Losers in the unions vs. Wal-Mart game: D.C.'s poor (UPDATE)

[JEDI]

http://features.blogs.fortune.cnn.c...-wal-mart-and-1800-jobs-from-dc/?iid=HP_River

walmart to bring six stores and 1,800 jobs to Washington, D.C. -- catering to parts of the city where unemployment rates are among the highest in the nation. then the city council voted to single out the giant retailer with a requirement to pay workers 50% above minimum wage.
pay workers $12.50 an hour instead of the $8.25 city minimum wage.

Wal-Mart pull outs on the planned stores, and maybe even on the three stores already under construction.

No wonder Ward 7 council member Yvette M. Alexander described Wal-Mart's threatened pullout as "her worst nightmare" and called the legislation "a development killer ... a jobs killer." Her constituents are coping with a 15% unemployment rate.
Ward 8 is even worse, with a 23% unemployment rate.

A 2012 Department of Employment Services report stressed that "wards with the highest poverty need access to resources that break the poverty cycle.


WTF?! walmart's going to build in areas of the city where noone would touch.
and hire alot of inner city people.
it was like a gift horse for DC.
now the majority of DC govt is kicking that gift horse in the mouth.
WTF?!

easy access to low-cost groceries, and clothes for the DC poor = poof?


update:
http://www.nbcwashington.com/blogs/...Pushes-for-DC-Living-Wage-Veto-215605151.html

Sources told News4 last week Gray will veto the measure once it reaches his desk, saying areas of the city desperately need jobs and other retailers may balk at building in D.C.


update2:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/...4a1_story.html

Mayor finally to get bill, 7 weeks later.

Under a quirk in District law, Mendelson, a major backer of the legislation, had no obligation to quickly get the bill to Gray (D). In an interview on Tuesday, he acknowledged that he used his prerogative as chairman to delay, giving union leaders, clergy and other proponents of the measure time to mount a campaign to pressure Gray to sign the legislation.\

city council passed the bill July 10th.


update3 (9/12/13):
D.C. Mayor Gray vetoes ‘living wage’ bill!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local...4d7310-077d-11e3-a07f-49ddc7417125_story.html


finally! but it's not over.
council chairman Mendelson is trying to get enuf votes for an override

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

F Wal-Mart and their slave driver wages while they make record profits.

 

[JEDI]

F Wal-Mart and their slave driver wages while they make record profits.

so u rather have 1800 inner city people be unemployed vs working minimum wage?!

stupid logic

 

[Genx87]

F Wal-Mart and their slave driver wages while they make record profits.

Yeah, why work for 8.25 an hour when you can not work at all? If DC feels 8.25 an hour isnt good enough for people. Then they should raise the min wage to 12.50 an hour like they want Walmart to pay.

 

[Genx87]

This reminds me of this episode. It is hilarious how fucking stupid the hatred of walmart is in this country.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A473rAQjsZc

 

[nehalem256]

Then, at the 11th hour, with two stores slated to open this fall, organized labor struck. The D.C. council took up union-backed legislation, called the Large Retailer Accountability Act, that would force giant box stores -- i.e. Wal-Mart -- to pay workers $12.50 an hour instead of the $8.25 minimum wage. (The measure applies to retailers over 75,000 square feet and with a parent company gross revenues of more than $1 billion. Existing stores are exempt.)

Is passing a law like this even legal?

 

[LTC8K6]

F Wal-Mart and their slave driver wages while they make record profits.

But it means no large retailer will build a new store there...

 

[LTC8K6]

Is passing a law like this even legal?

Those little ward fiefdoms can do almost anything they want. Many areas of the US are run that way.

 

[Incorruptible]

I am no fan of walmart but this is just moronic. Walmart was going into areas other corporations didn't want to and these idiots essentially kick them out.

 

[Oldgamer]

F Wal-Mart and their slave driver wages while they make record profits.

^ This, and by the way Wallmart has a history of this behavior and threats. I just think people need to tell them to shove off. Seriously, if you can't pay people a decent living wage, the people end up picking up the damn tab having to help those up who are dependent on food stamps and other services to just live and get by.

Fuck Walmart..seriously

 

[PokerGuy]

Typical liberal stupidity, the people who continue to vote those morons into office deserve what they get ... or rather, in this case, what they won't get.

Instead of 1800 new jobs and easy access to groceries in areas that desperately need them, they'll get nothing. Brilliant, good thinking DC!

If they want the pay to be $12.50 per hour, then they should make it $12.50 per hour for the city. Singling out walmart to have to pay that much but nobody else is BS, and I'm glad walmart is going to tell them to shove it.

 

[Incorruptible]

^ This, and by the way Wallmart has a history of this behavior and threats. I just think people need to tell them to shove off. Seriously, if you can't pay people a decent living wage, the people end up picking up the damn tab having to help those up who are dependent on food stamps and other services to just live and get by.

Fuck Walmart..seriously

How about you take your own advice? Walmart was going to create jobs and you and your ilk screw it up.

 

[PokerGuy]

^ This, and by the way Wallmart has a history of this behavior and threats. I just think people need to tell them to shove off. Seriously, if you can't pay people a decent living wage, the people end up picking up the damn tab having to help those up who are dependent on food stamps and other services to just live and get by.

Fail post as usual. Don't you ever get tired of failing all the time?

If the city doesn't think $8.25 is a "living wage", then they should raise it to whatever they think is the right wage. Singling out walmart for different treatment is not only unfair, put incredibly stupid, now those people who are already in desperate need of employment will get nothing. Another prime example of government stupidity in action. The morons there would rather have 1800 more people on the dole doing nothing and collecting unemployment/welfare/foodstamps than having them employed.

 

[nehalem256]

Instead of 1800 new jobs and easy access to groceries in areas that desperately need them, they'll get nothing. Brilliant, good thinking DC!

Whole Foods or no foods. That is the progressive motto

 

[nehalem256]

Fail post as usual. Don't you ever get tired of failing all the time?

If the city doesn't think $8.25 is a "living wage", then they should raise it to whatever they think is the right wage. Singling out walmart for different treatment is not only unfair, put incredibly stupid, now those people who are already in desperate need of employment will get nothing. Another prime example of government stupidity in action. The morons there would rather have 1800 more people on the dole doing nothing and collecting unemployment/welfare/foodstamps than having them employed.

Silly PokerGuy don't you know ideas like equality before the law don't apply to Walmart

 

[Mursilis]

I'd like to applaud the DC Council for continuing to provide comic relief to those of us in the suburbs. Apparently, DC residents aren't allowed to decide for themselves if a Walmart job is worse than no job, and it's the Council's job to save the residents from such a choice. But then, the residents voted for this Council, so the problem again is that darn person in the mirror.

 

[unokitty]

With DC leaders like Marion Barry, who needs enemies?

Besides, its not just Wallmart that he's against.

"At a party celebrating his primary victory for his D.C. council seat on April 3, 2012, Barry said, "We've got to do something about these Asians coming in, opening up businesses, those dirty shops. They ought to go, I'll just say that right now, you know. But we need African-American businesspeople to be able to take their places, too."
--Wikipedia


Uno

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

I'd like to applaud the DC Council for continuing to provide comic relief to those of us in the suburbs. Apparently, DC residents aren't allowed to decide for themselves if a Walmart job is worse than no job, and it's the Council's job to save the residents from such a choice. But then, the residents voted for this Council, so the problem again is that darn person in the mirror.

God forbid they fight a corporation to bring a liveable wage to the area. Also that $8 job just means that the govt subsidizes the rest of the salary.

 

[PokerGuy]

Whole Foods or no foods. That is the progressive motto

No kidding. The unions and other assorted idiots are so desperate to attack walmart that they're willing to sacrifice thousands of jobs in areas that desperately need them just to spite them. Pathetic idiots.

Silly PokerGuy don't you know ideas like equality before the law don't apply to Walmart

:biggrin:

They'll say the law doesn't single out walmart, but that's like crafting a law that only applies to "fast food restaurants that have a gold colored arches to form the letter 'M' and claiming doesn't single out McDonalds. Again, despicable and pathetic.

 

[PokerGuy]

God forbid they fight a corporation to bring a liveable wage to the area. Also that $8 job just means that the govt subsidizes the rest of the salary.

If that $8 isn't enough, then they should be raising it for all employers, not singling out one corporation. Singling out one corporation is not only unfair, but as they're about to find out in this case is also incredibly stupid. 1800 jobs for an area with major unemployment problems... poooof gone. Welcome to government stupidity at its finest.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

If that $8 isn't enough, then they should be raising it for all employers, not singling out one corporation. Singling out one corporation is not only unfair, but as they're about to find out in this case is also incredibly stupid. 1800 jobs for an area with major unemployment problems... poooof gone. Welcome to government stupidity at its finest.

No it doesn't mean poof jobs are gone idiot. There is a demand and it will be met by another corporation that will pay a liveable wage.

 

[Londo_Jowo]

Yeah, why work for 8.25 an hour when you can not work at all? If DC feels 8.25 an hour isnt good enough for people. Then they should raise the min wage to 12.50 an hour like they want Walmart to pay.

You know they can't do that as it would lead to others who currently have jobs seeing reduction of hours or possibly job lose due to cut backs.

 

[Mursilis]

God forbid they fight a corporation to bring a liveable wage to the area. Also that $8 job just means that the govt subsidizes the rest of the salary.

And if a person is making $0/hr., how much do they cost the gov't?

It's amusing, of course, that organized labor is behind this. I'm not a union-hater - I consider unions a vital tool protecting the interests of the worker against abuse of power by management. But like in any relationship, when one side gets too strong, their power corrupts them. Unions are no different. They used to have the upper hand, but they got greedy and short-sighted. As a result, they're on the decline, and corporations are beating them senseless for it, and the average worker suffers, mostly by becoming a non-worker.

 

[Incorruptible]

God forbid they fight a corporation to bring a liveable wage to the area. Also that $8 job just means that the govt subsidizes the rest of the salary.

What is a liveable wage you moron?

 

[Londo_Jowo]

No it doesn't mean poof jobs are gone idiot. There is a demand and it will be met by another corporation that will pay a liveable wage.

Really? What corporations are going to create these jobs at $12.50/hr? Target? K-Mart? Meijers?