According to Wal-Mart, its main goal is "to benefit the American consumer". Does the Wal-Mart economic and social model benefit the American worker as well?

Résumé du document

Very few European people have heard of Wal-Mart. But the company plays a central role in the lives of millions of Americans, who rely on it for their food and other necessities. For some, Wal-Mart, with a presence in the entire US territory, is the symbol of a certain 'American way of buying', associated with super-low prices and extended availability. But Wal-Mart would be nothing without the people it employs. People who load and unload lorries, people who stack shelves, people who work at the check-out places and also people who manufacture their products. How does Wal-Mart impact the lives of these workers?

Extraits

[...] Also part of the strategy is the less than average health benefits that the company offers to its company. As a result, half of them prefer not to use it, with the possible consequences on their access to healthcare. Another threat to employees' healthcare is Wal-Mart's demerits to employees who take sick days. It is not difficult to imagine that the weakest ones will endanger their health by going to work no matter what state they're in, for fear of losing their jobs. [...]

[...] If Wal-Mart's strive to “benefit the American customer” does in a way benefit American workers as well, it does not go without sacrifices, of which workers pay the most important price. Not only Wal-Mart workers, but also American workers as a whole, such is Wal-Mart's leadership on American society. The question of the extension of this model thus arises: as seen before, Wal-Mart's economic and social model has already extended beyond the company's limit and spread to its competitors and even to other companies in the area. [...]

[...] Wal-Mart's leadership on American society There's no questioning that Wal-Mart is definitely the leader of American retail. With one container arriving every forty-five seconds on American soil, the company provides food and other basic products to a large part of the American population and therefore to its workforce. Wal-Mart is present everywhere on the territory, even in the most deprived areas, catering to otherwise abandoned places, where people are either unemployed or live on low wages. Wal-Mart has built its reputation on its low prices; workers are also consumers, who benefit from prices 8 to 39% below those of its competitors. [...]

[...] Much has been said about the firm's increasing reliance on China; 70% of its products are manufactured there, and 80% of its suppliers are based in China. Wal-Mart buyers scour the globe for low-cost suppliers. This means, of course, less jobs for American workers. What is produced in China is not produced in the US, quite simply, and this brings about plant closures. Scarily, the company benefits from very powerful lobbies, who pressurize Congress and the US Department of Labor into adopting favorable policies and deals. [...]

[...] People who load and unload lorries, people who stack shelves, people who work at the check- out but also people who manufacture their products. Wal-Mart is central in the lives of American workers too. How does Wal-Mart impact the lives of these workers? In order to answer this question, Wal-Mart's leadership on American society will first be examined, before examining the cost of “benefiting the American customer”. Finally, the full implications of Wal- Mart's economic model on American labor will be paid attention to. [...]