Dukes vs Wal-Mart

Have you ever seen or heard something that made you stop what you were doing and shake your head? I have.

Before you read this blog, check out these links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dukes_v._Wal-Mart_Stores,_Inc.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/01/betty-dukes-walmart-greet_n_559892.html

http://arkansasnews.com/2010/05/01/federal-court-ruling-moves-wal-mart-class-action-suit-forward/

I am not the kind of Christian who thinks that you shouldn't sue someone just because its un-Christlike. I believe that we live in a country that has a court system set up for a reason, and that every person has an undeniable right to be heard. I believe that every American, and everyone in the world, has the right to stand up for themselves, and to stand up for what is right. I have read a couple pages about this lawsuit and also about the lady who first brought it to the courts, so please also know that I am no expert on the exact situation.

Now that I have stated my disclaimer, I would like to express my thoughts on this lawsuit. I have read a couple pages about this lawsuit and about the lady who first brought it to the courts, so please also know that I am no expert on the exact situation. The facts I have gathered are this: Mrs. Dukes was hired on at a SF Walmart as a cashier. She was as some point demoted to a door greeter. She felt like she was not given the chance to move up in Walmart and may have been discriminated against because she is a female.

I have never been to California, let alone have I worked for a San Francisco Wal Mart. I have, however, been employed by the company for 17 months. In my experience with the company, I have seen alot of things and from these things I have formed several opinions. Never once (in my situation) have I every even thought about whether or not the company was biased towards males or against females. As I stated before, I have only worked for the company for 17 months. That is less than two years, and in that time I have been promoted twice.

I have seen many people come into WalMart with a "gung ho" attitude, completely convinced that they would move up within the company. Some have reached their goals, but many have not. Mrs. Dukes is accusing immediate supervisors of keeping her from reaching her goals.

Now, as a person who has been a manager in a couple of different positions, and in the exact one that would have put me as Dukes immediate supervisor had she been employed in my store, let me say that there are a lot of things that play into who we promote. They are looking for people who actually work, first of all. This may seem like a "Duh!" kind of statement, but you would be amazed at the amounts of people who think they can come into a place like WalMart, walk around like they are important, ignore customers, isolate themselves from co-workers, and then look around and wonder why their managers haven't offered a promotion yet. I got promoted by working hard, solving customer issues, and keeping up great relationships with co-workers. I have put a lot into getting where I am, even though it is not that far and I still have much to accomplish. So, please, if you expect a promotion, be worth it and don't waste my time.

Secondly, in one article I read, it was stated that Dukes was reprimanded for being consistently late coming back from lunch breaks. When you work as a cashier at Wally World, it is very important to be as punctual as possible. The managers who oversee the front end have to assure that up to almost 40 people at times are getting their two 15 minute breaks and their hour lunch, all while trying to keep the lines down, as management is constantly one their case about that, and trying to make sure that someone who goes home at 5pm actually goes home on time. If one cashier is late from lunch or break, it can throw off the very very sensitive daily schedule, and things can easily begin to fall apart from there. Cashiers know this, and therefore are reprimanded when they are consistently late coming back from lunch or breaks. This is a cut and clear situation from my understanding.

As an employee, I have of course heard the "official" statement from the company. Walmart's stance is basically that the company believes this situation is more than likely an isolated incident and that it should be a personal case rather than a class action. As a recreational student of Tort Law, I can understand how there are circumstances that need to be handled publicly, when a company has knowingly done wrong to a mass scale of persons. I also understand that if this is tried as a class action, the lawyers will see a large settlement handed over to their firm, while a meager percentage will go to the people who were actually "victimized".

I agree with the company's stance on this one. There are things happening out there these days that are very wrong. Yes, women are wronged in business on a DAILY basis. Yes, as a whole, companies in the USA still pay 20-40% more to men working in the exact same positions as women. YES, this is WRONG. I am NOT against women's right to equality. I am simply saying that, as an employee of the company, I have not experienced these things at all, nor have I ever heard of a woman employee feeling this way. I work in a store that employs 500 people. A good majority of these people are female. I have never heard anything about bias in the company until this case. Therefore, it is my opinion that this may be a more isolated incident, going on within a particular store, under a particular management. It is a sad thing.

I am glad people are standing up for what is right. I just wish it was always done the right way.

How do you feel?