Wal-Mart Health Care Proposal Attacked

In an effort to reduce employee health care costs and enhance profitability, a memo recommending the hiring of more part-time workers and discouraging the hiring of unhealthy people was drafted for submittal to the Wal-Mart Board of Directors. In draft form, the memo was intercepted and anonymously sent to Wal-Mart Watch, a union-backed activist group, which claims that a 'secret memo' was uncovered. On the other hand, it appears that Wal-Mart just considered the memo to be an internal document which was freely released in updated form when it was asked for.

Nonetheless, the union-backed team at Wal-Mart Watch is attempting to demonize Wal-Mart in its seemingly reasonable attempt to develop ideas and methods to reduce health care costs. Maybe it's just me, but I don't see anything wrong with part-time workers or discouraging the hiring of unhealthy workers. Nor do I see anything wrong with trying to enhance profitability.

Without scrutinizing the Wal-Mart memo, it's impossible to determine the reasonableness of the proposed changes. On the surface, it appears to reflect nothing more than a day in the operation and administration of a business. Unfortunately, and I've witnessed it already, the mainstream media have been characterizing the memo as an indication of a sinister and evil conspiracy to discriminate and subjugate.

Interestingly, Wal-Mart Watch defines its mission as a campaign to make Wal-Mart "a better employer, neighbor, and corporate citizen." For the life of me, I don't know what the hell that means. However, I do know that the campaign has all the appearances of a union-organized effort to get the public to protest Wal-Mart in every regard and negatively impact its business. And it's because the unions have been unable to organize Wal-Mart workers. If Wal-Mart were union, there would be no Wal-Mart Watch.

My take is simple. There's no need to watch Wal-Mart as long as no laws are being broken. And, if a person doesn't like the health care plan, he/she can go work somewhere else. If a community doesn't like Wal-Mart as a neighbor, ban the stores at the ballot box. It's been done before. And, lastly, I still don't know what it means to be a good corporate citizen. It's apparently something different from being a United States citizen. But, what do I know? I'm just a blogger.