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Thread: Walmart employees to get raises

  1. #31
    As someone who employs several low wage workers, I can see the good and bad of this. Good, because Wal Mart can use it as a small incentive to attract workers, bad because it will raise costs. The one thing that is the hardest to budget and schedule for is the payroll cost of your business.



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  3. #32
    Quote Originally Posted by KCIndy View Post
    I haven't been to/through any of the U.S. fracking locations lately, but I can attest to the fact that the dropping oil prices have taken a terrible toll on the oil industry in northern Alberta. Up there they do a lot of oil sand mining. Essentially, the sand in the area is saturated with oil/petroleum residue. The sand is scooped up, processed, and crude is extracted from it.... but it's an expensive process, just like fracking. Once the price of oil fell below $80/barrel or so, they were losing money and started to lay off workers.

    Personally, it has already costs us several trucking loads up to the area. They aren't using supplies like before, so orders are being cancelled. Fort MacMurray, Alberta is the largest city in the area, and last time we were up there about a month ago, things were *nothing* like they were last year. Much less activity, many fewer people.

    I'm guessing the same thing is happening (or about to happen) in the fracking areas of the U.S.

    Unfortunately, it's like those scenes from western movies where the "boom town" thrives for a few years, then becomes a ghost town once the gold, silver or whatever is being mined gets played out, and it underscores the importance of an economy having a solid and broad-ranging base.

    Ah, now I remember; you're a trucker. I like hearing from people who actually do this. Rather than the news. That's why I like this site. Thanks.

    Same thing happened in the 80s. People my brother knew went over to Texas in 1980. Gas prices were high and the US started to develop the industry. Middle East oil prices steadily dropped over the 80s. The Texas boom was over by 1986. Houston buildings constructed in the early 80s were already sitting empty by the mid-eighties. You could get a lease for a song.

    I was thinking the lower gas prices here would be prolonged to put the final nail in the coffin, but who knows.



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  5. #33
    Quote Originally Posted by Bastiat's The Law View Post
    $17/hour is pretty low in Williston, ND
    That was certainly true last November. I took this picture while waiting for the store to open. (North Dakota has some weird law that requires large box stores to stay closed from Saturday night until noon on Sunday - maybe someone here who lives in ND can address this in greater detail) When I went inside, the handful of employees there were still frantically trying to get shelves stocked. I thought there had been a run on the store for some reason, but talking to one of the workers there it turned out that they simply didn't have enough stockers to get the shelves replenished. The whole experience was a bit surreal.

  6. #34
    Quote Originally Posted by NorthCarolinaLiberty View Post
    Ah, now I remember; you're a trucker. I like hearing from people who actually do this. Rather than the news. That's why I like this site. Thanks.

    Same thing happened in the 80s. People my brother knew went over to Texas in 1980. Gas prices were high and the US started to develop the industry. Middle East oil prices steadily dropped over the 80s. The Texas boom was over by 1986. Houston buildings constructed in the early 80s were already sitting empty by the mid-eighties. You could get a lease for a song.

    I was thinking the lower gas prices here would be prolonged to put the final nail in the coffin, but who knows.

    I'm old enough to remember the disaster that hit Texas back in the mid 80s. I hate to see gas prices go up again, but on the other hand, I truly feel bad for the communities which were built on the basis of high oil prices.

    I'll have to do some checking to see how North Dakota is holding out. Unlike the oil sands in Alberta, I know the fracking in the Dakotas and Wyoming produce a lot of natural gas. While the drop in oil prices will certainly hurt the U.S. operations, the natural gas production might end up cushioning the blow somewhat.

  7. #35
    Oops.

    My heartfelt apologies to Zippy for the thread derail.

  8. #36
    Quote Originally Posted by Spikender View Post
    The Walmarts where I live are already horribly understaffed and miserable circuses of corporate laughability.

    Here's a toast to more of that. Oh yeah.
    Yeah , I avoid it like the plague , worst service ever known to mankind , LOL ,.

  9. #37
    Quote Originally Posted by CaptUSA View Post
    How much did everyone who shops there save?
    I save a lot more by going other places , and do not have to wait in line.

  10. #38
    Quote Originally Posted by angelatc View Post
    Ye, I think this is more about employee retention than union interests.
    Absolutely .

  11. #39
    Quote Originally Posted by KCIndy View Post
    This is a real picture. Nope, it's not altered in any way. I took it myself. Anyone want to guess where?



    Attachment 3813
    Dakota . ?

  12. #40
    Quote Originally Posted by Zippyjuan View Post
    We don't want good paying jobs. We want low prices. Thanks China and Walmart for contributing to the growing middle class!

    Walmart had $130 billion in sales and $16 billion in profits last year. http://www.forbes.com/sites/maggiemc...things-around/
    What we want is our cake and to eat it too. We want high wages and low cost goods and services. Problem is that it requires a Middle Class, something we do not have any more.
    1776 > 1984

    The FAILURE of the United States Government to operate and maintain an
    Honest Money System , which frees the ordinary man from the clutches of the money manipulators, is the single largest contributing factor to the World's current Economic Crisis.

    The Elimination of Privacy is the Architecture of Genocide

    Belief, Money, and Violence are the three ways all people are controlled

    Quote Originally Posted by Zippyjuan View Post
    Our central bank is not privately owned.



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  14. #41
    Another issue is who gets the increases in productivity. Following the end of WWII, there was a relative shortage of labor and high demand for goods- not just pent up demand in the US from people who pinched pennies and saved during the war and GIs returning home but in Europe and Japan where they needed things to rebuild following the war and they had no infrastucture to produce them. Companies paid higher wages to attract workers. Gains from productivity were shared by both the workers and the owners of capital (the companies). Today, there is less competition among employers for labor (not just locally but internationally as well) so workers have been getting smaller and smaller pieces of the pie. Corporate profits have soared while worker gains have been minimal- despite high increases in per capita outputs.

    "If we let companies keep more of their profits, they will create more jobs" so far does not seem to be happening. They are getting more profits, but they are not trickling down to the workers- either in the form of more jobs (which has been improving) or higher wages for workers.

    There wasn't much of a true middle class prior to WWII and we now seem to be returning to that state.

  15. #42
    Quote Originally Posted by Zippyjuan View Post
    We don't want good paying jobs. We want low prices.
    Wrong. We want a higher standard of living. We want an hour of pay to buy more stuff. The best way to get that is thru capitalism (freedom).

  16. #43
    Quote Originally Posted by silverhandorder View Post
    Looks like good money.
    Yeah, 30 years ago.
    I have an autographed copy of Revolution: A Manifesto for sale. Mint condition, inquire within. (I don't sign in often, so please allow plenty of time for a response)

  17. #44
    Quote Originally Posted by NorthCarolinaLiberty View Post
    KCIndy,

    Have you seen negative effects over the past year in the fracking industry? I'm wondering what it's now like in eastern Montana, N Dakota, and W Texas.
    They're starting to lay people off here in OK. Oilfield work is suddenly no longer the sure-fire high paying job that it has been. It remains to be seen how much of an actual impact this will have around here, it only just seems to be starting.
    I have an autographed copy of Revolution: A Manifesto for sale. Mint condition, inquire within. (I don't sign in often, so please allow plenty of time for a response)

  18. #45
    Quote Originally Posted by Spikender View Post
    The Walmarts where I live are already horribly understaffed and miserable circuses of corporate laughability.
    Sooo...you get what you pay for, basically.

  19. #46
    Quote Originally Posted by invisible View Post
    They're starting to lay people off here in OK. Oilfield work is suddenly no longer the sure-fire high paying job that it has been. It remains to be seen how much of an actual impact this will have around here, it only just seems to be starting.
    Fracking oil requires high prices for oil to be profitable and wells tend to have short life-spans compared to more traditional wells (many hit peak production after just one year). That means you need to be constantly drilling new ones to keep production at its current level. It is an industry set up for boom and bust. Recently we have had an explosion at one oil refinery and workers went on strike at a few more. That could cause the price of oil to rise back up some more (enough to stop cutbacks in production? Remains to be seen).

    Some of the oil areas have been through this boom- bust cycle before (seems to happen about every 20 years or so) and that is why they were reluctant to spend money on infrastructure for oil workers- like more hotels and houses- fearing a glut of them when the crash hit.

    Many think oil will stay around $40 to $50 for a while. Tar sands in Canada need closer to $80 to $100 to be profitable and depending on the wells, fracking in the $65 to $80 range. You are right- it is probably just starting.

  20. #47
    A good day for WalMart employees and maybe even for customers.

  21. #48




    We've become a nation of WalMarx Employees and Truck Drivers.
    1776 > 1984

    The FAILURE of the United States Government to operate and maintain an
    Honest Money System , which frees the ordinary man from the clutches of the money manipulators, is the single largest contributing factor to the World's current Economic Crisis.

    The Elimination of Privacy is the Architecture of Genocide

    Belief, Money, and Violence are the three ways all people are controlled

    Quote Originally Posted by Zippyjuan View Post
    Our central bank is not privately owned.



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  23. #49
    Quote Originally Posted by Zippyjuan View Post
    "If we let companies keep more of their profits, they will create more jobs" so far does not seem to be happening. They are getting more profits, but they are not trickling down to the workers- either in the form of more jobs (which has been improving) or higher wages for workers.

    There wasn't much of a true middle class prior to WWII and we now seem to be returning to that state.
    "If we let.....?" Of course they aren't making more money. We have a glut of workers. Rising wages isn't a function of profit. It is a function of labor demand. Every time we get to peak employment, the immigrants flood in and drive wages back down.

  24. #50
    Quote Originally Posted by Ronin Truth View Post
    Must be a lot of significant union grumbling again. Thanks for raising costs and prices.
    Its funny because Walmart doesn't even have a union. Try again.

  25. #51
    Quote Originally Posted by DamianTV View Post
    We've become a nation of WalMarx Employees and Truck Drivers.
    It's simple.

    Trucking is pretty much the last blue collar job that pays a decent living wage. The high paying factory jobs are all gone.

  26. #52
    Quote Originally Posted by KCIndy View Post
    It's simple.

    Trucking is pretty much the last blue collar job that pays a decent living wage. The high paying factory jobs are all gone.
    This x1000

    That and the maritime field, but that has very limited opportunities, it's tough to break into, and 8 out of 10 people get too seasick to even think about doing it.

    And most important to not forget, it was done on purpose.

  27. #53
    Quote Originally Posted by Anti Federalist View Post
    This x1000

    That and the maritime field, but that has very limited opportunities, it's tough to break into, and 8 out of 10 people get too seasick to even think about doing it.

    And most important to not forget, it was done on purpose.
    I tried to get a fishing job in the Gulf of New Mexico, but they're only hiring mexicans...

    (waits for someone to find what is wrong with that statement...)
    1776 > 1984

    The FAILURE of the United States Government to operate and maintain an
    Honest Money System , which frees the ordinary man from the clutches of the money manipulators, is the single largest contributing factor to the World's current Economic Crisis.

    The Elimination of Privacy is the Architecture of Genocide

    Belief, Money, and Violence are the three ways all people are controlled

    Quote Originally Posted by Zippyjuan View Post
    Our central bank is not privately owned.

  28. #54
    I have a friend working fishing boats in Alaska. Out after crabs right now.

  29. #55
    Only three weeks or so to April for the raises .

  30. #56
    Quote Originally Posted by Spikender View Post
    The Walmarts where I live are already horribly understaffed and miserable circuses of corporate laughability.

    Here's a toast to more of that. Oh yeah.
    and more people complaining they can't be hired. YAY.
    pcosmar's lie : There are more votes than registered Voters..



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  32. #57
    Quote Originally Posted by Anti Federalist View Post
    Sooo...you get what you pay for, basically.
    That's how see it .

  33. #58
    Last time I was on the premise of a Walmart--2007. Walmart can go die.
    The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding one’s self in the ranks of the insane.” — Marcus Aurelius

    They’re not buying it. CNN, you dumb bastards!” — President Trump 2020

    Consilio et Animis de Oppresso Liber

  34. #59
    Quote Originally Posted by PRB View Post
    and more people complaining they can't be hired. YAY.
    I can be hired...

    For the right price.

    Then again I don't have a degree in liberal arts or women's studies so I might have a better chance than most.
    Quote Originally Posted by Sister Miriam Godwinson View Post
    We Must Dissent.

  35. #60
    Quote Originally Posted by Spikender View Post
    I can be hired...

    For the right price.

    Then again I don't have a degree in liberal arts or women's studies so I might have a better chance than most.
    You're not complaining, so no worries.
    pcosmar's lie : There are more votes than registered Voters..

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