Activists in Ithaca want Wal-Mart to pay a living wage of $8.44 an hour plus health insurance. Wal-mart insists its wages are competitive with other retailers in the area. Somehow, the activists think they're making progress, when in reality they are hugely misguided...
Rock-bottom starting salary at the Ithaca store is $6.50 per hour, although that level is reserved for people who come with little or no experience, manager Dave Jacobson said....Feuer must be either an incredibly dishonest person, or does not understand actual economic conditions elsewhere. Ithaca does not have anywhere near the cost of living as Secaucus. In Ithaca, NY one can find several four bedroom single-family homes for around $150K. In Secaucus, NJ the same home will cost you $400K."I can tell you that many of the folks in a store will probably be close to the $8 range," Masten said.
Health insurance deductibles range from $300 to $1,000, Masten said. At a $1,000 deductible, a single worker can buy insurance for about $40 per month, or about $155 per month for a family plan....
"We tried to impress on them the importance of the living wage concept," said Living Wage Coalition organizer Carl Feuer.
Feuer's group is calling on Wal-Mart to pay a living wage, chiding the corporate giant as "a company that can afford to do better."
Coalition fliers cite academic studies showing that nationwide, the firm's average wage for full-time cashiers is $13,883, and $15,537 for full-time sales associates. Feuer points out that a company which made $9 billion in 2003 can afford to pay a living wage and should do so.
"They do pay higher starting wages in other places," Feuer said, citing Secaucus, N.J., where one store pays a base wage of $9 per hour. Feuer wonders why Ithaca, with its high cost of living, doesn't draw a higher starting rate.
Jacobson said the company did a wage survey of other Ithaca-area retailers, and found that the $6.50 base wage stacked up well -- higher, mostly -- than the competition.
Check yourself at realtor.com.
Posted by Kevin on January, 24 2005 at 11:07 AM
