Just got a call from my son @ Walmart

[Mother Of Four]

He said it's insane there, people tearing down displays to get to the early door-busters... officers walking the building with three patrol cars out front. He's been verbally accosted at the register four times so far, and pushed once. They aren't doing a walkout here, and they need to.

He called me from the break area, and you could hear him breathing heavy. He's ticked, and told me "I'm hope you're not shopping this weekend, these people are F---ing crazy. One more person touches me and I don't give a sh-t, I'm walking." I told him I'd have his back if that's what he wanted to do. He's working till midnight

He told me "You don't want any of this crap Mama, shop online and just stay inside." I wasn't planning on going anywhere this weekend and his call makes me VERY glad I chose to stay in.

Oh... and he only gets paid 8.05 an hour. Freaking bastages.

[leveymg]

1. Shopping like this is the end of the world.

Panic (shopping) in the Year Zero (1962)

[johnp3907]

25. Ray Milland!

Nice "classic" film reference!

[heaven05]

65. classic movie

I got it. All this shit is going to end one day. That's all I know.

[MarianJack]

2. To keep with the "Johnny Dangerously" theme,...

...Walmart, at the corporate and upper management level, are a bunch of "farging Iceholes". As one parent to another, all the best to your son.

PEACE!

[Mother Of Four]

9. Thanks ..nt :)

[MarianJack]

63. You're welcome!

PEACE!

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

29. You know what this is?

[MarianJack]

61. YES. and...

...I'm the Pope!

PEACE!

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. The walkouts are expected in the morning

You are making me tempted to go...as media...crazy.

[Mother Of Four]

8. You're covering it?

Can you please make a thread maybe tomorrow? I'd really like to know how it goes, because even though he's quitting he's got alot of friends there that he would love to see in a union.

[nadinbrzezinski]

15. I am, local paper in San Diego

Just finished getting gear ready...due to your note taking the zoom. I was not planning too, to be honest.

[Mother Of Four]

16. Please be careful.

The zoom is a great idea...so you don't have to get in close.

Drive and be safe

[nadinbrzezinski]

17. Oh taking the trolley

Will go earlier to make sure...

[Mother Of Four]

18. I'm glad :)

[rDigital]

36. Be careful, BF-Shoppers are ravenous beasts! nt

[nadinbrzezinski]

37. I know...

Will do better shoes.

[femmocrat]

4. It took me a second to realize that he was working, not shopping there.

Good grief.... you must be so worried about him. I'm sure you will be happy to seem him as soon as his shift ends. to you both!

Could he get a job ANYWHERE else?

[Mother Of Four]

6. He had put in his two weeks around the 5th

His manager is actually a nice guy, oddly enough. When my son hurt his knees slinging produce he moved him to a register instead of letting him go. So when he asked him to please stick around till this weekend - "I really need you here." my boy agreed, because he's got a good heart. Good heart or not, he's close to his breaking point.

We live in a pretty small town, about 5k people and the only other jobs that pay anything are 25-30 mins away. What he would get in a raise would be eaten up by gas.

He's getting his ducks in a row to start college in Jan, thank goodness. I told him we'll just tighten the belt and stick it out because I hate him working for a non living wage. He's going into auto tech, learning how to fix the newer cars and hybrids. They do the older cars as well, but the fact they expanded the training is what made him decide. It's a two year degree.

Yeah...I'm worried about him. I don't want someone hurting him because he can't over ride the register and give them a deal they think they deserve when the sale times haven't started yet or something.

[femmocrat]

12. That's good to hear. He sounds like a wonderful young man.

Best wishes to him on school and a much better career!

[Mother Of Four]

14. Thank you!

<3

[StatGirl]

44. He injured himself working?

I don't know where you are, but in my state, that entitles a worker to workers' compensation, not being fired.

Sending good vibes his way!

[radical noodle]

45. That's why his supervisor was willing to move him to the register..

Any injury will raise their insurance rates, and their workers comp will have to pay for all medical expenses and some of his time off the job. If they can convince their worker "no problem, I'll just move you" Wal-Mart comes out way ahead.

[freshwest]

5. That's awful. I hope he gets home safe. Fingers crossed for him.

This is not even necessary, most stores where I live are closed and this is a very busy area.

[Mother Of Four]

7. It's nuts.

That's all I can say about it. Just plain nuts.
Thank you for the crossed fingers.

[geckosfeet]

10. you said it

on edit: not even salted....

[Maynar]

42. From what I understand

at least one was a"salted."

OK, ok, I know the way out....

[susanna]

11. Just passed by an outlet mall on my way home from Thanksgiving dinner.

It was ridiculous. The northbound side of the freeway leading to the mall was at a crawl, stretching almost four miles. I simply can't understand any of this...it makes no sense to me.

Sending good wishes for you and your poor son...hope things calm down. IMHO, no one should have to work under those conditions.

[northoftheborder]

19. these shopaholics are sick, insane

[Mother Of Four]

21. I'm glad you made it home ok.

Thank you for the good thoughts, I'll pass them on.

[susanna]

22. Thank you. I was just astounded...

...how many people were there. We took a different route home after that that passed no malls. One was enough!

[Scootaloo]

53. The TV tells me I have to go crazy and shop in a herd!

So I have to go crazy and shop in a herd!

The television tells me so!

[Brigid]

13. Rats. I was hoping for widespread customer boycotts.

(((vibes))) for your son.

[Mother Of Four]

24. Thank you :) nt

[SheilaT]

20. I just got home from work myself.

But don't feel sorry for me at all. I work the information desk at the local hospital. Normally, volunteers work the desk from 8am to 4pm, then I work 4pm to 8pm, Monday through Friday. Understandably, the volunteers don't work major holidays. I volunteer to work 9am-8pm on days like Thanksgiving. The only complaint I can make is that it's boring and tedious, but that's trivial. I'm not dealing with the shopping or travelling public. I was an airline ticket agent for 10 years in the distant past.

Anyway, I hope your son survives this idiocy and gets a new start with school.

Oh, and on the way home it looked like the K-Mart was open and doing a lot of business. The only other things that were open were the gas stations and one liquor store, but I did not drive by any of the other retailers who might have been open.

[Mother Of Four]

23. Thank you..

For being willing to work today. I'm glad you made it ok and the traffic wasn't too bad.

[SheilaT]

27. Thank you. Or I should say you're welcome.

I was happy to work today. And no, I had not traffic to deal with either this morning or this evening. I live in Santa Fe, which has no traffic to speak of. It's possible there was a line of cars on the roads leading to the two WalMarts in town, but I wasn't on those roads. Lucky me. I have a very easy commute.

[Dawson Leery]

26. A few years back, these vultures trampled a Wal-Mart greeter to death.

[sheshe2]

28. Yes they did!

&feature=player_embedded

[HiPointDem]

39. The event is arranged to promote trampling. It's rather easy to arrange it otherwise,

but an atmosphere of short supply & competition means people make impulse purchases and buy more.

Walmart likes that.

[AndyTiedye]

51. Who Could Have Predicted that they would Bust Down the Door to Get to the Doorbuster Specials?

[47of74]

30. Wal-Mart is a cancer upon this country

The government should tax it out of existence.

[SunSeeker]

31. Fargin iceholes. nt

[snot]

32. Probably the same poor, brainwashed gits who vote Repub. against their own interests.

More than enuf to make a bleeding-heart liberal's heart bleed.

[wordpix]

33. the fam & I were joking about this tonight & how nuts people are over shopping

There's some weird psychology going on when people feel they have to push, shove and abuse others to get some plastic Walmart crap at low prices that aren't any lower than at other times of the year when things are on sale. E.g. I only buy new clothes at the end of the season when they're clearing out for the next one. There are great deals then.

[ReRe]

34. God, I bet you're worried about him...

It truly is a Mad World. I don't do Black Friday... heck, I usually wait on any regular day till the evening so I won't have a nervous breakdown at the grocery store trying to find a parking place. And I just don't do Wal-Mart at all, period. Well... unless it's Christmas time and I'm making my church mice candy and can't find stemmed maraschino cherries anywhere in town. Hope your son gets home safe and unaccosted from his shift.

[malokvale77]

35. My daughter works at Walmart

She had to go to work at 7:00 tonight. She called me nearly in tears, because she went through this last year and it was chaos.

Similar situation: small town, no other jobs for many miles. Difference is she has 2 kids to support.

I understand your worry.

[rDigital]

38. As negative as your son's experiences have been at Wal-Mart

he will take away one gem. Assuming he's a youngster, he'll learn how important it is to treat people with respect and to expect the same in return....
i.e. The "Nice person" who isn't nice to the Wal-Mart Cashier, isn't a nice person. You learn a lot about character flaws working in retail. It definitely builds character.

Shop Online: Sounds like he has a good head on his shoulders.

[DonCoquixote]

40. The walmart near me

Has it's parking lot FULL.

Honestly, I can see some places being open to get that carton of milk, but this idea of making the shopping a holiday in and of itself is nuts. I see families by my Best Buy actually set up CAMPS, I mean full blown camps where people bring their grills and coolers. Don't get me wrong, if people kept civil about it, I would not mind; I'll even bet some of the Campers are having a good old time. However, when you encourage the sort of looting and aggression that normally happens after a class 5 hurricane, then you have become a public nuisance.

[CrispyQ]

47. A cartoon from last Thanksgiving, after Occupy.

[ellisonz]

41. Something has to change...

[RoccoR5955]

43. High time to end capitalism

Before capitalism ends the Human Race!

[CrispyQ]

46. I'm sorry for your son that he has to see people behaving badly over material stuff.

Our entire culture needs to change. It's not just Walmart. The article linked to at this post is very long, but should be read by everyone.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021871479

on edit: It's about temporary warehouse workers who fill online orders.

[madmom]

48. I used to work at walmart. I never had a problem on black Friday because

I worked in the deli, on the food side. Who comes in to buy food on black Friday? We stood there and watched in amazement at the idiots shopping, we barely had a customer.

[aletier_v]

50. buying cheap stuff is scary enough, I can't imagine eating at Walmart

[madmom]

59. Your loss, their deli food is actually quit good. It is

name brand foods, sold in other stores as well, so I guess you shouldn't eat from their deli either.

[southernyankeebelle]

49. Well my husband worked last night at 7:00pm on a register. He said there was

only one lady standing there screaming and all the workers turned and looked at her and didn't know what she was screaming about. But other than that he said they had 2 cops and 3 sheriff officers roaming around and there were no problems. He doesn't usually work the register and he said he had a long line but the customers in his line were not evil. He said he had to call for help a couple of times because of the register was having problems. But each customer that was next in line he apologized for the long line and thanked them for their patience. The customers were good to him he said. Things went smoothly for their store. He said a couple of people asked about the 50" flat screen tv's and he told them where they would be but he also told them that many people were camped out last night waiting to get their tv so they had first bids on them. People were ok with it.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

52. www.revbilly.com

Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping

Movie: "What Would Jesus Buy?"

Thought provoking and great street theater.

[plethoro]

54. I don't shop at Walmart, but I went there this morning because I was up

at 4:30 AM because Big Five Sporting Goods was opening at 5:00 AM and I needed to buy shoes. Anyway, I was up and I thought I'd stop at Walmart and see if there was a protest going on. There were five police cars parked in front of the place. About ten or eleven cops were right inside the front door operating as if they were store security. They regarded me disdainfully with Elliot Ness frowns. I started walking throughout the store. There were maybe a hundred people in the store--not even remotely crowded. This may have been because it was so foggy outside you couldn't see past your wipers. Seeing no sign of a riot I started for the door. As I moved through a register isle I came upon a group of five or six blue-vested employees chatting. They were commenting to one another how few people were in the store and how those few were not buying anything, just leaving like me with nothing. I observed this myself as I walked slowly out the door. I was thinking that maybe people had gotten the word and were beginning to understand about our quickly approaching third-world existence. I left Walmart and went to a Petsmart to buy mock Prairie Dog antlers. The store wasn't to open for 45 minutes, 7:00 AM with their own sale, but they let me in anyway, which I thought was unusual. There were two other people besides me in this huge store. I found the antlers, which seemed expensive to me who didn't even know Prairie Dogs had antlers, paid for them and left. I asked the cashier about why there were so few people in the store and she said business had been going down for them despite what the tv was saying.

Sorry for this boring tale, but I wanted to give it enough reality flavor in the hopes someone else could compare it to their Black Friday morning. I am nearing 67. From my perspective, life in this country is as different from when I was a young man as night from day. It is like we are moving backward toward the forties, maybe even the thirties. We need a Johnny Tremayne--and fast.

[Cleita]

56. I was a kid in the forties and my mother was a shopaholic and movie addict.

She dragged me shopping and to the movies with her all the time. I don't remember this kind of weirdness ever going on in the forties.

[plethoro]

57. I'm speaking of going backwards in terms of real quality of life and rational thinking.....nft

ddddddddddd

[Cleita]

60. Actually, we had a better quality of life for everyone back then.

We lived in a house, something I have never been able to afford when I grew up. I never remember any homeless until 1980. As for rational thinking, most of the adults in my life would have laughed out loud at the nonsense people believe today. The worst thing that happened that doesn't today is the adults, who were recovering from the Great Depression, wouldn't let anything go. They saved everything, string, paper, rubber bands, you name it, just in case. I remember my friends and I discussing it and calling it a Depression mentality.

[HowZanyIsThat]

70. Yes

When my grandfather on my dad's side passed away 5 years ago, we found boxes upon boxes of paperclips, rubber bands, and neatly organized boxes full of cigarette lighters. My grandmother passed 2 years ago and she would keep the original boxes to things stored away in the attic. Both of them were born in 1929.

[1monster]

55. My son was on the computer this AM and said he really coudn't understand people who got

up at ungodly hours to shop the Black Friday sales when the same deals are available online throughtout the weekend.

[LP2K12]

64. We went

to our local Wal-Mart at 8pm. We were done by 10:30. Everyone was civil. Only two officers walking around. No cursing, yelling. All was orderly. Most people, like us, pre-shopped online.

I thanked EVERY worker who was there who answered questions and helped me find items that weren't online. The manager also apparently had food and drinks brought in for the entire staff and the police.

It was surprising to say the least.

[1monster]

74. A couple of weeks ago, I asked a Walmart worker I know if any employees at her store

at her store were going to strike on Black Friday. She's a sales associate, not management.

Her replied was a horrified, "Oh I hope not! I love Walmart. They've been very good to me here."

She hadn't even heard about the proposed strike and wanted to know more. It is rare to hear any employees here complain about this Walmart, other than an occasional worry about hours being cut during less than boom times. They do seem to have a high turnover of workers who only stay a few months, but a large core of workers stay there year after year after year.

Local management can do a lot to make employees either happy or unhappy despite or inspite of the corporate headquarters.

[AngryOldDem]

77. Adrenaline rush?

For a lot of people, it's also become "tradition," especially with women in families.

Don't ask me. My philosophy is, if I can't find it online, I don't need it.

[tabasco]

58. More proof ...

that the U.S.A. is a nation of idiots.

[The Wizard]

62. Bastages yes

Fargin iceholes and corksuckers too.

[Sekhmets Daughter]

66. Just watched a video clip

of WalMart shoppers in Moultrie, GA....Disheartening to say the least.


http://www.businessinsider.com/black-friday-shoppers-attack-walmart-display-2012-11?nr_email_referer=1&utm_source=Triggermail&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Business%20Insider%20Select&utm_campaign


Hope your son makes it home safely!

[savebigbird]

68. That makes me feel sad and embarrassed.

Black Friday mania definitely does not make the US look good.

[Sekhmets Daughter]

69. No it doesn't...

I couldn't help but be reminded on the scenes we've seen of people in war torn countries clamoring after supplies ... or the poor people in NO after Katrina.

[savebigbird]

72. That's interesting...

because I was reminded of what a group of cats do when you're trying to put a bowl of food down on the floor for them. They were behaving like animals. Or children with no manners. It embarrasses me.

[Caretha]

67. I notice in a lot of these Wal-Mart experience stories today

that there are police officers in the parking lots and the store. Is Wal-Mart paying these officers or are once again we, the public picking up the tab for the corporate welfare for Wal-mart?

[AngryOldDem]

75. I imagine they are on duty, so the citizens are paying for this. n/t

[mimi85]

71. Just a suggestion

Wow, that's insane. Remember when that woman got trampled to death on Black Friday a few years ago? It was also at a WalMart. They should at least pay like triple time for working on BF! It's amazing what greed will turn people into. Not even going to say animals as that would be an insult to animals.

Totally OT, but my grandson just became a manager for an In N Out down there. Not sure how many "stores" they have down there, but they start people off at $10.25 (give or take) and have matching 401Ks, good vacation and sick day policy and all sorts of good benefits - can't forget great health insurance also.

You might tell your son he can apply online - the people there are pretty close as they don't have a lot of turnover. My GS has been working there for almost 10 years, he's worked really hard and now he'll be making over six figures. They got 1700 applications - can't imagine why. We're super proud of him as he couldn't stand school and wasn't sure what he wanted to do after HS graduation. It's not just about the money, although that is def nice (maybe he can support his Mimi in my old age - I was 35 when he was born - yikes!)

It's about the respect that the owners show them and how well they treat their employees. And his self-esteem - he's such a strong person. Scott's never been ashamed of being a burger fipper as In N Out is SO unlike McDs, BK, etc.

I don't blame your son - the whole Black Friday thing (especially at WM) is wrong on so many levels. He'll be exhausted when he gets home, poor guy. At least he has a mom that treats him right! Take care....

[pinboy3niner]

73. Tell him to hang in there. Lots of good things starting to happen...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021875701

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021875581

[AngryOldDem]

76. This is why I hate this weekend...

...and am 100% in solidarity with the workers at these stores.

A mob mentality takes over. And I'm so sick of seeing CEOs on the news gloating at how good their sales are, and patting themselves on the back for giving the public what it so obviously "wants." It would not hurt their bottom line ONE IOTA to take ONE day off from this frenzy. I'm convinced that a lot of these people who storm the doors would gladly buy dogshit if it came wrapped in a pretty package and was going for 10% off. It's sick.

This is just one more example of the growing phenomenon of employee abuse in this country as employers are taking full advantage of the weak economy to exploit their workers.

The older I get, the more disgusted I am with the whole holiday season, and every year I am just all the more tempted to donate to charities like Heifer International in the name of others rather than get them more shit that they don't need.

(And one more thing...who the hell in their right mind would wait for DAYS in front of a BEST BUY in order to be the first through the doors?)

[ELI BOY 1950]

78. Can't we just raise the minimum wage to $10 ?

At least on companies making an obscene amount of money...not small businesses.

[Kolesar]

79. Uh, the "stimulus" worked ! ... eom