Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price
Wal-Mart has become one of America’s most successful retail chains by offering everyday goods at low prices for working families.
But just how is Wal-Mart able to charge less than many of their rivals, and what has their success done for their employees?
Documentary filmmaker Robert Greenwald takes a look inside the discount retailer’s empire in Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price, and discovers a company short on scruples and long on shabby treatment of the people who work for them.
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real stunner. professional presentation.
I really couldn’t finish watching this because I couldn’t take any more footage of **** Wal-mart was and is doing to workers. It’s a big realization for me and I probably wouldn’t shop here anymore knowing how many tax dollars and subsidies are being wasted on Walmart. What’s worse is that the documentary offers no hope in what can be done to stop walmart except reporting to the media. More people must watch this.
My brother worked for Walmart for a short time, and he said it was like working for a small communist country. No joke! He said the perfect Walmart employee has an I.Q of about 85; smart enough to work and do a good job but it is difficult for them to find something better and they know it. Kinda sad. There are exceptions of course.
I worked for Walmart when I was in high school. I started there three weeks before I turned 18. The schedule that went up right after i turned 18 had me scheduled 37 hours a week and most of those times while i was in class. When i brought it to their attention they told me i should have filled out a new availability. Then said, “why do i need school when i could make a future at Walmart.” I told then i would be there as soon as i got out of class. They didn’t push the point anymore.
Fast forward years latter and a friend of mine was walking through a walmart and slipped and fell onto a broken Sobe bottle. Glass went into her arm and she had to go to the emergency room. They wouldn’t even cover her hospital bills. I hope walmart goes under. They don’t care about their employees and they don’t care about their patrons.
A ‘Mallwort’ was built in a community about 20 minutes away from me in the year 2001. The small community it was chosen to be built in was composed mainly of migrant workers and lower class individuals. Many people really did not oppose and took positions in the store. Today it is obvious how much economical devastation it has caused small businesses in the surrounding areas. I have worked for a couple of companies that did not survive. The kind of places that are mentioned in little stories containing phrases like “…when I travel up state I always stop in to a little cafe that makes the best…” and “…”the piano player that plays during dinner is amazing”. Mallwort makes me sick.
I’m boycotting Walmart. This is absolutely outrageous. I knew this was going on, but I had no idea as to the extent of the problem. Walmart is destroying America and we the people need to rise up against it. It’s hard to believe we’ve let this happen.
Ashleen, if you had finished the video you would have seen that it does offer a message of hope. The last 5 or 10 minutes documents numerous cities that have succeeded in keeping Walmart out of their communities.
MONEY is all walmart is about,the arrogance and disregard 4 people is sickening. Glad to see people r still Uniting.
No more Walmart in Germany! Great decission. You can too. Freedom for the People and prosperity for your comunities. Your constituion wasn’t written for major coorperations like Walmart. I wish you all of luck!!
I sure hope wal-mart won’t enter australia. Will spread a viral campaign if they do!
Though it is an entertaining documentary, and quite informative, one cannot help but be disgusted by the incredible bias forced down our throats in this “happy music/EVIL music” film. Not once was there any narration, which is supposed to instill a “this is a very objective documentary!” thought in our mind; however, every time a good Mom ‘n’ Pop family was shown, sappy acoustic chords are sure to be stuffed in there! African-focused community happens to topple the wicked giant? Uplifting soul music, right on cue.
Eye-opening film, but presented in a very mediocre fashion.
I live in Toronto, Canada
Does this also apply to Walmart’s here?
this is the america that people strive to get into what a joke.
have these people no sense its been proven that people power works time and time again,the people that handed over funds (that could have been better spent) to get walmart into town must have been elected and should and can be held accountable.
although i feel for these people they must help themselves because most people dont care unless it really affects them
these multi millionaire owners have no moral’s they must realize how much pain and hurt their pure and unashamable greed causes and to you the middlemanagement you will realize one day that you are only pawns in their game and that you are disposable.
unreal that they can get away with this!
I’ll never shop at a Walmart or a Sam’s Club.
I’ll never shop at a Walmart or a Sam’s Club.
I love how while watching this I noticed 2 “ads by google”.
1. “Wal-Mart Job Application”
2. “walmartvendor.com”
This reinforces why I do not shop at walmart, and why I try to shop as locally as possible. I do not like financially supporting the beast that would treat people this way, and the environment this way. More people need to watch this documentary, more people need to support local business (which may in turn create lower prices on local product, less people should apply for jobs there and try to work somewhere else. There are so many things that we should be doing instead in order to reverse the progress of this company. Good work and my undying support to the people out there who make it their mission to keep Walmart OUT!
oh, and for renee, yes it does apply to walmarts in canada. walmart just shut down a store in quebec for attempting to unionize and left something like 170 people out of jobs.
i used to work as a truck driver, delivering at times to walmart thru out the states. they treated the truckers in general as scum, we had to pay out of our own pockets to have walmart unload their own merchandise, we weren’t allowed on the docks to unload ourselves or even do an inventory on what we delivered. if their was a discrepancy, we had no way to verify it, only accept their word for it. the guard shack was gestapo like to enter their premisses. this movies explains alot & if/ when i ever shop again in the USA, i wont be doing it at any walmart.
this can only happen because the U.S. Government as a whole is as corrupt, as what society calls, a 3 rd world country.
Where’s Teddy Roosevelt when you need him?
He’s rolling in his grave!
I’m never shopping at Wal-Mart again.
We can each do our part by supporting small businesses in our respective areas!
Their prices are higher than Wal-Mart because of WM's buying power, however, we CAN make an impact as a unified voice that says "NO MORE" to WM.
Folks, one voice can make a difference because others will join that voice. Even if your family & friends refuse to stop feeding the corporate machine, won't it feel good knowing that you're standing for something, instead of falling for anything?
One of my favorite quotes is: Curse the darkness if you must…but damn ya if you don't light a candle!!!
One candle may not light a dark canyon, however, that candle will serve to ultimately light millions of candles. LET'S LIGHT SOME CANDLES, ALREADY!!!
Yes. It applies to all of WM as a corporation
Sadly, this is still one of the greatest countries in the world.
Try Russia, China, etc…in fact, give it ten years and this country will be just as communist / socialist as the others. Our society uses its voice for a bunch of non-sensical foolishness.
STOP BEING SHEEPLE!!!
lets boycott wall mart.. well me personally i wont got there anymore knowing how they treat people and get profit out of them
Here in quebec, 2 Wal-Mart tried to unionize. One succeeded and is the only Wal–Mart with a union in North America as far as I know. The other succeeded also but a couple of weeks later it closed due to “being unviable economically”… They then opened a new one a few blocks away! What a bunch of overly greedy liars!
I can understand Mandarin and some of the Chinese people were talking about something else. It is hard to judge whether those people were employee actually worked for Wal-mart.
And why was there Japanese music when showing the Chinese people?
i had no idea about this all
i’ll never shop at WM again
Wal-Mart is America’s future, if we let it be. Is it difficult to believe that enough Americans will get so fed up with the abuses of corporate capitalism that we will rebel against the corrupt political system that enables these abuses? Unfortunately, Obama is not as sympathetic to the average family’s plight as we were led to believe. Wal-Mart has nothing to fear from either political party. The truth is, the American people are being marginalized politically and economically by a system rigged to favor the elites. Time for a BIG change, I think!
It is sickening to see how this unregulated village stomping dragon is ruining communities, controverting democracy, and leaving the masses essentially subservient to its demands.
Evl triumphs when good people do nothing. There are more of us than there are of them, & if we consciously collaborate our efforts to change what this conglomerate is doing, fundemental alterations can be made to guarantee worker respect and dismantle the entire “wealth above all” sentiment capitalism engenders.
In the quest for profits, human needs (such as food, water, education, saftey) are neglected. Wal-Mart is a prime example of this
WM isn’t a uniquely American phenomenon. In the UK and all over Europe we have supermarkets and hypermarkets crushing small businesses, and big corporation turning the main streets into clones. We may have better union and employee protection laws but the goods are all bought as cheaply as possible; often from china, india etc.
WM has also bought up our third biggest supermarket – Asda however the prices don’t seem to be any different.
I have to say I worked at a Walmart in Oshawa, Ontario for 2 years during college and the things I went through are ridiculous. Without getting into detail I wouldn’t recommend anyone take a job at any Walmart store nor will I ever shop there again.
Michelle please go into detail. Personal experiences make these discussions much more interesting.
I currently work at walmart. We are understaffed… In fact, today we got called useless… We have a meeting before we go to work (i work overnights as a stocker) and supposedly the store manager was very displeased with his “walk”. And the next night we got chewed out, and got called worthless, going against their own code of “respect for the individual”. My dad use to boast working the hardest at his job, but i can’t see trying my best here if I am going to get yelled at whether i do or not. I have developed a non-personal attachment to my job. I will be their slave until 6:30, but I will not stay after that. Management, has you always doing something other than what your job is, there just isn’t enough people to do do you job. In fact 3 people quit this week… and that is just on overnights. The management at walmart gets treated like c^ap, and/or are c^ap. It is a really dreadful place to work. But if you can just not care about your job, it isn’t so bad.
Fricken hell Joe – tell em to stick their job where the sun don’t shine. Go fishing instead. Walmart cannot possibly be the only way to extract a crust surely?
Hell Vlatko will give you a job I`m sure!
Where are you, Oprah…..
Too bad most of the people that work at Wal-Mart couldn’t get a job anywhere else and are paid to reflect the type of work they have to do. A majority of the people I know that work at my local Wal-Mart either did not graduate high school, are handicapped, elderly or criminals recently released from prisons. Just because the company can offer low prices on items and make a lot of money because of that, does not mean they should overpay their workers. If Wal-Mart was to disappear it would just be replaced by a combination of other large superstores like Target. Also, I can’t quite grasp where all the Communism talk is coming from, if someone could please enlighten me that would be much appreciated.
Video was good in terms of revealing truthful evidence about wal-marts cons, but I feel as though something was left out. The video is missing the other side to the argument, sure Wal-mart most likely is bad for our economy, but is their any other side to Wal-marts story? I’m sure there is something good that could have been said but wasn’t…
I am sickened by this documentary. You have got to be kidding me!! How can Walmart get away with all of this?
I am floored. People being insulted, treated predjudicially and underpaid and totally mistreated. This is disgusting.
Anyone that can ‘sue Walmart for this’ – GO FOR IT!
Hearing these stories from employees has opened my eyes.
I didn’t want to finish this documentary because it is so biased. When making a good documentary you want to remain neutral while showing the facts, 20 minutes in and all I see is interviews with people who lost their jobs to Wal-Mart.
clark… that’s exactly why the film is anything but biased. Interviews, footage, and numbers speak for themselves. They can’t be biased, cuz that’s the way things simply are. A lot of people like to throw the word around when overwhelming factual evidence stacks up in a way they can’t deny, and simply don’t like. Too bad.
I think you don’t quite understand what I was saying xxxx. For one, I completely believe that Wal-Mart is a monopoly, if you thought I was defending Wal-Mart. What I’m not defending is this documentary. It’s biased, you can say whatever you want, but if you look up the definition of bias you’ll see what I mean. I would just have rather this documentary been more facts and less sympathy.
Thanks for reminding me I can and will say what I please. Especially if it’s plain fact. Don’t try to insult people’s intelligence to up the value of your opinion; no one’s buying it, and it doesn’t make you look good.
I’m not trying to insult you at all, I think this film is biased against Wal-Mart and at the very least the first 20 minutes are in fact biased. You can keep saying it’s a fact, it’s a fact….but that doesn’t make it unbiased. I didn’t mean to come off as rude saying the definition thing, just trying to get my point across that I like a fair and balanced documentary style and this documentary was a disappointment in the way it was presented.
you think this is bad. Target is ten times worse. I have worked for both. At least walmart has stock options for thier employees. and not all walmarts treat their employees liek this. Im sure target is the same way. Walmart gives better raises than target, stock options, and bonuses at christmas. Target does none of the above. They shell out millions of dollars every week for communities at Target but they treat and pay their employees like ****. Its retail. Its almost the same way every where you go. But I would work at Walmart anyday before Target ever again
After watching this documentary I can’t imagine ever going to another walmart. I hope more people watch this. Everyone should watch this because that is the best way to stop big business. Unity is a very powerful tool that not even our government has found a way to beat. I am going to make sure I burn this and give it to everyone I can think of. By the way tammy, no one is nieve about the fact that other big retail corperations operate the same way but if you really want it to change you cut the throat of the biggest, most corrupt giant you can find and wal-mart is that giant. It is the domino effect. Once you hurt the strongest one the others tend to fall in place. Anyway, I have seen a lot of documentaries and this is one of the best I have seen. Food inc. is probably the best ever though.
This is the same for EVERY big company in America . Walmart is no different than any other employer in America .
Take for example , a foam finger at a sporting event . The players get their cut , the marketers get theirs , the organizers , the promotors , the list goes on and on . What do the employees who make them get , what are their working conditions like ?
Able minds and bodies are a dime a dozen , this is the mindset of ALL successful companies .
Eating the fruits of capitalism?
Now think of replacing the one or two individuals (capitalists) who own these corporations amassing all these profits – at the more and more suffering of their workers and every community they set their feet in – by the workers themselves and imagine the money being used to develop the whole communities and families … which would be socialism.
Try it for a change.
America can do it! And can do it BETTER.
It’s all about a few guys with private jets vs. nice communities with nice public transportation, healthy recreation, higher GOOD education, etc. America is endowed with all the potentialb. But first, private property needs to be abolished .
I am completely disgusted! I will NEVER shop at a walmart again. there are other companies like Target that are just as good on prices. Makes me sick how they treat Americans, and other people in different countries. The Waltons and Lee Scott should be ashamed of themselves.
Corporate greed! How horrible. I like Target better anyway, though they’re probably not much better that Wal-Mart. Woe the world we live in.
Personally I rarely shop at Walmart. Maybe once every few months when Im actually near one and have money. The nearest one is 45 mintes away. I go in to buy juice once in a while. I plan a trip there to buy my kids school clothes maybe this coming week. Low prices are good for people. I have no sound on my pc so wont be watching the documentary. So I will have no idea of what everyone is ranting about. The walmarts here are nice. They are clean, employees are friendly, the employees make great wages, and the few accidents I have heard of people having at near by walmarts have all been taken care of by the store. Then again I live in a small area at least 40 miles away from the nearest Walmart store so no one here is being driven out of bisness. If all the racket is about small bisness going under because of walmart having lower prices – thats to be expected. No one in their right mind would pay more for something when they can walk next door to buy it cheaper. As for the low class being given jobs – great at least their working and not sitting on welfare. More jobs in communities is great. You have no idea how many people in smaller communities and surrounding areas are sitting without jobs. They would kill for a big store thats offering lots of jobs to come anywhere within 30 miles of their home towns..
@NotSaying
I think it’s important that people have their own opinions but are also knowledgeable about the subject… I think you should consider buying a cheap pair of speakers and giving this documentary a look at.
at Notsayining and Clark
Totally agree with Clark here, Notasaying, you say the Wal-Mart employees are making great wages!!!!! LOL I have a friend who is a student who works there (not for long, thank god for him) He has a 20 cents an hour increase a year(they start at 50 cents over the min. wage). He told me his boss, who he says is cool and not brain-washed by Wal-Mart propagandha, is earning 12.50$ an hour after 6 years of service! Not to mention all the people oversea who are making 10 cents on sneakers they sell you at 60$!
You should go see the top ten richest people in the world and you’ll see that 4 of them are Waltons or inheritants of Waltons… Together they have more money than Bill Gates, yet they exploit people here and oversees.
You should really follow Clark suddestion and buy some speakers but please not at Wal Mart! I understand there’s a lot of stores doing savage business as Wal-Mart does, but they are the leaders of exploitation.
As I said, Here in quebec, 2 Wal-Mart tried to unionize. One succeeded and is the only Wal–Mart with a union in North America as far as I know. The other succeeded also but a couple of weeks later it closed due to “being unviable economically”… They then opened a new one a few blocks away! What a bunch of overly greedy liars!
That is your good jobs, NotSaying?!??!
This company has the world blinded, just like the government. I know I worked there for 3 1/2 years. They don’t care about their employees because they know someone else is there to take your job for cheaper. Not to mention over half of the full time employees can’t even afford their benefits there terrible company.
All I can say is that this documentary broke my heart to see massive unstoppable oligarchs exploit my brothers and sisters from china to north carolina and destroying what little basic human dignity this already cold world ALLOWS them. But as this documentary showed, the PEOPLE can and will fight back. Someday their entire ‘Tower of Babel Enterprise’ will fall and then people like the Esry’s can once again stand on their own two feet and make wealth for themselves and successive generations as their OWN bosses and not have to watch what they built with 40 years of blood sweat and tears be washed down the drain and GIVEN to wal mart only to watch their own grandchildren have to work for slave wages AT wal mart.
Those people, the Esry’s, are what MADE this country. The basic idea of a social contract where you can own your own business and employ people and when they do good work for you you are OBLIGATED, MANDATED and REQUIRED to give back to them. Give them a health care plan, maybe a raise, a Christmas party and all these things happened, not because a board of trustees or the police would come and get you, but because it’s the foundation of what it means to be a good citizen, good Christian/Jew/Muslim, a good American, a good HUMAN BEING.
However, this documentary illustrates the larger nation wide breakdown of this social contract. There is an idea that seems to be permeating our national zeitgeist that says, “You better get yours while the getting is good because the whole thing is about to come crashing down and you don’t wanna be caught out in the cold with no pants on.”
I say **** THAT. We can all sink or we can all swim and that;s the damn truth. I don’t know about the rest of you…but I prefer to start doing the backstroke.