Take a Number, wait for your Shift

[Originally posted on goofyblog 1.7.07]

This just out from Ron Galloway, about our largest employer:

It’s official. Management at Wal-Mart has had a complete psychotic break with reality. Today’s Wall Street Journal reports that Wal-Mart “using a new computerized scheduling system, will start moving many of its 1.3 million workers from predictable shifts to a system based on the number of customers in stores at any given time.

The move promises greater productivity and customer satisfaction for the huge retailer but could be a major headache for employees.” A “major headache.” Ya think?

“(Employees) they may be asked to be “on call” to meet customer surges, or sent home because of a lull, resulting in less pay. The new systems also alert managers when a worker is approaching full-time status or overtime, which would require higher wages and benefits, so they can scale back that person’s schedule.

That means workers may not know when or if they will need a babysitter or whether they will work enough hours to pay that month’s bills. Rather than work three eight-hour days, someone might now be plugged into six four-hour days, mornings one week and evenings the next.”

This new policy may be the catalyst for the unionization efforts, which, given Walmart’s past illegal, brutal union-busting policies, will be a long-time coming. But what’s the alternative? They lose over 50% of their staff every year. How do you run a business and treat and pay your employees so poorly that they quit in droves?