Labour & Pop Culture: Working for Walmart

This week’s installment of Labour & Pop Culture is “I’m working for Walmart” by Steve Deasy. This song is a straight-forward critique of the Walmart model where the staff are paid so poorly they use the food bank and, in the US, each Walmart store costs taxpayers between $900,000 and $1.75 million per year for social services for its workers.

The really interesting party of the song is how it identifies the Walmart effect on the market place. Basically they crowd out other retailers and drive down local wages:

Gone are all of the good jobs
They all have been outsourced
No more domestic suppliers
No more mom and pop stores 

They only pay you enough so
You have to shop there

The rest is an economic contraction that, in the short, means everyone shops at Walmart and, in the long-term Walmart leaves because it is unprofitable (because it destroyed the local economy).  Of course, the effects are hardly limited to North America. 

Walmart was a major player in what 10 years ago was called the China Price. Essentially, large wholesalers and retailers switched suppliers based on price and manufacturing fled to the cheapest locale (at that time China). The effects on workers (as documented in Alexandra Harney's book) were horrific.



I’m working for Walmart
Started today
I used to build cars but
That all went away
Worked at Wayne Assembly
And Michigan Truck
Now I’m working for Wal*Mart
And I’m down on my luck

I used to be in the union
The UAW Guild
When Ford wanted his workers
To afford what they build
Now I’m working for Wal*Mart
And the bosses don’t care
They only pay you enough so
You have to shop there

I’m working at Wal*Mart
Buy our junk if you please
It’s the best you can get that’s made by
Children overseas
They control the selection
But they don’t lose any sleep
It ain’t made to perfection
But you can get it real cheap

In the beginning Wal*Mart
Was just a discount store
Beat the hell out of K Mart
And then it wanted more
Started selling groceries
Want to be your sole supply
Electronics, computers
They’re going after Best Buy

Take a look at Wal*Mart
See what has unfurled
It’s the biggest company in the
History of the world
We kept feeding the monster
And it grew and it grew
Now I’m working for Wal*Mart
Soon you’ll be working there too

Gone are all of the good jobs
They all have been outsourced
No more domestic suppliers
No more mom and pop stores
Goodbye farmer’s markets
And local hardware too
Don't look over your shoulder
Walmart’s coming for you

-- Bob Barnetson