WAL-MART Introduces New Dress Code, Employees Must Buy Own Clothes

[davidthegnome]

170. Hmm

At my last job (hotel front desk guy) we all had to dress up for the position. I was okay with dressing up, but there was no specific uniform or anything. Button up shirt, khakis, tie optional. At eight bucks an hour though, those clothes would have been a bit pricey for someone like me to buy. Fortunately, my dad has a wardrobe of work clothes and is about my size.

Some weeks I spent every day in a different borrowed outfit, shoes that were falling apart on the inside and fit somewhat poorly - which can make it difficult to remain standing for eight hours or more. A thirty mile drive, to and from work, with my little red (2008) ford focus I bought last year that needed it's transmission replaced six months later. Gas, car payments, insurance, food... you know, if I had had to actually buy clothes for my job, I'm not sure I could have managed it without borrowing money from someone.

One of the many in this working class dream of a nightmare, there were nights (especially after cleaning up puke, or running all over the hotel as desk man/housekeeper/night time maintenance/whatever that I just wanted to break down and cry. Or maybe freak out, tell my boss what I really thought of him. Lousy job with lousy benefits and lousy pay - welcome to the working class.

The man who gave us all our marching orders was a millionaire, owner of two hotels, several houses, a few apartment complexes, several hundred thousand dollar vehicles and so on. After I'd worked for him for a year, I asked him for a fifty cent an hour raise. His response was that, while I did a good job, I made mistakes some times, and that he was losing money on the hotel already, he could not afford to give me a raise, because his income was "below the poverty level". Tempted as I was, I neither laughed at him nor called him an asshole, nor suggested that he spend some time with his employees to discover what poverty really was. I simply nodded my head, thanked him for his time - and filled out an application for my current job the next day.

I am now a clerk for a gas station/convenience store up here in New Sweden Maine. Lots of hunters apparel, fishing poles, bait, lots of beer and cigarettes and whatnot. Plenty of peculiar items and specialty items. I've learned nifty things, like how to ring up a thirty pack of beer, and how to weigh and tag a bear. Lots of paperwork for that sort of thing.

But they started me at 8.50 an hour. The same raise I asked a rich prick for, that a working couple who owned their own business and live above their store... offered me simply to start out. They work every day, they have an immense respect for nature and for people - and overall it's the difference between night and day.

If you're working for Wal-Mart now, my advice is to start filling out some applications for any employment opportunities elsewhere. The difference between working to enrich rich pricks and working for decent people... it's mind boggling. Just the difference it's made in my self respect, self esteem, and overall happiness, is pretty damn great.

Personally, if I had a corporation that made billions of dollars a year, with enough stock to feed, clothe, and entertain almost the whole world.... I think I could afford to give my employees uniforms. I think I could afford to offer them benefits, to be kind and generous to them and to treat them like business partners and friends as opposed to servants. Basically, my feeling here is FUCK WAL-MART. Also, double and triple fuck their owners, share holders, and so on.

I realize that we don't all have the luxury of choosing who we work for, and anyone who is currently forced to work for these assholes has my deepest sympathies and my empathy. My only advice is to keep looking for something different. I sincerely hope that Walmart is forced out of business due to their unethical practices, lack of human decency and compassion, and overall greed and dumb fuckery.