One more reason to dis-like Wal-mart
 

Teens at Work

Thousands of adolescents work as unpaid baggers in Wal-Mart’s Mexican stores. The retail giant isn’t breaking any laws—but that doesn’t mean the government is happy with the practice.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20056614/site/newsweek/

sigh. that is so awful and yet unsurprising. Volunteers my *ss. I try very hard not to shop there because of their treatment of their workers and their non-unionization policies. It's hard not to sometimes when it's the only thing in town, but I avoid it nonetheless, I'd much rather go to a local shop.

At least in the US you can not "volunteer" for a FOR-profit company. I won a judgement/settlement against a company (in Des Moines run by a professor at a local prestigious university) that tried to screw me out of some $$ based on this.

Eh, yeah they COULD pay the baggers. But I think that Mexico should change the laws before expecting a corporation to be "better" than what their own country expects. You can't really get upset at a company doing something entirely legal without blaming the people who made the situation possible in the first place. And if there's not support for changing the law (So that teens can make extra money for their families by working strictly for tips) then that is also not Walmart's fault.

I'm willing to bet that paying the baggers will lead to increased prices in Mexico. This of course comes down to the essence of the Walmart argument. People want those low prices. They don't want the prices at Walmart to go up and they don't want to stop shopping there, but they want wages and benefits to go up. That's an ineffective way to get a point across to a business.

I'm not saying there aren't plenty of people who won't/don't shop at Walmart, but the parking lots are always packed around here so clearly they aren't hurting for business.

isn't this how most grocery baggers operate? I always thought they worked for tips only.

i know times have changed, but when i was in HS it was a big deal to get a job bagging at the commissary b/c people tipped so well!

In my experience, grocery stores that have baggers pay them. Walmarts around here have the cashier bag the groceries, and that's pretty normal too. Some stores don't have baggers and community groups can volunteer to bag groceries as a fundraiser. And a few don't have baggers or bags and that's how you save money (I <3 Aldi)

My brother's first job in high school was as a grocery bagger, and the store he worked for did not allow the baggers to accept tips (they not only bagged the groceries, but they took them out to the car for you as well).

Yeah that's normal for the stores that pay their baggers. I've always wondered why. I've worked in different retail places and if you can't accept tips, there's always some nice old guy who wants you to have a few bucks for (free!) gift wrapping his purchases. I know stores don't want their employees to be hustling the customers for tips, but sometimes customers don't like to hear "No" either.

The military commissary is a whole other animal when it comes to the grocery world. NOTHING like "on the economy" supermarkets....

ah the memories of "payday" at the commissary....trolling the parking lot over and over again to find a parking space....waiting patiently for a cart and then waiting to check out....lines and more lines...

Just a thought, but maybe it is a tax issue. Theoretically, tips are considered wages, and those wages would have to be declared on taxes. And since you are an employee of the store, and not an independent contractor, the store would have to track your tips and then report them as part of your wages. I could see that as a huge hassle.

Actually, it is a union issue. Grocery baggers are part of a union, believe it or not, and per union rules, they can not accept tips.

What about for the non-union workers whether at Quiznos or department stores, or even non-union grocery stores? (Although around here the non-union ones are the ones that don't have baggers and let community groups back for tips)

I am seeing a whole different commissary bagger in the last few years. When I started shopping there several decades ago, the baggers were mostly hs-aged dependent kids and the foreign-born junior enlisted wives. Now there are all sorts of people who bag at the commissaries that seem (we don't get into a conversation about this) as if there is no connection to the military whatsoever.

This may be explained by the area in which we live. Like most major cities, greater DC still has low unemployment and an overall educated population. Our DC area discount stores (WalMart, Target...) seem to have mostly immigrants as their employees whereas the same stores in the more rural areas (ie Shenandoahs) have more long-term locals (who seem to be US-born: again, I don't ask).

it was my second HS job, but same rules


I think the logic was, some people are faster at bagging/better with people and will get more tips, and hang out with their favorites, instead of helping the next customer, keeping things running smoothly, etc.

eww.