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I was astounded today to read in the Star Tribune that one of their columnists, Katherine Kersten, has basically given Wal-Mart some free advertising. The court system has well established that Wal-Mart needs significant improvement in their labor and ethics practices. However Kersten is trying to “remind” us why the company is really “benefiting” the economy.

Here are some of the statistics she provides for us:

The average wage for regular, full-time hourly Wal-Mart associates in our state is $11.30, according to Wal-Mart’s website, and employees are eligible for performance-based bonuses.

Let’s get one thing straight: there is no such thing as full-time in retail. Unless you are a department manager, you start around the $7-$8.50 depending on the location, and you are lucky to get 40 hours a week. Even then, you are not considered full-time, as in retail hours are not guaranteed. Did she ever think to actually ask a Wal-Mart employee at the pee-on level what their thoughts and experiences are? Of course not! This is the statistic taken directly from Wal-Mart’s website. Note that the average full-time wage is $11.30, not the average wage for all employees. Many retail employees work part-time.

Two-thirds of store managers were once hourly workers, according to the company.

This doesn’t mean two-thirds of all workers get promoted, it simply means that out of the people in management positions, one-third was hired from outside the company. This is a pretty meaningless statistic.

Its efficiencies sprang not from beating down workers…

I’ve heard stories from within a certain Wal-Mart that would have 2-3 workers to work out the freight from an entire truck. It is a commonly known fact in retail anywhere that retailers will get the fewest amount of people to do the most amount of work. It’s the sheer economics of it, if someone quits their job due to being disgruntled, there will be at least 5 people who have already applied and can be hired to fill the position, especially with the current economic state. And with as many labor law violations that company has had, I think it is safe to say that its efficiencies have indeed sprang from beating down workers. If a company’s employees are working off the clock to meet productivity standards, they are being taken advantage of.

Interestingly, the folks who hate Wal-Mart are often the sort who usually make a big deal about how much they care for low-income people. They make a mistake when they turn a blind eye on the achievements of this powerhouse for the poor.

What has this company achieved? The independent businesses that made every town so unique are now becoming a thing of the past. Competition is being minimized. Several manufacturing jobs have been outsourced simply because companies need to cut costs at the demand of Wal-Mart so they can sell at an even lower price. Workers are having their rights abused so the company can spend the bare minimum on payroll yet still meet productivity.

Wal-Mart is not a good company.

I have no idea why somebody would write an article like that with no independent information sources. All the information presented by Katherine was conveniently-worded propaganda that Wal-Mart wants you too look at and feel good about, or it was by an economist that sees this country as nothing but a bunch of numbers. A company that has abused the rights of its workers to the extent that it Wal-Mart has is not a good company. The sad thing is that low prices make 90% of this country ignorantly turn the other way.