After I published “Walmart and the Mayoral Field Give D.C. the Bait-and-Switch” in early August, Steve Restivo, Walmart’s senior director of communications, wrote me an email spelling out his opposition to the article. I disagree with pretty much all of his talking points – the same ones that are fed to the public and to council members – so I decided to share my responses with the city as it nears a decision on the Large Retailer Accountability Act, which would require large, profitable retailers in DC to pay a living wage with benefits. Mr. Restivo’s responses to my original piece are italicized.
1. There didn’t appear to be a second source for this statement: “When Walmart first decided to come to town, it privately promised a group of D.C. clergymen that it would pay a starting wage of $13 an hour…” A credible corroborator is important because (as you point out) we normally only share our average, hourly, full-time wage. It’s posted for every state where we do business here.
Why is your word more credible than that of a widely supported clergyman with deep roots in DC? This isn’t the first time you’ve implied that Reverend Graylan Hagler misunderstood you – or is “struggling with the difference between starting and average” – a claim that comes off as condescending at best.
As I was told by Rev. Hagler – who was in the room at the time (you were not), “Insinuating that I don’t know the difference between starting salary and average wage is really casting aspersions at the community and our ability to understand simple English. So it points to their playing hardball and insulting the residents of the community. The reality is we don’t tolerate the insults coming from Congress or from big business.”
By the way Mr. Restivo, where is your credible corroborator?
I checked out your website, and found that the listed hourly wages have an asterisk saying they refer to “regular, full-time hourly associates.” How is that defined, and what proportion of Walmart’s hourly workers fit that description? According to a recent Reuters article, “Walmart’s everyday strategy: Add more temps,” most if not all of your new hires are temps, and for the rest, company healthcare is getting even harder to access. One anonymous store manager said, “Everybody who comes through the door I hire as a temporary associate. It’s company direction at the present time.” We’re going to need more transparency before we can believe your claims about your employment practices.
And still the question remains: if, as your website claims, your average hourly wage in the US is $12.78, including $12.04 in Maryland and $12.39 in Virginia, why would you be opposed to legislation that creates a level playing field and forces your big competitors to pay the same amount you already claim to pay?
People Warming 