Walmart's 'Worst Nightmare' Competition Has Cashiers And Produce Clerks With $1 Million Pensions

[steve2470]

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/08/09/1229983/-Walmart-s-Worst-Nightmare-Competition-Has-Cashiers-And-Produce-Clerks-With-1-Million-Pensions

WinCo -- a low-cost grocery store chain from Idaho -- is being described as Walmart's 'worst nightmare' in a recent Time Article:

Retail analysts say that the world’s biggest retailer has reason to fear a small grocery chain that’s based in Idaho and boasts a business model that allows it to undercut Walmart on prices.

So about that eye-catching Walmart quote. Those are the words of Burt Flickinger III, a widely respected supermarket retailing industry expert who works for the Strategic Resource Group. Flickinger was quoted in a recent Idaho Statesman story about WinCo, a chain of roughly 100 supermarkets in the western U.S., based in Boise.

“WinCo arguably may be the best retailer in the Western U.S.,” Flickinger says while touring a WinCo store. “WinCo is really unstoppable at this point,” he goes on. “They’re Walmart’s worst nightmare.”

Flickinger isn’t the only industry insider discussing WinCo and Walmart in the same breath. “While many supermarkets strive to keep within a few percentage points of Walmart Stores’ prices, WinCo Foods often undersells the massive discount chain,” the industry publication Supermarket News explained last spring.

more at link

[Arugula Latte]

1. WinCo is fantastic!!!

Ours has GREAT prices and a HUGE produce section with organic/non-organic, bulk herbs, many varieties of fruits and vegetables, bulk bins, and so on. I hope this chain spreads throughout the country.

[Ruby the Liberal]

2. That sounds alot like our Trader Joes/Aldis

Their prices are amazing. Never heard of WinCo before, but I'll keep an eye out if they start expanding this way.

[IDemo]

3. And no self-checkout lanes n/t

[Arugula Latte]

15. All the lanes have cashiers, but everybody bags their own groceries.

Each conveyer belt has a swinging "gate" so the cashier can send one person's groceries to one side, then the next person's to the other side so it's more efficient for bagging.

[IDemo]

27. We've been regulars for years

It can be an adventure at the checkout lane at times.

[Arugula Latte]

31. I know. Sometimes I panic ... bag faster, faster!

One time the cashier told me, Hey, it's fine, relax ...

[FLPanhandle]

4. Publix here in Florida is fighting the good fight against Walmart too

Employee owned, better wages, and better produce.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

7. +1 for Publix!

Great stores. I almost never see an unhappy employee. Everyone is helpful. Even the customers seem happier. Always enjoyable going shopping there.

[steve2470]

8. +2 nt

[lpbk2713]

10. Publix is always cleaner than most other chains.

And their meat, produce, and deli items are top quality.

[lostnfound]

12. I didn't know they were employee owned. Grew up shopping there

And missed them later on, when I moved

[onethatcares]

21. they need to start paying 2 cents

more a pound for their tomatos to the growers to be passed on to the pickers. Other than that, PUBLIX rocks.

[Nay]

28. My brother worked there many years ago in the produce dept -- he said it was

a very fair and well-run company.

[onecaliberal]

5. WinCo in central California. It is all that it's advertised to be.

I have no idea what wallmart prices are like because I never shop there.

[SoCalDem]

9. and they give you 5 cents a bag for the ones you bring in

not a biggie., but it's an encouragement

I've been using canvas bags for about a decade now

[Lizzie Poppet]

6. WinCo: employee-owned and ethical.

The difference in the attitude of the employees is palpable, too. WinCo employees, in my experience, seem far happier and far more willing to work hard (because they're being fairly compensated and they have a genuine stake in the company's well-being). I hope WinCo guts WalMart and leaves them for dead.

[Xithras]

11. The downside is that WinCo has also killed off a lot of local, union grocery jobs.

WinCo not only undercuts WalMart, but they dramatically undercut local grocery stores as well. They tend to be worse than WalMart when it comes to putting their competing grocery stores out of business, because the food is cheaper and better quality with WalMart and they don't carry the same stigmas as WalMart does. That doesn't change the fact that, in the end, WinCo is a huge chain that is putting unionized local and regional grocery chains out of business.

WinCo has been actively picketed by the UFCW and other unions not only for their negative impact on regional unionized workforces, but also because they actively attempt to quash any union activities within their own stores as well. They've also directly attacked the pension and benefit plans of their truck drivers in the Teamsters union.

Is WinCo better than WalMart? Yes. Is WinCo a friendly and progressive company that liberals should support? Only if WalMart is the only other option in your area.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

13. If they're putting other stores out of business

then the assumption is that they are opening new stores, no? What's stopping the employees from the closed stores from going to WinCo?

[dilby]

14. WinCo also pays more and has better benefits than their union competitors.

I have yet to see any evidence that WinCo practices union busting tactics, except they pay better which makes an employee question why should they join a union. Also Unions are in place to protect an employee from the greedy owners but with WinCo that would be like an employee joining a union to protect themself from themself since they are the owner.

[kcr]

17. It makes an employee question why they should join a union.

Exactly the point. If an employer is genuinely happy providing all those perks, why do they care if their employees unionize? They should understand it's for their employee's protection and benefit. Any employer who doesn't understand this doesn't truly care about their employees and isn't to be trusted, no matter how great they seem to be. Also, unions are for the benefit of all workers, not just the ones under their protection. The more unions there are and the stronger they are, the more all benefit.

[dilby]

18. from what I have read Winco doesn't care if the employees unionize.

The management has never dissuaded the employees from joining a union, the problem is the union has not done a good job of convincing the employees to join, they are not going to supply better wages or benefits.

[kcr]

23. To be clear, I'm not making the accusation that they are

And I'm certainly not faulting employees for working for a non-union employer who provides great benefits, especially not now when union jobs are so hard to find. That would certainly be ridiculous. My point is support for unions.

My point is if you take two employers who provide good benefits and one is union? I'll support the union employer every time. While I certainly encourage and applaud employers who provide decent benefits, that alone isn't enough. I'm saddened by how weakened our support for unions has become.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

26. Nothing at all wrong with that stance

I on the other hand, patronize the store where I get the best value and service, union or not. Most of the grocery stores where I currently live are unionized, so I shop there. But if Publix ever came here, I'd drop the other stores in a heartbeat - when it comes to service, selection, friendly and engaged employees, there is no comparison.

As it is now, I normally use the self-checkout due to the poor service I've encountered with cashiers at the local supermarket.

[kcr]

29. There's nothing wrong with that as long as you understand the consequences of

weakening unions. Harsh truth, but there it is. If more people understood how important unions were, they might be less likely to trade convenience and value. Wal-Mart rose because of those trade offs and many are finally realizing the true cost when it came to them.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

22. I worked for Publix in high school and the first couple of years of college

Publix is also employee owned, and we never saw the need to unionize. We made better wages and had better benefits than our counterparts at Kash & Karry (which was unionized). We didn't need the union, which was proven by the number of Kash & Karry employees that applied for a Publix position whenever one opened (which wasn't very often).

I encourage unionization for anyone that wants it, but not everyone wants or needs a union.

[kcr]

24. Not everyone wants or needs a union

Which is why as progressives our support for unions should be as strong as ever.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

25. I can be supportive of unions

Without believing that everyone should be in one, whether they want to or not.

[kcr]

30. Not really.

Not if you really understand the concept

You cannot support union busting and unions at the same time.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

34. Shopping at a non-union store is not union busting

That's ludicrous.

[Exilednight]

32. Same with Aldi employees are all paid the same with yearly

Cost of living allowances. They fully pay employee health insurance and fully fund each employees 401k whether the employee contributes or not. Their health insurance is the same for every employee in the region from the president down to the lowest employee.

[kcr]

16. Yep. I'll support union every time.

It lifts all boats.

[Leith]

19. I Had One of the Happy Little Unionized Grocery Store Jobs Once

It was the worst and most abusive place I've ever been.

I shop at WinCo almost exclusively. They have a great selection, terrific employees, it's convenient, and the prices are the best in town.

[QED]

20. Winco is great!

I love to bake and like the fact that I can buy just what I need from the bins of flours, sugars, spices, etc. and not waste money by buying a large container. Their prices are good for things like nuts and cereals.

The employees are helpful and attentive. The store doesn't carry a wide range of brands but that's okay with me.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

33. There's a Winco in my neighborhood

Great store with affordable prices and it's employee owned.

[DAMANgoldberg]

35. In my OTR days...

I spent a bit of time in the Pacific NW, so I got to shop at WinCo a bunch while out there. I have shopped at nearly every significant grocery chain nationwide during my 47 state tour (no SD) and two that stand out is WinCo out west and Market Basket in New England.

Favorite grocers (in no particular order):

1. Publix – Carolinas and Southeast
2. Market Basket – Upper New England
3. WinCo – Northwest
4. Wegmans – Western NY, DC area, PA
5. Harris Teeter – Carolinas and Delmarva/Capital Region