Today I want to tell a story of true capitalism. Walmart is the world's largest multinational, the retail giant was organized in 2010 a turnover of 408 billion dollars and 14 billion of net profits, its employees and 2 million 100 thousand and 138 million people each week come into one of its shopping centers to make at least one purchase. The company's philosophy is summed up in a slogan very simple: "We are working to lower prices every day." Especially in times of crisis such as these might seem the best way to help people, but we need to see some other numbers to see if it does.
The average salary of an employee of Walmart is 14 thousand dollars a year, compared with 18 thousand of competing chains. The U.S. government has recently decided that the poverty threshold for a family of three is $ 15,060: an employee of Walmart, which also must be paid his salary with an ever-increasing share of health care, literally a living wage starvation. And there are even worse conditions. On 23 October, federal agents have Walmart is a blitz in 61 supermarkets in 21 states: 250 illegal workers were arrested. The company has downloaded the responsibility for external companies, which has contracted out some work. Maybe so, but it is the result of the industrial policy of Wal-Mart to keep prices so low. In the supermarket in Piscataway, New Jersey, were found many illegal immigrants Mexicans working there for years, making cleaning and filling the shelves at night. The immigrants worked 60 hours a week for $ 6 an hour, with no contract, no healthcare, no vacation or overtime. Perhaps this goes without saying that the multinational trade union does not exist, because, as explained recently in an interview CEO Lee Scott, "we think it is better to deal with our employees at the individual, without intermediaries." Walmart
The effect is striking, however, a much higher number of workers. Safeway and other supermarket chains have decided to reduce health care to their employees trying to cope in any way compete with Walmart. And the consequences do not stop there and also involving the producers of goods and consequently millions of other workers. Walmart has a significant market share so they can impose their purchase prices to producers, who can not afford their products siano esclusi dagli scaffali della catena. Naturalmente sono i lavoratori, ancora una volta, a pagare le spese di questi contratti capestro, con la riduzione dei salari, l'aumento delle ore di lavoro, la diminuzione dell'assistenza sanitaria.
L'altra leva usata da Walmart per tenere i prezzi bassi è l'utilizzo sempre più massiccio di prodotti importati dai paesi in via di sviluppo, in particolare in Oriente. Nel 2002 Walmart ha importato merci dalla Cina per 12 miliardi di dollari, il 10% delle importazioni statunitensi da quel paese; la multinazionale importa il 96% dell'abbigliamento, l'80% dei giocattoli, il 100% dell'elettronica. Anche in questo caso è inutile ricordare gli scarsissimi livelli di tutela dei lavoratori. Se are horrific conditions of Chinese workers who produce the products Apple, which also has a code of ethics - if you want to read the "account" number. 121 - think about what can happen in a Chinese jeans factory, whose products have fallen in two years in U.S. stores from 27 to 8 dollars is easy to see who pays the difference.
Some reactions in the U.S. there have been. In Walmart, as I said, there is no union and no strike, but workers from some other supermarkets, whose directors have introduced "style Walmart, have organized several strikes. It did not affect either the firms or to consumers, because U.S. companies can hire temporary someone in place of a worker on strike, and then the various stores were open. Despite all these strikes have begun to reflect public opinion on the excessive power of this company, in the name of liberalism and the ability to help the most vulnerable consumers, have very serious reflections on the U.S. economy and global, contributing to made to further increase the number of poor. Some local governments have sought to limit the opening of new supermarkets, but Wal-Mart promotes and supports, including financially, of the referendum illegitimate to consider these decisions. This is quite clearly of patches, inappropriate alone to close a wound. There is the fondo l'idea salvifica che il mercato sia capace di regolarsi da solo, aumentando il benessere della società. Invece aumentano soltanto gli utili e diminuiscono diritti e salari dei lavoratori. Dovrebbe pensarci qualche nostro politico, recentemente convertitosi sulla via di Detroit. Il mercato da solo non è in grado di tutelare il lavoro: occorrono le leggi e un'amministrazione capace di farle rispettare. Occorre anche più sinistra: a chi predica la fine del Novecento e della contrapposizione tra capitale lavoro, chiedete cosa pensa di un lavoratore il cui salario è inferiore alla soglia di povertà. Nessuno riuscirà a convincermi che questa è la modernità.
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