by ANDREA FRENCH Section Editor
In today’s society, one of the most apparent problems we have is unemployment. Unemployment affects men and woman who are being discharged from the military as well; and thats why Wal-mart wants to hire more veterans and make a change.
Wal-Mart said that starting on Memorial Day Monday May 27, 2013, they will give first priority to these men and women veterans applying for jobs. They are calling this the ‘Welcome Home Commitment’, and are hoping that this announcement will encourage other large companies and people everywhere to do the same when hiring employers. Also, they have said that most of these jobs are going to be in store jobs.
“I think that this whole thing that Wal-Mart is doing is so nice. These are the men and women who are risking their lives to defend our country, and for me to think that a lot of them cannot find a job when they come back to their home country is a really poor reflection of ourselves,” says sophomore Taylor Zeni.
It becomes a sensitive topic for most because these brave men and women are fighting for our country, and when they come home, they do not have a stable job to keep them financially stable and able to survive on their own.
When most people hear about jobs at Wal-Mart they think that the salary could never support or provide for someone who is looking to be on their own and possibly support a family; but that is not true. The average hourly pay at Wal-Mart is $12.57, which totals to $26,108 per year working 40 hours a week. This salary is low compared to the yearly salary of someone who is currently on duty, which is $45,528 per year.
Store managers have come up from the bottom, and then earned their postition. The average pay for store managers is $50,000 to $170,000 a year. The highest-paid store manager last year made $250,000.
Walmart plans on hiring about 20,000 workers a year for the next five years. They believe that as the highest staffed private corporation in the country, this will boost spending on products sourced in the U.S. by $50 billion over a decade.
“I am surprised it took this long for major US companies such as Wal-Mart to start treating veterans differently and hiring more veterans. I cannot even imagine what it would be like for someone who risks their life on a daily basis to come home and struggle to find a job in their home country! These brave men and women should never have to worry about what they are going to do and how they are going to support themselves when they come home,” says sophomore Samantha Fasbach.
Post 9/11 unemployment rates are at 10 percent, which seems pretty high, especially because most veterans have a skill set that can be beneficial to the job market.
“Hopefully we see a domino effect in all of the major corporations in the US. These veterans need to be honored,” says sophomore Catarina Santo.
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