Christmas, Walmart Style

Do you have wonderful memories of Christmas, Hanukkah, or even Kwanzaa? If you do have wonderful memories of Christmas, there is a good chance that you don't work for the Grinch of Retail. Because if you do work for Walmart, there is a better than average chance that you have had to work up to the point of exhaustion during the Holidays. But you have to take the hours, don't you? Because as soon as Christmas is over-poof!-the hours are going to disappear, aren't they? And what if your religion requires you to honor it in a certain way? Well, you better hope your religion isn't Christianity, because if it is, your chances of getting to worship on a sacred holiday-say on Good Friday-are next to zero. Now if you are Muslim, your odds are much better, at least in Auburn, Indiana. Tom sent me an email. When Tom asked his manager if he could have Good Friday off to worship with his family, Tom was told that Good Friday was a Catholic Holiday, and Tom had better plan on being in the store to work. But when an assistant manager, Hatem Ali, needed time off for a Muslim holiday- guess what? He got it! Does that seem like discrimination to you? It did to Tom, also. But maybe Mr. Ali was lucky enough to have a religious holiday during a slower time for retail sales. I am certain that Walmart wouldn't be foolish enough to discriminate against Christians, would they? No, they are a family company. Just ask them. But if you do work for Walmart, prepare to celebrate your holidays in a whole different way. Carrie told me how her store cut hours for the Holiday. Instead of paying the associates for Labor Day, her store cut every one's hours. But did they even get an extra day off? Silly rabbit, no. At Carrie's store-they cut everyone 1.6 hours for the five days that week! I don't understand how it is legal to cut some one's hours in order to negate the Holiday pay that you are bound by law to pay, but if any one can find a way to do it, you know who that would be. So if you work for Walmart, buck up. There will be plenty of time to spend with your family on Holidays after you leave Walmart's employ, and until that happens make sure that your family takes lots of pictures of the celebration that you missed. You'll thank me later.