December 14, 2005

What do we know about Walmart

According to the Iowa Policy Project, it takes $35,000 a year for a single parent with two small children to live sufficiently in Chicago, or $13.80 an hour, and $32,800 for two adults and two children in Iowa, where the poverty level for two people is $18,244.

In comparison,  says University of Iowa professor Dave Osterberg at Walmart:

• The average annual wage for all employees (including managers)  is $19,226

• The average annual wage for Walmart hourly employees is $17,285 and

• The average annual wage for hourly part-time employees at Walmart is $8,634

 Also, in comparison

• The average annual salary in private industry is $42,839

• The average annual salary for large retail employees is $24,647 and

• The median income is $44,000

It takes $7.74 an hour just to reach the poverty level

• Forty-five percent of Walmart employees have health insurance, compared to 96% at Cosco

• Walmart employees have to wait six months for health insurance and Walmart does not offer family plans

• “I know all you good trade unionists don’t shop at Walmart, but tell your friends and relatives not to shop there either,’’ said Jim Clark, president of the International Union of Electronic Workers, at a Detroit conference where Osterberg spoke on “,Economics.’’

For more information, check out www.epinet.org, www.iowapolicyproject.org ,  or www.demosura.org.