Workers Assail Night Lock-Ins by Wal-Mart

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/18/national/18WALM.html?hp

Looking back to that night, Michael Rodriguez still has trouble believing the situation he faced when he was stocking shelves on the overnight shift at the Sam's Club in Corpus Christi, Tex.

It was 3 a.m., Mr. Rodriguez recalled, some heavy machinery had just smashed into his ankle, and he had no idea how he would get to the hospital.

The Sam's Club, a Wal-Mart subsidiary, had locked its overnight workers in, as it always did, to keep robbers out and, as some managers say, to prevent employee theft. As usual, there was no manager with a key to let Mr. Rodriguez out. The fire exit, he said, was hardly an option — management had drummed into the overnight workers that if they ever used that exit for anything but a fire, they would lose their jobs.

"My ankle was crushed," Mr. Rodriguez said, explaining he had been struck by an electronic cart driven by an employee moving stacks of merchandise. "I was yelling and running around like a hurt dog that had been hit by a car. Another worker made some phone calls to reach a manager, and it took an hour for someone to get there and unlock the door."

[Timefortruth]

1. Of all the horrors in the story the fact that the night manager

didn't insist he leave through the fire exit is criminal. There is no bottom for these people.

[A HERETIC I AM]

2. Further proof that Wal-Mart is the enemy of the working man....

and woman. What an incredibly scum bucket company. Sooner or later, this sort of thing will reach a critical mass, and no one except the illiterate will want to work there. Of course, this is precisely where the R/W is pushing the public education system anyway. Dumb down the populace so that they will think the working conditions at their local Wal-Mart are normal and how it is everywhere.

disgusting.

[liberalmuse]

3. Many moons ago...

I worked parttime at K-mart and was locked in. I was upstairs straightening out lay-away and everyone was gone when I came down. I was locked in with a janitor who didn't speak English and couldn't believe they locked that guy inside night after night, with no way out. It took me about 2 hours to find my manager's number and get him to the store. It was one of many childhood nightmares that came true--being locked inside a deserted K-mart. I understand they're afraid of merchandise being stolen, but if that's the case, hire a security guard, don't lock the night workers inside with no way to escape should anything happen. Gee.

On edit: The 'Fire Exit' was locked, btw.

[LiberalFighter]

33. Best solution.... call police first

[imax2268]

4. One more reason

to NOT shop at Wal-Mart...

[Mikimouse]

5. Triangle Shirt and Waistcoat Co. redux

n/t

[pfitz59]

6. History Major?

Same old mindset come back to life. Sad know we've re-entered the dark ages. How many must die before progress is made?

[Mikimouse]

7. Sociologist

May Herbert Spencer rot in hell!

[dmr]

9. What is the Triangle Shirt and Waistcoat Co.?

I couldn't find anything in Google. Thanks.

[BlueCollar]

11. murder

146 women died fter they burned to death in a new york sweatshop when it caught fire. The doors and fire-escapes were locked by the owner.

There's a plaque on the side walk marking the spot.

Try a google of the AFL-CIO website...

[VelmaD]

14. Because the name is wrong

that's why you couldn't find anything. It was the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire that you need to look for...not Triangle Shirt and Waistcoat.

[dmr]

15. Thanks, here's a link about it by Cornell

http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/trianglefire/

[Lorien]

18. See post #17

n/t

[Sapphocrat]

12. You read my mind. n/t

[Lorien]

17. You beat me to it;

For those not aquainted with the tragedy:

Triangle Shirtwaist Fire



The worst factory fire in the history of New York City. It occurred on 25 March 1911 in the Asch building at the northwest corner of Washington and Greene streets, where the Triangle Shirtwaist Company occupied the top three of ten floors; five hundred women were employed there, mostly Jewish immigrants between the ages of thirteen and twenty-three. To keep the women at their sewing machines the proprietors had locked the doors leading to the exits. The fire began shortly after 4:30 p.m. in the cutting room on the eighth floor, and fed by thousands of pounds of fabric it spread rapidly. Panicked workers rushed to the stairs, the freight elevator, and the fire escape. Most on the eighth and tenth floors escaped; dozens on the ninth floor died, unable to force open the locked door to the exit. The rear fire escape collapsed, killing many and eliminating an escape route for others still trapped. Some tried to slide down elevator cables but lost their grip; many more, their dresses on fire, jumped to their death from open windows. Pump Engine Company 20 and Ladder Company 20 arrived quickly but were hindered by the bodies of victims who had jumped. The ladders of the fire department extended only to the sixth floor, and life nets broke when workers jumped in groups of three and four. Additional companies were summoned by four more alarms transmitted in rapid succession.
A total of 146 women died in less than fifteen minutes, more than in any other fire in the city except for that aboard the General Slocum in 1904. Although there was widespread revulsion and rage over the working conditions that had contributed to the fire, many defended the right of shop owners to resist government safety regulation, and some in government insisted that they were at any rate powerless to impose it. The owners of the company were charged with manslaughter and later acquitted but in 1914 were ordered by a judge to pay damages of $75 each to the families of twenty-three victims who had sued. The Factory Investigating Commission of 1911 gathered testimony, and later that year the city established the Bureau of Fire Investigation under the direction of Robert F. Wagner (i), which gave the fire department additional powers to improve factory safety. The event crystallized support for efforts to organize workers in the garment district and in particular for the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. It remains one of the most vivid symbols for the American labor movement of the need for government to ensure a safe workplace.
Leon Stein: The Triangle Fire (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1962)
Gus Johnson: The Fire Buff's Handbook of the New York Fire Department, 1900-1975 (New York: Fire Department of New York, 1977)

http://www.yale.edu/yup/ENYC/triangle_shirtwaist.html

[dmr]

20. Thanks, Jen

146 human lives in less than 15 minutes - how could any businessman carry this on their conscience?

Since this is a Wal-Mart thread, I found something from this fire that reminds me of other issues about Wal-Mart.

Even though many workers toiled under one roof in the Asch building, owned by Max Blanck and Isaac Harris, the owners subcontracted much work to individuals who hired the hands and pocketed a portion of the profits. Subcontractors could pay the workers whatever rates they wanted, often extremely low. The owners supposedly never knew the rates paid to the workers, nor did they know exactly how many workers were employed at their factory at any given point. Such a system led to exploitation.

http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/trianglefire/narrative2.html

[GoddessOfGuinness]

8. Geeeze!

Where's Charles Dickens when you need him?

[fairfaxvadem]

10. my response exactly! GeeHeez!

That company is so evil I can hardly believe it.

The one near me is filthy too, and it's in a fairly high-income area of Fairfax County. Last time I was in there, a few years ago, I had to turn around and leave. They had unloaded pallets of merchandise blocking aisles, etc. It was a pigsty.

From what I hear, it hasn't changed, still has the rep of being a really dirty store.

But how can you argue with folks who are on strict budgets and need to shop around for "bargains"???

I hate WalMart

[GoddessOfGuinness]

19. There are alternatives even for the tightest budget...

But it takes a lot of effort. Buying used clothing & appliances, and taking advantage of clearance sales at better department stores are a good start.

As far as food is concerned, I adopted a policy of consuming fewer groceries per week, but paying higher prices for them at my local organic market. We can beat the system if we refuse to allow it to defeat us.

[spinbaby]

22. And don't forget the local farmers

It can take some doing, but you can usually buy quality inexpensive food directly from farmers. Check out farmers' markets in season for fruits and veggies. The local feed store can be a good contact (ours sells fresh farm eggs and sometimes butter). Local meatpackers can get you meat from local farms. If you are in a part of the country that has a Mennonite or Amish store, they're a great source for food.

When we do buy from a grocery store, we patronize the one with a union--higher prices but we know the workers are treated fairly.

[lolly]

31. Walmart "bargains"

I shouldn't judge all people who shop there, but honestly, the people I know who shop there spend an awful lot of money on cheap, useless crap. The one in our area tends to be frequented by the type of people who emphasize quantity over quality--why buy one nice, creative, well-made toy for your child when you can get a dozen crappy-ass imported toys at Wal-Mart?

One of my friends--for whom money is a little tight--buys gifts for everyone she knows every Christmas. Of course, most (all?) of these gifts are pointless things like fad-of-the-year kitchen gadgets that collect dust for a couple years before being thrown out. She insists that she can't afford anything besides Wal-Mart.

[neverforget]

13. This corporation is nothing but a 21st century American sweatshop.

:argh: :grr: :argh: :grr: :argh: :grr: :argh: :grr: :argh: :grr:

[Cassandra]

16. Dupe

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=1027974

Of course mine is now lurking on page 4 of GD, so you would have really had to hunt for it.

[Zhade]

21. Wal-Mart: Always Locked In, Always!

Sounds more like a forced labor camp than a department store.

[MaineDem]

23. 9-1-1

And let the EMTs break in. That'll send a message.

[A HERETIC I AM]

24. Thats provided you could get an outside line from a phone that is handy

n/t

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

29. Cell phones work in stores.

[A HERETIC I AM]

36. "DOH!"

:::SMACKS SELF ON FOREHEAD::::::

[rocktivity]

25. Suppose he'd cut himself badly?

He could have bled to death! He should have used the fire exit and if fired as a result, sued for wrongful termination because it was a medical emergency.


rocknation

[Bombero1956]

26. Aha

I for one will make it a point to check the local Wal-Mart tomorrow night and if I find a locked door, I will be in court first thing Tuesday morning with an application for a show cause hearing charging the manager with violation of the state fire code.

[daleo]

27. Triangle Shirt Factory

Updated for the 21st century.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

28. Alas, we already had one of those

Remember the fire in the chicken packing plant where the fire doors were chained shut to prevent the employees from stealing meat?

[alarimer]

30. stupid policy

I also think (and mentioned elsewhere) that this may be a racist policy. You notice that they don't have this policy at all Sam's Clubs. I am guessing that only in "bad" neighborhoods or where there employees are primarily African American or Hispanic does this policy apply. Corpus Christi is predominantly Hispanic so most of their employees are Hispanic presumably. Why not just hire security guards. I am sure they already have cameras installed.

[Solon]

32. I know it is...

A few of the Wallyworld stores in my area are not 24 hours, all in so called "bad" neighborhoods. I worked in 2 of them and I know from first-hand experience that they lock us in after 10 or 11 at night.

[Tansy_Gold]

35. security cameras

The biggest laugh I got in my 13 months as a wallyworld associate was when I came in one morning and noticed the 4-cam-split-screen security monitor in the lobby had gone wonky. Three of four screens were blank, and the fourth one was showing a weird view that looked like the side of the building.

I notified the manager -- a complete and total asshole -- and he sent some of the security folks to check it out.

Of course, they didn't tell us peons anything right away, but within fifteen minutes or so the gossip has spread -- someone had scaled the walls the night before and STOLEN THREE OF THE SECURITY CAMERAS.

[Fleshdancer]

34. I read this in my paper this morning

disgusting story. Crushed foot or a heart attack or a spouse at the hospital giving birth...Wal-mart doesn't care. Just stock those shelves like a good little worker ant and stop complaining!

on edit: this was probably mentioned up thread already, but is it too much to ask for a night shift manager who has a *@$!&$ key to the store?