Thread: The World's Largest Private Employer to Raise Starting Wage to $11

Walmart to Raise Starting Wage to $11

The world's largest private employer is boosting its minimum wage.

By Megan Trimble, Associate Editor, Social Media |Jan. 11, 2018, at 11:06 a.m.


Walmart to Raise Starting Wage to $11


The world's largest private employer, Walmart, is expected to soon boost its starting wage to $11 in the wake of the GOP's recent passage of a sweeping federal tax overhaul.

The major retailer announced Thursday that it will increase the starting salary for all hourly U.S. employees, distribute a one-time cash bonus based on time with the company and expand maternity and parental leave benefits. The company said the changes will
effect roughly 1 million hourly workers, and that the "lower business tax rate" was the impetus for the change. The new tax code slashes the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent.

View image on Twitter

Walmart

✔@Walmart


Excited to share some news today! We’re raising our starting wage for all hourly associates in the U.S., expanding benefits & offering a one-time bonus! Learn more from CEO Doug McMillon: http://bit.ly/2DilSzT
6:33 AM - Jan 11, 2018

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"Tax reform gives us the opportunity to be more competitive globally and to accelerate plans for the U.S.," CEO Doug McMillon said in a prepared statement.

President Donald Trump signed the Republicans' massive $1.5 trillion tax cut package last month, marking one of the largest legislative victory so far in his presidency. Analysts say the tax package is one of the largest since tax cuts enacted under former President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s.


Walmart workers currently start at a $9 wage. The change, which benefits all hourly U.S. workers within its stores, Sam's Clubs, eCommerce, logistics and home office, will take effect in February, the company said.

Walmart said the one-time bonus for eligible full-time and part-time hourly U.S. employees will range from $200 to $1,000. The payouts will total about $400 million and the company will take the one-time charge in the fourth quarter of this year.

Walmart's expanded benefits for full-time hourly U.S. workers will include 10 weeks of paid maternity leave and 6 weeks of paid parental leave. The expanded parental leave will also include parents who adopt, and offer them $5,000 to help cover the costs.


McMillon said the company is in the early stages of "assessing the opportunities tax reform creates" and Walmart will continue to determine "what additional investments are needed" as it moves forward.

https://www.usnews.com/news/national...leave-benefits

Minimum wage hikes: 18 states, 20 cities to lift pay floors Jan. 1

Minimum wage - California Department of Industrial Relations - State ...

Effective January 1, 2017 the minimum wage for all industries will be $10.50 per hour for employers with 26 more or more employees and shall remain at $10 per hour for employers with 25 or fewer employees.

“There is a new ‘minimum wage’ for federal bureaucrats – at 78 departments and independent agencies, the average employee made $100,000 or more,” OpenTheBooks said in a statement.

30,000 federal employees earn more than any governor

San Diego's Minimum Wage Increase Compared To California's

Date	San Diego	California
07/2016	$10.50	I
1/2017	$11.50	$10.50
1/2018	I	$11.00
1/2019	$11.82*	$12.00
1/2020	$12.15*	$13.00
1/2021	$12.49*	$14.00
1/2022	$12.84*	$15.00

* If the Consumer Price Index grows in each year at 2.8%, the average rate of growth from 1982 to 2016. Source: Center on Policy Initiatives.

http://www.kpbs.org/news/2016/jul/01/san-diego-scrambling-plan-minimum-wage-increase/

Thank you Walmart! I am a good and regular customer and appreciate very much your using the tax cuts to raise wages for your wonderful Walmart employees. They deserve every dollar and more when you have it and feel compelled. They make your stores, they really do.

Walmart Shocked Employees By Closing Dozens of Sam's Club Stores. Here's What We Know

By BRAD TUTTLE 12:08 PM EST


On Thursday—the same day that Walmart heralded its newly increased minimum wage—the company dealt a surprising blow to to the popular Costco-like warehouse club it owns.

Employees and shoppers at dozens of Walmart-owned Sam’s Clubs around the country were shocked to see that the warehouse stores were closed—and will be closed permanently in the near future.

Walmart made no mention of the Sam’s Club closures in its Thursday press release touting its wage increases and other new benefits. Employees appear to have been given no advance warning, and confusion reigned for most of the day. Reports of the warehouse club closures surfaced piecemeal, with five closing in Illinois and at least three store closures in Houston. At one point, word spread that upwards of 260 Sam’s Clubs would be shuttered, including all locations in Alaska.

We’ve reached out to Walmart representatives for comment and more specifics, but messages have not been returned. Here’s what we know.
63 Sam’s Clubs Stores Are Reportedly Closing

Most reports now say that the total number of Sam’s Club closures nationwide is 63. Business Insider created a master list of stores set to be closed—with information gathered from Sam’s Club employees, not Sam’s Club corporate representatives—and it includes four locations in Arizona, three in Florida, four in New York, and four in Texas.

Over 10,000 Workers Could Be Affected

Some of these locations will be reconfigured into e-commerce distribution centers, but altogether over 10,000 Sam’s Club workers could be impacted by the closures.
In an internal email to Sam’s Club employees, CEO John Furner said:

“After a thorough review, it became clear we had built clubs in some locations that impacted other clubs, and where population had not grown as anticipated…. We will work to place as many associates as possible in new roles at nearby locations, and we’ll provide them with support, resources, and severance pay to those eligible.”

There was also at least one Sam’s Club response to a request for comment on Twitter:

11 Jan
DiaTaylor, HRLeader@diataylor68

@SamsClub why are you closing stores permanently today without consumer warning? Please don’t say “store sales.” I’m certain the location in my city was highly profitable.

Sam's Club
✔@SamsClub


Hi,
After a thorough review of our existing portfolio, we’ve decided to close a series of clubs and better align our locations with our strategy. Closing clubs is never easy and we’re committed to working with impacted members and associates through this transition.
11:54 AM - Jan 11, 2018

You Can Cancel or Refund Your Sam’s Club Membership

Sam’s Club membership costs $45 per year. Anyone who wants to cancel and request a refund because of a store closure or any other reason must call Sam’s Club customer service (888-746-7726), Business Insider reported. The refund can be issued in the form of a check or a Walmart gift card.

On the Same Day, Walmart Raised Wages and Extended New Benefits

On Thursday, Walmart announced it was increasing the minimum wage of all workers to $11 an hour, and giving employees bonuses up to $1,000. It was big news because Walmart is the country’s largest private employer, and because the company said worker raises came directly as a result of the corporate tax cut passed by the GOP and the Trump administration.

Prominent Republicans like Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan quickly applauded Walmart, while also patting themselves on the back for passing the new tax law. Ryan said on Twitter that the tax law “is helping improve people’s lives.”

Paul Ryan
✔@SpeakerRyan


Great news! Thanks to the Tax Cuts And Jobs Act, Walmart—America’s largest employer—is raising wages, providing bonuses, and improving benefits for its workers. This law is helping improve people’s lives. http://bit.ly/2APJk4H
10:23 AM - Jan 11, 2018 · Washington, DC

Almost right away after Walmart’s announcement, however, critics pointed out that the tax law may not be the real—or only—reason for the worker raises.

The Tax Cut Is Hardly the Only Reason for Worker Raises

As my colleague Ian Salisbury pointed out yesterday, Walmart had planned to increase employee wages in many parts of the country before the tax bill passed. Unemployment has been low for years, and big box store rival Target raised its own minimum wage to $11 a few months ago. So in many ways Walmart has been forced to increase pay simply to be able to attract—and keep—workers given the economic reality lately.

The Wage Hikes Are Tiny Compared to Walmart’s Tax Savings

Walmart said on Thursday that its increase in worker wages would cost the company an extra $300 million next year, and that the announced worker bonuses will run roughly $400 million.

That sounds pretty significant. Yet a Bloomberg story noted that the world’s largest retailer rings up roughly $300 million in sales every five hours. “The company is on track for about $12 billion in net income this year, so it will take about nine days of profit to recoup the extra spending,” the report stated.

And how much richer will Walmart be in light of the new tax law the company is crediting as the big reason for raises and bonuses for workers? Matt Gardner, a senior fellow at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, told the New York Times that based on Walmart’s earnings over the past five years, the corporate tax cut would save the company an estimated $2.2 billion annually.

“The figure could be higher or lower depending on tax breaks the company might be losing, or new advantages in the treatment of capital investments and other provisions,” the Times reported.

http://time.com/money/5100671/sams-c...-minimum-wage/

Almost right away after Walmart’s announcement, however, critics pointed out that the tax law may not be the real—or only—reason for the worker raises.

The Tax Cut Is Hardly the Only Reason for Worker Raises

As my colleague Ian Salisbury pointed out yesterday, Walmart had planned to increase employee wages in many parts of the country before the tax bill passed. Unemployment has been low for years, and big box store rival Target raised its own minimum wage to $11 a few months ago. So in many ways Walmart has been forced to increase pay simply to be able to attract—and keep—workers given the economic reality lately.

Looks like the tax reform bill could actually have little to do with the pay raises.

LOL!! Yeah, you should always rely on Time magazine's opinion of something over the statements of the company paying the higher wages. Were you against the tax cuts like MSM??!!

Wow, did you get on the wrong side of that line or ... what??!!

Whew!

Originally Posted by Judy

LOL!! Yeah, you should always rely on Time magazine's opinion of something over the statements of the company paying the higher wages. Were you against the tax cuts like MSM??!!

Wow, did you get on the wrong side of that line or ... what??!!

Whew!

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