George Rhynes asks if Wal-Mart can fire employees who disarmed
an armed robber for not following procedures,
why can’t the manager he says didn’t follow procedures when
the manager fired him be fired in return?
I wonder why Wal-Mart procedures and profit are more important
than employee safety, well-being, or the drain on public resources
to cover what Wal-Mart does not?
George Boston Rhynes wrote to Wal-Mart CEO and President Mike Duke and Board of Directors 20 February 2011,
Wal-Mart Store 899 and 2615, Valdosta, Georgia and China Workers!
After nearly three years of being ignored by Wal-Mart Store Inc. I
appeal to you once more; to take this opportunity to review,
consider and investigate my three year old “wrongful
termination” from Wal-Mart Store #2615 in Valdosta, Georgia.
This is where Mr. Hal Harwell, Store Manager terminated me unfairly
under the heading of “Inability to Perform Job” on March
2008.If the EMPLOYEES were fired in Layton, Utah for DISOBEYING
Wal-Mart’s Policy and they were. Then Store Manager Hal Harwell
should also be FIRED for disobeying company policy. Store Manager
Hal disobeyed company’s policies, guidelines, and procedures by
denying me “GEORGE BOSTON RHYNES” equal rights as all
other employees when it comes to being entered into Wal-Mart’s Four
Weeks Training Program as hundreds of other Department 9, Sporting
Goods Department Managers employed at Wal-Mart throughout the
nation. {TITLE VII OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964, AND CIVIL RIGHTS
ACT OF 1991.}
I had a little trouble finding the case George is referring to,
because google turns up so many cases of Wal-Mart employees being
fired for not following procedures, such as
Walmart Greeter Fired After She ‘Grabbed’ Customer
(by Susanna Kim for abc News 9 July 2012)
A 73-year-old former Walmart greeter in St. Petersburg, Fla., says
she’s been in a downward spiral and has had to sell her house after
she was fired for grabbing an unruly customer on Black Friday last
year.“Walmart was my family. I didn’t have no family other than
them,” [Janice] Sullivan told ABC Tampa affiliate WFTS’s reporter
Kimberly Kuizon….“I grabbed her to keep me from falling. That’s why I grabbed
her,” she said.
Or this one, about an employee who ate on the job because she ouldn’t afford food on what they were paying her:
Walmart Hits Oreo-Loving Worker With Felony Charge:
63-year-old fired, accused of theft
(by Neal Colgrass for Newser 22 February 2013)
Walmart is slapping a former employee with felony charges after she
allegedly ate the store’s Oreo cookies on the job, The Smoking Gun
reports. Penny Winters, 63, admits to munching on Oreos at the
Indiana store but says she noticed an open bag and considered them a
gift from management. Surveillance footage, however, showed “Ms.
Winters select the package of cookies, open it, and proceed to
consume multiple cookies during her work shift,” according to a
police report.The report added that Winters admitted to stealing and eating other
junk food, and said she “simply did not have the monies to
legitimately purchase the food items.” So Walmart had her arrested,
charged with felony theft, and fired her from the $11.40-per-hour
maintenance job. She posted bond and was released from jail earlier
this week.
OK, maybe she stole some cookies, but felony charges after firing her already?
That seems a bit harsh.
But this seems to be the Utah gun-grabbing story George referred to;
4 Layton Walmart employees fired after disarming gunman caught shoplifting,
(by Andrew Adams for Deseret News 9 February 2011)
The shoplifter smashed Gabriel Stewart up against a wall.
It didn’t take him long to realize that pressure against his lower
back was from a loaded gun held by a desperate man who didn’t want
to go to jail. The gunman had a firm grip on Stewart’s shoulder,
telling him and three of his Walmart co-workers, “Don’t make me do
this.”“Absolutely time stopped,” Stewart told KSL. “I
didn’t know what to do.”Instantly, Shawn Ray and Justin Richins kicked into gear, spinning
the gunman around. Lori Poulsen ripped the gun away and secured it.
They all held on to the man until police arrived minutes later.The four Layton Walmart employees felt it was mission accomplished.
Police officers told them they had done everything right.But a week later, all four were fired from their jobs. Walmart said
their actions had violated company policy and put their fellow
workers and shoppers at risk.
So apparently Walmart’s rules are more important than self-protection
of their own employees, such as Janice Sullivan or the Utah four.
The Utah armed robber also turned out to be in illegal possession
of the weapon:
Longton pleaded guilty to two charges Monday — robbery, a
second-degree felony, and the purchase, transfer, possession or use
of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, a class A misdemeanor.
In exchange for his plea, three other charges were dismissed,
including threatening or using a dangerous weapon in a fight or
quarrel. Longton is scheduled to be sentenced on March 28.The four workers were full-time employees. Stewart had been with the
company for more than 12 years. Poulsen, who was employed for more
than seven years, had made Walmart a career. Ray said his dismissal
kept him from purchasing a home.“I honestly felt worse than when I had the gun to my
back,” Stewart said. “I honestly felt betrayed.”
Apparently George also feels betrayed for being fired.
So why does Walmart do these things?
The Deseret News story concludes:
“I’m surprised they would be fired — they’re defending
their lives,” said David Lundberg, who was a police officer
for 21 years, has additional security experience and now runs
Utahdetective.com.Lundberg believes concern over liability drives these policies.
“People slip and fall, get head injuries, that kind of
stuff,” Lundberg said. “So that’s what stores are
worried about is the liability — getting sued.”
Well, it would be horrible to let employees doing the right thing
get in the way of corporate profits, I suppose.
Or to let paying employees enough so they could afford food
get in the way.
One of these stories has a happy continuation, but it’s not
because of anything Walmart did to make that happen.
Fired Walmart Greeter Gets More Help Than She Ever Imagined
(Posted 12 July 2012 in Black Friday)
After she was denied unemployment benefits due to the nature of her
termination, she fell into debt and was forced to sell her home. Now
struggling to get by daily, her story was chronicled by the
Tampa Bay Times
in a moving article that inspired many to help. One such
person, a former neighbor of Sullivan, began an
Indiegogo.com page
for her, urging others to help her raise money for the now debt
stricken senior citizen. That page has now raised $2,500 as of this
morning [finally $3,350],
with a goal of $5000. But, that’s not the only Indiegogo
page dedicated to Sullivan. It’s actually one of three, with
another raising $170
and originating in Texas and one that has yet to make
money, originating in Tennessee.Sullivan, who doesn’t own a computer, said she never expected the
outpouring of support, according to the
Tampa Bay Times. Besides the
fundraising on the web, others have offered checks, cash, housing,
and even the simple gift of friendship.“She just keeps saying, ‘I can’t believe how many people
care about me.’” said Amy Wetherbee, the neighbor who began
fundraising for Sullivan.
It’s good her neighbors next door and all over the Internet care,
given her ex-employer doesn’t seem to.
How would she afford to own a computer, even when she worked for Walmart?
Wal-Mart
pays so little its employees often have to rely on food stamps
and public medical assistance such as emergency rooms
because they can’t afford enough food or medical insurance.
This is the same Walmart whose founding family helped
buy a Georgia election, selling off
part of our public education to
private
profiteers.
George has been
telling stories of Wal-Mart managers for
“First off, you have to know what your job is.”
—Charles Judge
Maybe he and the rest of us will get justice for Wal-Mart’s actions.
Maybe Georgia will even, as he recommends, reconsider its
“at-will” work laws.
Maybe if enough of the people of Georgia demand these things.
-jsq