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Tell Walmart to Pay Its Employees a Living Wage
  1. Signatures
    1,454 out of 1,500
    Petitioning
    1. CEO, Walmart (Michael Duke)
  2. Created By
    Charlotte Hill
    Oakland, CA
About this Petition Petition Letter Petition Updates

Walmart recently announced its plans to donate $2 billion to fight domestic hunger in the United States.

But if the company is truly concerned about ending hunger, shouldn't it start by re-evaluating its own role in perpetuating poverty throughout America?

Tell Walmart to prove its commitment to fighting hunger by paying its 1 milion American employees a living wage.

The average full-time Walmart employee makes $10.86 per hour, which, when adjusted for inflation, is actually less than the company's typical worker earned in 2004.

Meanwhile, Walmart executives and shareholders are living like kings. Former CEO H. Lee Scott's 2007 compensation package was an incredible $31.6 million, plus an extra $30 million in stock holdings (Walmart's new CEO earned a "mere" $19.2 million in fiscal year 2010).

Walmart has the money to fairly compensate its employees. It just needs the will. Create it for them — sign the petition below!

Photo credit: Kenneth Hynek

Why People Are Signing
Recent Signatures

Walmart Employees Deserve Higher Wages

Dear Mr. Duke,

While I appreciate your company's $2 billion donation to the fight against domestic hunger, I believe your first priority should be raising the wages of your one million employees. By failing to pay your workers a living wage, you actually create demand for the food banks you're supplying, creating and perpetuating a poverty lifestyle among your employees.

The average full-time Walmart employee makes $10.86 per hour, which, when adjusted for inflation, is actually less than your company's typical worker earned in 2004. This meager wage is around 30 percent less for your most common retail jobs than the national average.

A study from the Economic Policy Institute has found that Walmart could raise its wages and benefits, keep prices the same, and still earn a hefty profit. "For example," the researchers explain, "while still maintaining a profit margin almost 50 percent greater than Costco, a key competitor, Walmart could have raised the wages and benefits of each of its non-supervisory employees in 2005 by more than $2,000 without raising prices a penny."

Your words may express a desire to fight hunger, but your actions demonstrate a clear refusal to help its one million U.S. employees escape poverty and enjoy the benefits of economic self-sufficiency.

Here's my challenge to you. If you're really committed to ending hunger, start by slashing executive salaries and diverting a portion of your mammoth profit back to improving the wages and benefits of your hard-working employees, who may be going hungry even though they're employed. You may not spark a media frenzy like the one you created around your $2 billion donation, but you'll dramatically improve the lives of a million workers and their families.

[Your name]

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