Wal-Mart....say it ain't so!

[spokenword]

:eek: Court: Workers may sue Wal-Mart
by Matt Reilly, Thu, 12:51 PM



A group of Wal-Mart employees who claim they were denied rest breaks and forced to work for certain periods without being paid can sue the company in a class action suit, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled today.

The court ruled 5-1 to certify the class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of 72,000 current and former hourly employees of Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores in New Jersey. The suit claims Wal-Mart systematically ignores and disregards its own written policies on meal and rest breaks and working "off-the-clock."

A superior court judge denied class status to the employees and was upheld by a state appeals court. The trial judge ruled "manageability" problems of a class-action suit in this case were an impediment to certifying the class.

The Supreme Court ruled those issues could be overcome and said a class-action suit is "superior" to other methods available for settling the dispute. It found questions of law common to the plaintiffs outweighed individual differences in their claims.

"Individually, the aggrieved Wal-Mart employees lack the strength in terms of resources and motivation to assert their grievances in court," Chief Justice James Zazzali wrote for the majority. "Collectively, as a class, they are able to pursue their claims."

Justice Roberto Rivera-Soto dissented, saying, "There simply is nothing in the majority's analysis that supports its conclusion that the trial judge abused her discretion in denying class action status to these plaintiffs."

[Miss Tam-Tam]

A group of Wal-Mart employees who claim they were denied rest breaks and forced to work for certain periods without being paid can sue the company in a class action suit, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled today.

Today I visited the Tenement Museum in New York's lower East Side. One of the observations made by our group was how history keeps repeating itself in America. This was relative to the Triangle Shirtwaist fire and how Walmart had been locking its night shift workers in their stores without giving them a way to get out.

http://www.tenement.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangle_Shirtwaist_Factory_fire

[Unforgiven]

As much time and money that my wife spends in there, I would have believed that she was in fact employed by Wal-Mart. Good for the workers. Now if I can just recover some of that doggone money the wife spent there. :D :D :D

[jazzyken]

Unforgiven... I spend most of my hard earned (and my hubby's) money in Walmart. Unfortunately I can say I will continue to shop there... but I do hope the workers get what they deserve and more!

[Unforgiven]

As much as I hate to admit it, I like going to Wal-Mart. They have such a large selection of everything that it makes it easy to do all your shopping. But maaaaaaaan, every time I leave there I feel like I've been bamboozled! My wallet is a little lighter than it was when I went in there. Needless to say that there prices are in my income bracket as opposed to the other retail stores. :D :D

[jazzyken]

Unforgiven it is horrible how much I spend there...

One thing I noted to my hubby and anyone else that have kids.
Cereal!!! Kellogg brands at Walmart are between $2-$3 for a large box. Last week, Frosted Flakes were on sale, I think the 40 ounces for $2.86!!! In Pathmark the smallest box of Frosted Flakes are $4 bucks :eek: It is unbelievable!!! Also, I pack my coupons :D !!!

I will take the ride to Linden just to get cereal and milk!!! The stores in the 'hood are a big rip-off!!!

[Unforgiven]

I go to the Wal-Mart on route 22 in Union. Where is the one in Linden located? I usually go to BJ's Club in Linden to get milk there ($2.59/gallon) and while I'm there I get that gas ($2.85/gallon). Shoot, I put the regular gas in my car and it ride just as fine as the supreme. :D

[spokenword]

but the stores in the hood are notorious for selling outdated meats! Sorry to put you guys on blast, but I would never purchase meats from:


1. Pathmark on Bergen St.

2. Supremo's in Irvington ( the outside of the store smells like someone died):eek:

when you get to the door, you want to puke!

[Unforgiven]

Let me add one to the list.

3. Extra Supermarket on Lyons Avenue. The meat there turns brown before you get home and put it in the fridge.

[spokenword]

Let me add one to the list.

3. Extra Supermarket on Lyons Avenue. The meat there turns brown before you get home and put it in the fridge.



Thanks Unforgiven,


I spilled water all over my paperwork!:D

[jazzyken]

I go to the Wal-Mart on route 22 in Union. Where is the one in Linden located? I usually go to BJ's Club in Linden to get milk there ($2.59/gallon) and while I'm there I get that gas ($2.85/gallon). Shoot, I put the regular gas in my car and it ride just as fine as the supreme. :D
If you continue past BJ's on 1&9 you will run right into Walmart. In the Walmart plaza, you have Sears, Payhalf, Payless and a furniture store. Also, on that strip there is a Target, Home Depot and TJMax... I love shopping in Linden!!! My hubby hates going anywhere near Linden!!! my uncle lives in Linden and I will say, let's go visit, I grab my bank card and all the cash I can and It's On!!!

[jazzyken]

Let me add one to the list.

3. Extra Supermarket on Lyons Avenue. The meat there turns brown before you get home and put it in the fridge.
I also shop in Linden for meats. Meat City. I heard the meat store on Chancellor avenue is okay!

[LastCubanStanding]

I also shop in Linden for meats. Meat City. I heard the meat store on Chancellor avenue is okay!


Look out for "double-labeling" where they put a new label (with a new expiration date) on top of the exisitng label. I caught my A&P doing that.

[jazzyken]

Look out for "double-labeling" where they put a new label (with a new expiration date) on top of the exisitng label. I caught my A&P doing that.
R U Kidden!!! That is disgusting!!!!

[Miss Tam-Tam]

The bulk warehouses, such as B.J.'s and Costco, have the cheapest milk around. Because of increased interest in ethanol as a fuel, the cost of milk will probably rise. That Pathmark on Bergen Street is known for its putrid meat. When you walk in the door, the smell of fish hits you in the face. That means it ain't fresh.

[LastCubanStanding]

R U Kidden!!! That is disgusting!!!!

happens all the time...everywhere.

[Miss Tam-Tam]

Look out for "double-labeling" where they put a new label (with a new expiration date) on top of the exisitng label. I caught my A&P doing that.

Also they pour fresh beef blood on the old meat to make it look fresher. Stay away from beef that has an uncannily dark red color. But you can't beat the old sniff test.

[Unforgiven]

if we both happen to come upon the last box of Coco Puffs. And we have a showdown in the middle of the aisle. We stare into each other's glazed eyes and on the prized box. We both lunge towards it. I have to say that I am at an advantage simply because I go Coo Coo for Coco Puffs. Thanks for the info! :D :D

[spokenword]

Also they pour fresh beef blood on the old meat to make it look fresher. Stay away from beef that has an uncannily dark red color. But you can't beat the old sniff test.



Beef Blood??? Ru serious???


I'm never eating Beef again!:eek:

[Unforgiven]

The bulk warehouses, such as B.J.'s and Costco, have the cheapest milk around. Because of increased interest in ethanol as a fuel, the cost of milk will probably rise.

I'm not the brightest bulb in the pack. What does ethanol as a fuel have to do with Milk and it's cost? :o :o :o

That Pathmark on Bergen Street is known for its putrid meat. When you walk in the door, the smell of fish hits you in the face. That means it ain't fresh.

Which reminds me of the joke of the blind man when he passed the fish market. Well, never you mind. :D Like my daddy used to say "Son, it don't taste as bad as it smells" :cool:

[Make Newark Clean]

Calming ethanol-crazed corn prices (http://money.cnn.com/2006/11/21/smbusiness/biodiesel_franchise/index.htm?postversion=2006112211)

With alternative fuel in the limelight, the cost of corn has skyrocketed, but experts say the free market should keep food prices in check.

By Steve Hargreaves, CNNMoney.com staff writer
January 30 2007: 3:54 PM EST

Consumers will feel the impact of higher corn prices, not just in the produce isle but in a range of products. Beef and poultry prices are likely to rise as animal farmers rely on corn for feed.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Ever since President Bush proposed a four-fold increase in "alternative fuels" during this year's State of the Union address, the media has been abuzz with doomsday reports on what this will do to the price of corn.

But how much higher corn prices will go, and how much more of an effect they will have on food costs, is a matter of debate.

Corn demand and prices began surging over a year ago when Bush first touted ethanol in his 2006 State of the Union speech.

Corn is the main ingredient in ethanol, the primary alternative fuel in the United States and rising demand has sent supplies to their lowest levels in 34 years according to Phil Flynn, a senior market analyst at Alaron Trading in Chicago, a commodities trading firm.

"Ethanol is just lighting the [corn] market on fire," Flynn said.

The front-month contract for a bushel of corn (56 pounds) on the Chicago Board of Trade has jumped from $1.86 at the end of 2005 to over $4 today, said Flynn.

The rising price of corn is partly why shares of several ethanol companies, including Pacific Ethanol (Charts), Verasun Energy (Charts) and Archer-Daniels-Midland (Charts), have suffered from lackluster performance over the last year. It's been a boon for the giant seed maker Monsanto (Charts).

Pain at the supermarket

Consumers will feel the impact of higher corn prices, not just in the produce isle but in a range of products. Beef and poultry prices are likely to rise as animal farmers rely on corn for feed. Soft drink prices may also jump since drink makers widely use corn syrup as a sweetener.

"Four dollars a bushel causes a lot of pain," said Richard Lobb, a spokesman for the National Chicken Council, who estimated that the price rise has already bumped up wholesale chicken prices 6 cents per pound. "It ripples right across the economy."

Not everyone sees those ripples becoming a tsunami though.

"I see some cooling in the corn market over the next 12 to 18 months," said Cristoph Berg, a managing director at the German-based commodities research firm F.O. Licht.

"It would be truly historic to have grain prices stay so high for so many years," said Ryan Davies, a trader at Titan Commodities in San Diego. "I think they will maintain a high level, but there is a cap as to how high they can go."

Chicken Little scenario?

Simple economics is the main reason cited for debunking the "corn-out-of-control" scenario.

As the price of corn rises, farmers have greater incentive to plant more of it and increase supply.

Terry Roggensack, a grain specialist at the Hightower Report, a commodities newsletter, is seeing farmers planting between 6 to 10 million more acres of corn this year on top of last year's 78.3 million acres.

He says farmers need to plant near the top end of that range to meet projected demand. If they underproduce, corn prices could be set to rise even more.

With corn at around $4 a bushel, ethanol producers could be forced out of business - if corn prices keep climbing, while ethanol prices hover at around $2 a gallon.

"If corn prices are beyond a certain threshold, many [ethanol] plants will just stop producing," said Berg. That will cause a drop in demand for corn which would send prices down.

The Bush administration isn't too concerned about corn prices jumping.

A White House spokesman told CNNMoney.com that if the proposals outlined in the State of the Union make it into law they will be sure to include a safety valve, which would suspend the mandatory ethanol requirement if corn prices rose too high.

Corn: Not the only ethanol solution

No one spoken to, including representatives at the White House, believes that the president's call for mandatory alternative fuel use to grow - from 7.5 billion gallons currently to 35 billion gallons by 2017 - will be achieved through corn ethanol alone. The United States currently uses about 140 billion gallons a year of gasoline.

Experts say corn ethanol could account for maybe half of that without sending the price of corn even higher.

The remaining amount of alternative fuels could come from other sources and technologies, like turning coal to liquid fuel (a process derided by environmentalists) and cellulosic ethanol, a nascent but promising technology that produces ethanol from any plant matter, not just food crops.

Still, these assurances do little to calm farmers currently struggling to feed their livestock due to the high price of corn.

"That's the optimistic view, that [the spike in corn prices] is going to stop right there," said the National Chicken Council's Lobb. "It's already doubled the cost at seven and a half billion gallons [of ethanol production], it's inconceivable to think that adding more wouldn't raise the price."

[LastCubanStanding]

Calming ethanol-crazed corn prices (http://money.cnn.com/2006/11/21/smbusiness/biodiesel_franchise/index.htm?postversion=2006112211)

With alternative fuel in the limelight, the cost of corn has skyrocketed, but experts say the free market should keep food prices in check.

By Steve Hargreaves, CNNMoney.com staff writer
January 30 2007: 3:54 PM EST



NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Ever since President Bush proposed a four-fold increase in "alternative fuels" during this year's State of the Union address, the media has been abuzz with doomsday reports on what this will do to the price of corn.

But how much higher corn prices will go, and how much more of an effect they will have on food costs, is a matter of debate.

Corn demand and prices began surging over a year ago when Bush first touted ethanol in his 2006 State of the Union speech.

Corn is the main ingredient in ethanol, the primary alternative fuel in the United States and rising demand has sent supplies to their lowest levels in 34 years according to Phil Flynn, a senior market analyst at Alaron Trading in Chicago, a commodities trading firm.



"Ethanol is just lighting the [corn] market on fire," Flynn said.

The front-month contract for a bushel of corn (56 pounds) on the Chicago Board of Trade has jumped from $1.86 at the end of 2005 to over $4 today, said Flynn.

The rising price of corn is partly why shares of several ethanol companies, including Pacific Ethanol (Charts), Verasun Energy (Charts) and Archer-Daniels-Midland (Charts), have suffered from lackluster performance over the last year. It's been a boon for the giant seed maker Monsanto (Charts).

Pain at the supermarket

Consumers will feel the impact of higher corn prices, not just in the produce isle but in a range of products. Beef and poultry prices are likely to rise as animal farmers rely on corn for feed. Soft drink prices may also jump since drink makers widely use corn syrup as a sweetener.

"Four dollars a bushel causes a lot of pain," said Richard Lobb, a spokesman for the National Chicken Council, who estimated that the price rise has already bumped up wholesale chicken prices 6 cents per pound. "It ripples right across the economy."

Not everyone sees those ripples becoming a tsunami though.

"I see some cooling in the corn market over the next 12 to 18 months," said Cristoph Berg, a managing director at the German-based commodities research firm F.O. Licht.

"It would be truly historic to have grain prices stay so high for so many years," said Ryan Davies, a trader at Titan Commodities in San Diego. "I think they will maintain a high level, but there is a cap as to how high they can go."

Chicken Little scenario?

Simple economics is the main reason cited for debunking the "corn-out-of-control" scenario.

As the price of corn rises, farmers have greater incentive to plant more of it and increase supply.

Terry Roggensack, a grain specialist at the Hightower Report, a commodities newsletter, is seeing farmers planting between 6 to 10 million more acres of corn this year on top of last year's 78.3 million acres.

He says farmers need to plant near the top end of that range to meet projected demand. If they underproduce, corn prices could be set to rise even more.

With corn at around $4 a bushel, ethanol producers could be forced out of business - if corn prices keep climbing, while ethanol prices hover at around $2 a gallon.

"If corn prices are beyond a certain threshold, many [ethanol] plants will just stop producing," said Berg. That will cause a drop in demand for corn which would send prices down.

The Bush administration isn't too concerned about corn prices jumping.

A White House spokesman told CNNMoney.com that if the proposals outlined in the State of the Union make it into law they will be sure to include a safety valve, which would suspend the mandatory ethanol requirement if corn prices rose too high.

Corn: Not the only ethanol solution

No one spoken to, including representatives at the White House, believes that the president's call for mandatory alternative fuel use to grow - from 7.5 billion gallons currently to 35 billion gallons by 2017 - will be achieved through corn ethanol alone. The United States currently uses about 140 billion gallons a year of gasoline.

Experts say corn ethanol could account for maybe half of that without sending the price of corn even higher.

The remaining amount of alternative fuels could come from other sources and technologies, like turning coal to liquid fuel (a process derided by environmentalists) and cellulosic ethanol, a nascent but promising technology that produces ethanol from any plant matter, not just food crops.

Still, these assurances do little to calm farmers currently struggling to feed their livestock due to the high price of corn.

"That's the optimistic view, that [the spike in corn prices] is going to stop right there," said the National Chicken Council's Lobb. "It's already doubled the cost at seven and a half billion gallons [of ethanol production], it's inconceivable to think that adding more wouldn't raise the price."

Ethanol can also be extracted from sugar cane. Instead of dumping money on third-world-tropical countries, how about buy can from them? Providing a way for people to support themselves is much more productive than throwing cash at them.

[karimah]

Minn. judge rules against Wal-Mart on work breaks By ELIZABETH DUNBAR, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 48 minutes ago



MINNEAPOLIS - A judge has ruled against Wal-Mart in a class-action lawsuit, saying the discount retailer violated state labor laws 2 million times by cutting worker break time and forcing employees to work off the clock.

Dakota County Judge Robert King Jr. ordered Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Monday to pay $6.5 million in compensatory damages, but Wal-Mart could end up paying much more than that after a jury in October considers civil penalties and punitive damages.

"We believe that this award not only helps the individual clients, but it also sends a message to Wal-Mart that it has to pay for its mistakes," said Justin Perl, an attorney representing the former Wal-Mart employees named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

Wal-Mart spokeswoman Daphne Moore said the company disagrees with portions of the judge's decision and is considering an appeal.

"Our policy is to pay every associate for every hour worked and to make rest or meal breaks available to every employee," Moore said, adding that many Wal-Mart employees who testified during the trial said they were getting breaks and being paid properly.

"That said, we're always going to take seriously any sort of allegations of our policy not being followed," she said.

The class-action part of the lawsuit represented 56,000 Wal-Mart and Sam's Club employees in Minnesota and covered a period from September 1998 through January 2004.

[jb246]

Unforgiven it is horrible how much I spend there...

One thing I noted to my hubby and anyone else that have kids.
Cereal!!! Kellogg brands at Walmart are between $2-$3 for a large box. Last week, Frosted Flakes were on sale, I think the 40 ounces for $2.86!!! In Pathmark the smallest box of Frosted Flakes are $4 bucks :eek: It is unbelievable!!! Also, I pack my coupons :D !!!

I will take the ride to Linden just to get cereal and milk!!! The stores in the 'hood are a big rip-off!!!

A lot closer than Linden. Last exit on 280 right before the turnpike toll plaza. Right off the ramp on the left. Brand New a 100 times larger than the Linden store.

[karimah]

A lot closer than Linden. Last exit on 280 right before the turnpike toll plaza. Right off the ramp on the left. Brand New a 100 times larger than the Linden store.


Please don't send any new customers to the Kearny store, I enjoy the short lines:D

[jazzyken]

I actually prefered going to Linden to to making one stop for almost everything in one stop... target, walmart, shoprite, meat store, SHOE STORES plus pay my ATT bill and get a steak from the steak house. It is VERY unfortunate that the workers had to go thru what they had to... I think Walmart as a whole had its policies in place but individual stores were not enforcing policy which goes for alot of MAJOR corporations... I hope the payout will not increase the prices or decrease in labor :(

[Miss Tam-Tam]

... I hope the payout will not increase the prices or decrease in labor :(

In this economy, Wal-Mart, Sam's Club and Costco are killing. Meanwhile, hedge fund managers are breathing down Whole Foods' neck. Say it ain't so, Cory!!

http://www.dividend.com/blog/?p=626