So Much To Say About The Retail Giant

On May 18th began the day my self-esteem, back and shoulders were to be torn apart. I had no idea the cultish and unscrupulous behavior this Americana imaged company was to unleash on me, as it has on so many others. I at the moment was grateful to get a job, although way beneath my credentials and expertise, I was happy to earn a paycheck and return to the workforce after a long break from it. I had goals to move up the corporate ladder, and make Walmart my new career change.

On one Thursday morning, I sat through their poorly put together orientation when we were abruptly removed to go assist on the floor since they were short staffed, little did I know that this was a sign of things to come. We were programmed intensely by the safety officer, that no accident is an actual accident but a fault and careless act from those involved, another sign of Walmarts lack of compassion and a no-nonsense approach.  They bragged every month about the low accident rates they had, but of course, they would, they bullied employees to stay quiet if they got hurt. I noticed a couple of the guys speaking amongst each other about getting hurt but saying nothing and not reporting it to management. In fact, bonuses relied on not having accidents or injuries in the workplace.

My first few months at Walmart, I worked at the deli, besides the fact that I could not stomach the lack of cleanliness and food preparation practice the store had, the whole deli was one big hazardous place. They had leaking faucets that constantly made our floors wet, slippery coolers and let’s not forget the sharp and hot danger zones, that kept every one of us, full of burns and cuts. It was considered normal, almost like wearing the scars as a badge of honor. I did not want to be a wuss, so I grind and bared it. Every day, was a new cut and burn, it did not have to be this way of course if they would have the proper equipment, not the cheapest and poorest circumstances. We were not given the tools we needed to work. The brooms did not sweep, they were old and worn out everything needed replacement, but they were too cheap to do so.  People’s attitude and work ethics were terrible, they hated being there, and at first, I did not understand why since I was punctual, never called in sick and took my job seriously. However, the lack of attendance made it hard for those who showed up for work, and often than not we were understaffed, yet expected to work at a fast pace, and stay there way over our scheduled time.

I slipped and slide on a daily basis became grossed out by the oils we used to fry the food in which also was all over the floor, since the fryer leaked, oils that were never changed and cooked with, even after reporting to management who were responsible for the procedure. Food often had mold, repurposed, and frankly, many did not follow the protocol to prevent food born illnesses, but I stayed quiet since I saw the lack of interest taken by management. People that reported things were seen as troublemakers and their hours cut. The department manager was unfit to lead and to run the department. In fact, she had another job, and frankly did the mear minimum, but knew how to bark orders well and expected much of us. Never once, a praise, always a put down. I found out later, that that is the Walmart way, they are taught to lead this way. There is lots of favoritism, and the poor leadership stems from the top. I learned many things as time went on, but one thing I knew for sure, I could not stay in that department any longer. I would come home exhausted, had no energy to speak off, and felt a lack of satisfaction in the work I was doing on a daily basis. The amount of food that was thrown out and wasted was beyond incredible. I requested to be transferred from that department, and thankfully, I was given a new position, one I thought would be for sure the solution to my woes.

I now became what they call a Cap 1 Fresh associate, my shift changed from 1 PM to 10 PM, to 4 AM to 1 PM, life as we know it will never be the same. Who knew that getting up at 3 AM in the wee morning would be so drastic on one’s body. From the moment I clocked in, to the moment I clocked out, the amount of labor I endured was something I had never experienced. I knew the job was not going to be easy, but never did I imagine, slave labor like this, this day and age. Lifting overhead countlessly, using faulty equipment that made our job harder, from pallet jacks to doors we were expected to open on a daily basis countless of time but were not functional. Reporting the problem created no solution, I was told by the assistant store manager after reporting it, that they were aware, yet nothing was ever done.

Our spirit was always broken, we were always understaffed and made feel incompetent, you did not finish one task when you were asked to complete another. I knew that it was a matter of time, before I got seriously hurt, the added repetitive injury hazard, and unsafe equipment would guarantee that. But little did I know that Walmart would show no compassion and want to take no responsibility for my injury. I now understand why most Walmart employees have an I don’t give a dam attitude, they go to work if you can call it that, and don’t care about a thing. We fight daily to find the tools we need to do our work, from scanners to printers and loading carts, we scramble daily and are expected to be on a set schedule or we will hear it from Napoleon, the assistant manager whose people skills are always lacking, and has a very poor attitude towards his associates. He is quick to demean, and never once hands out praise, only complaints and always wanting to take blood out of a stone. I could go on, but frankly, since I handed in my resignation, fearing for my well-being and storming into the store managers office, I feel a sense of relief.

I proceeded to tell her that I could no longer endure being hurt on the job, that on Sept 4th after fighting with that unforsaken cooler door one too many times, my back and left shoulder finally gave out. Instead of showing compassion, she tells me that I should have requested help for opening the door, a door that we all struggle to open daily. Help? Lady, we open this door over 50 times daily, if we were to wait for help, we never get anything done. This door along with other doors in the back rooms need fixing, but they do not want to spend the cash, and rather see the money in getting their bonuses. I quickly told her I wanted to file a worker comp accident report, she was hesitant and tried to persuade me to take on another position as a greeter, not worried about my injuries, or taking care of me, she wanted me to fluff it off, as per the initial denial of the worker’s comp claim, blaming it on me, when clearly, workers, comp is a no-fault procedure, and the repetitive injury report I made along with the straw that broke the camels back incident, Walmart had the gull to initially deny my claim. I handed in my resignation on the 5th a day after my injury and seeing their poor and blaming attitude, instead of caring. How could I continue to work for an organization such as this, with a reputation that proceeds them? There are countless complaints and reports from other associates, Walmart is an unsafe and uncaring corporation to work for.

Long story short, after threatening them with an attorney they reconsidered the claim, and I was poorly moved along the system to their worker’s comp health provider, escorted by a manager like a prisoner, all HIPPA laws broken, and I was outed by the facility as a trans person since my records were disclosed by the medical facility to Walmart, an unnecessary action on their part. After all of the red tape, I am still waiting to hear back from the claims department, which by the way is in-house, Walmart owns its own insurance workers comp provider, still waiting to be scheduled for therapy, and getting proper care and assessment. I did not see a real doctor, nor have I received an MRI to properly diagnose my condition.  For an organization that has more money than God, they sure don’t know how to treat their workers and are in the business to make a profit at all cost. If people only knew what goes on behind closed doors and how their food is actually handled, they would not be shopping there.