
    
      2. Walmart's Anti-Union Training Documents Demand "Loyalty" 
    

> Occupy Wall Street has posted a set of [internal Walmart
> documents<[http://occupywallst.org/article/point-of-public-
> information/](http://occupywallst.org/article/point-of-public-information/)
> >] used...
    
    
      3. (Finally leading to...) Walmart Organizes Against Workers

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m52go
Walmart is disgusting. The bright lights, recent attempts at upscaling their
image, and the stupid yellow smiley face are all fronts for what's nothing
more than a sweatshop for the unfortunate people who have to work there.

I avoid it...more people should too.

~~~
GFK_of_xmaspast
It's just a really unpleasant shopping experience, and I'm lucky to live in a
place with alternatives and have a job that lets me afford to shop at
alternatives.

