Well, it looks like Americans just can't resist the allure of Black Friday, no matter when retailers choose to have it start. I wrote on Wednesday, which you can find here, about how disgusted I was about the earlier start time retailers like Walmart, Target, and others chose to use for their Black Friday sales. I also hoped that Americans would not reward retailers for this obvious incursion on the Thanksgiving holiday. I hoped that people would put family time over shopping, that they would draw a metaphorical line in the sand, if you will, and tell the retailers what is truly important. Sadly, none of that happened.
What did happen is millions of Americans chose to wait in line at dinner time, then poured into stores at the earlier start time. Many of these millions bought obscene amounts of stuff, stacking TV upon TV , while filling up multiple carts. As I saw from people who actually went out, through the wonders of Facebook,they saw many people fighting like wild animals for low priced Blu-Ray Players or pushing and shoving over bins of low priced DVD's and Blu Ray discs. It was the same as it always was, just earlier.
The official numbers aren't out yet, but it looks like the sales figures are up this year from last. I would not be surprised if the numbers from Thursday night are higher than they have been in years past as well. Numbers up, sales up, looking good for the multi-national corporations so far. Then add to that the comments made by some who shopped at the earlier times that it was more orderly than years past and you can start to see how validated these corporations and just how emboldened they will be.
Yes, the success of Earlier Black Friday, or EBF as it will be known from this point forward, is going to make the retailers that much more emboldened to not only do this all again next year, but even move up the start times even more. I have heard from a friend who works for Walmart that there is talk they may start their Black Friday sales at 6pm next year. You read that right: 6pm. With Walmart being the industry leader, you can certainly see all the other retailers, like Target and Toys R' Us, following suit. That means shoppers would have to be out by 3pm to get in line and workers would have to start working even earlier than that, virtually negating any paid holiday they would have had.
This all coming at a time when Walmart workers are striking or threatening to do so over labor conditions. I was saddened to see my local news stations push the story of striking Walmart workers to the back end of their telecasts, choosing to focus instead on how busy Black Friday was again this year. You see many don't understand what these workers are striking over and the media is not doing a real good job of informing you. So forgive me here bu I am going to veer off for a second and give you a brief education on that. Ok, here we go:
The average Walmart worker make $8.70 an hour, that is $348 a week before taxes, assuming they work a 40 hour week (many employees at Walmart do not). Now we take taxes out and let's say it takes it down to $310, maybe less. Every state has different state tax percentages and some have none at all (Florida), so the previous figure is a guess at best. Now there is health care premiums that have to come out of that. That could be as much as $100 or more a pay period. So they are left with let's say $200. $200 a week, $800 a month. No one is paying their rent and feeding their kids on that. But if they can't make ends meet they should just get a better job you say?
Well, here is the thing on that. With the depressed economy, many older wage earners (i.e. Baby Boomers) are having to turn to retail jobs like Walmart just to make any money at all. Unemployment benefits only last so long and many states, like my state (Wisconsin), require that those receiving unemployment benefits must not decline a job offer or they risk losing said benefits. So, you have alot of people working for Walmart who normally would not. Their workforce is not made up of retirees, teenagers, immigrants, or college kids anymore.
With that established, let's move on here to the real problem. In recent months, it has been documented and reported by the media of incidents of retaliation by managers at Walmart stores against workers who complained about working conditions. That retaliation was in the form of a reduction in said employee's hours. It was not isolated to one store or one region. Rather it was something seen in Walmart stores across the country. They shouldn't be complaining, right? Well wrong there too.
Walmart is the largest employer in the United States. Yes, it is true. Look it up. As of 2011, the net worth of the six Walton children was $69.7 Billion. This year it is expected to creep up into the $75 Billion range. So it is obvious times are good forWalmart, especially at the top. However, as mentioned above, the average employee is making under $9 an hour. In addition, Walmart has announced that their employee's health care premiums are tripling next year as the costs have went up and Walmart is going to contribute a lower percentage to employee benefits. So, low wages and high health care costs. But you still say there is nothing to complain about here?
Look here is the bottom line: Most of the people who work for Walmart with families are on some sort of state and federal assistance; food stamps, medicaid, and others. That is putting a tax on the system and ultimately costing all of us. Now some would say the solution to this is to boot them off of state and federal aid. But, that is as callous as it is barbaric. No, what needs to happen is Walmart needs to start paying their people a living wage and making their health care more affordable. They are a very, very profitable company. There is no reason they can't meet their people half way.
They won't however. They don't have to. America needs Walmart. We need them to employ those who have been displaced by The Great Recession. We need them to provide the masses with cheap goods in these troubled times. They are a necessary force and one that is virtually untouchable. And they are the ones leading the charge to encroach further and further on our holidays and family time. They are the ones setting the model on retail employer-employee relations in this country; a model that puts profits first, no matter the cost to their employees.
By and large the public doesn't care about the plight of Walmart employees. They don't care just how much profits the Walton Six make. All they care about is low priced goods, deep discounts, and Black Friday sales. The American Public voted with their dollars last night and today. They validated the retailers, like Walmart, and told them that making Black Friday more important than Thanksgiving is ok. They told them that the way they are doing business is fine and that they care very little about the employees who help ring up their piles of stuff, deal with their meltdowns and attitudes, and who give up their own family time to make sure the store is ready for their arrival.
Does it not now seem sick to you in any way? If not, then the retailers have successfully brain washed you. It makes me sad, it truly does. But soon, very soon, this will be the new norm. Thanksgiving will become a retail holiday. You will push your turkey dinner to lunch and your family time will be spent in line, waiting for the "real" holiday to arrive.
Acquiring things above all? The United States of Capitalism? Seems we have taken a huge step towards those things last night and today. All hail Black Friday.
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