In some late breaking news Wal-Mart is facing the largest class action suite against a private employer in U.S. history. The case involves 1.6 Million female workers who have been employed at the retail giant since 1998. The original 6 women who filed the law suite in 2001 claim that Wal-Mart systematically pays women less than male counterparts and purposefully overlooks them in promotions. Wal-Marts feeble two pronged defense includes the notion that the claims of these 1.6 million women are too diverse and that promotions were decided by local managers- not the corporation. The plantiffs were quick to fire back stating that though it is vast, the company has a tightly controlled corporate culture that plays a role in deciding pay and promotion within store branches.
Coming from a retail background and having recently been subjected to 3 hours of corporate training videos I most definitely take the side of the plantiffs. If 2.5 hours of psychological programming concerning corporate culture and etiquette weren’t enough, the half an hour of transparent anti-union propaganda certainly convinced me that corporate retailers play very close to the chest when it comes to matters of unions/promotions/wages/benefits/health care/etc. Wal-Mart’s saga will certainly be on-going for a few years but pay close attention to the defense we are bound to see some questionable if not sexist defenses.
For your consideration- Hugh Heffner is going broke… because naked pictures of ladies just aren’t selling like they used to? Check out this amusing Daily Show Clip: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-november-30-2010/save-the-playboy-mansion-fund
-Until Next Time,
Killer Tofu
ShoutOut! James Madison University 