Friday, September 18, 2009
Even When Wal-Mart Loses, They Still Win
Wal-Mart to settle wage lawsuit
Wal-Mart may lose this particular battle but they still win the war by pocketing ten, twenty or a hundred times the expense in "free" labor.
And Wal-Mart isn't going to change their core practices because they took a small hit in a long and protracted court case. At best they will make it harder to bring suits, they will window dress their activities to appear to comply, they will change nothing and, when the next lawsuit is brought, they'll drag it out for years and end up settling for a fraction of the damages they have done.
All the while continuing the exploitation. And profiting madly from it.
In July, Wal-Mart agreed to pay between $77 million and $152 million, depending on the number of current and former workers who step forward. The settlement is 'probably the largest employment lawsuit settlement in history,' Furth said.Now, what do you think the odds are on Wal-Mart having made far, far more by exploiting these workers than they are going to get compensated back to them?
Each worker will receive a minimum of $75 and a maximum of $950, depending on the number of violations, Furth said.
Wal-Mart may lose this particular battle but they still win the war by pocketing ten, twenty or a hundred times the expense in "free" labor.
And Wal-Mart isn't going to change their core practices because they took a small hit in a long and protracted court case. At best they will make it harder to bring suits, they will window dress their activities to appear to comply, they will change nothing and, when the next lawsuit is brought, they'll drag it out for years and end up settling for a fraction of the damages they have done.
All the while continuing the exploitation. And profiting madly from it.
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