Minimum Wage

Walmart’s minimum wage
Name
Institution
The recent increases in minimum wages to between 9$ and 10$ an hour at Walmart are as a result of the company succumbing to greater pressure by protests from workers, and labor activist groups.
Walmart is the biggest merchant and one of the largest employers in the private sector in the United States of America. The retail giant is an employer of close to 1.5 million workers in the U.S alone. According to the United States Department of Labor, the minimum wage recommended for all nonexempt employees is at 7.25$ per hour. Several states have set their own minimum wage laws and employees who are subject to both the federal and respective state minimum wage laws are entitled to the higher pay between the two.
One startling fact that stands out is that Walmart’s U.S. workforce of close to over 1.5 million workers has never been unionized. All attempts of international unions such UFCW to unionize Walmart’s workforce have failed. The retail giant is known to be one of the most aggressive anti-union companies, with a long history of blocking all unionization efforts. Unions in the U.S economy have weakened in the recent past. Nevertheless, unionized workers are still able to enjoy wages 13.6 percent higher than their non-unionized counterparts.
Labor activist organizations such as the OUR Walmart do not practice conventional ways of collective bargaining. Although they enjoy certain freedoms, they are neither recognized by the federal government or the companies whose workers they seek to represent.

However, these organizations have made significant gains in negotiating victories for workers in low-wage industries such as in retail. One of such an organization that is based in Florida employed shame tactics to arm-twist grocers and some fast food companies to sign wage increase for immigrant workers as well as benefits such as improved working conditions and medical cover.(Jamieson, 2016)
As early as 2012, the group OUR Walmart had leveled allegations of unjust labor practices by the retailing giant. They organized strikes and protest for an increase in wages. The group apparently managed to achieve its objective of bothering Walmart with its demands. During a Black Friday shopping frenzy, the group OUR Walmart led protests and strikes with a section of the retailer’s workers participating. Although Walmart downplayed the number of its employees who took part in the strike, regardless of who was taking a count, the striking worker dented the public image of the company.
With a growing national debate on income inequality, the fight for increased minimum wages is here to stay. Regulatory channels and public pressure could broker a deal with the giant retailer. OUR Walmart’s campaign can then be said to be one of the major factors that prompted Walmart to raise its minimum wage to about 10$ an hour. The same campaign has initiated improved wages around the country in areas such as California and New York where 15$ an hour measures have been adopted.(Dickinson, 2016)
Walmart should develop a plan to pay its workers the 15$ per hour. Most evidence claims that the company can afford to a $15 minimum wage. The company is highly profitable generating a net profit of 16 billion as of January 2015.
The cost of living in the United States is quite high in the case where one earns less than 15$ a month regardless of where one lives. Many companies described the fight to have the wage bill at a minimum of $15 per hour as unrealistic or absurd. However, from a study conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) a living wage calculator was developed, and it estimates the total amount of hourly wages an adult needs to earn to meet their needs whilst adjusting to the conditions for the composition of the house in terms of members and the geographical location. The living minimum wage shown represents the rate of the hourly wage that an adult should earn to cater for their family needs if they are the only bread winner and work full time.

Calculation for Washington D.C of Columbia’s Living Wage CITATION Carte l 1033 (Nadeau, 2015 Update)Looking at the common household types, in the District of Columbia only a single adult living with no spouse or children could get by on less than15$ an hour in the District of Columbia. Washington DC is quite an expensive area to live in. If we consider places such as Cameron County, Texas ranked as one of the cheapest places to live in the U.S., the following data is obtained,

Calculation for Cameron County, Texas Living Wage CITATION Carte l 1033 (Nadeau, 2015 Update)In this case, again only a single adult can get by on less than 15$ per hour wage. All other types of households listed cannot. This is true even for a case of two working parents in a family with three children. This household would need about two incomes of atleast15$ per hour to get by.
An increased minimum hourly wage is inevitable in future as the cost of living rises each day. A government legislation on the minimum wage is thus appropriate in ensuring workers are able to earn a reasonable pay for the hour they put in on the job.
References
Dickinson, J. G. (n.d.). Walmart’s War Against Unions — and the U.S. Laws That Make It Possible. Retrieved December 02, 2016, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/julie-b-gutman/walmart-labor-laws_b_3390994.htmlJamieson, D. (2016). Walmart To Hike Its Minimum Wage To $10, Raise Pay For 1.2 Million Employees. The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2 December 2016, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/walmart-10-raise_us_56a01acde4b0404eb8f03b26Minimum Wage. (2016). Retrieved December 02, 2016, from https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/wages/minimumwage BIBLIOGRAPHY Nadeau, C. A. (2015 Update). LIVING WAGE CALCULATOR Users Guide/Technical Notes. Department of Urban Studies and Planning , Massachusets Institute of Technology.