from Hacker News

Hackers Leak Walmart’s Guide on How to Silence Workers

by thejacenxpress on 3/10/14, 3:26 PM with 12 comments

  • by bjt on 3/10/14, 4:10 PM

    I went looking for the guide. Couldn't see it linked from the page linked here, so I followed their Gawker link, and couldn't see it there, so I followed the link to occupywallst.org. I couldn't get their embedded PDF viewer to turn pages, so I clicked the raw PDF.

    To save others the trouble, the link is here: http://www.docdroid.net/file/view/86lk/walmart-on-ourwalmart...

    A "Guide on How to Silence Workers" is not a good characterization of this document. From the post title, I expected something like "Here's how you subtly threaten and intimidate people into doing what you want." I don't see anything like that here. There are 13 slides. Several of them depict links between the UFCW, various anti-WalMart organizations, and one consulting group. A couple are pure propaganda along the lines of "Is OURWalMart/UFCW really here to help you? No!"

    One of the organizations listed in the document is the same makingchangeatwalmart.org to which the OP links.

    Maybe there are things about WalMart that one should get outraged about, but this doesn't seem like one of them. There's more heat than light here.

  • by scotch_drinker on 3/10/14, 4:01 PM

    Always lost in these conversations are the hundreds of thousands of people who shop at Walmart because it stretches the meager family budget far enough to allow those low income people a reasonable existence. All else being equal, Walmart would have better work environments and more protections for its workers. But all else isn't equal and higher wages and more protections for the workers will likely result in higher prices which has an immediate effect on the poor and lower class. It's not a vacuum. Walmart is the logical conclusion of the uniquely American desire to pay the lowest price for everything.

    Ironically, those who argue that Walmart is terrible to their workers almost never shop there because they have nice jobs and the ability to choose where to buy their staples.

  • by rthomas6 on 3/10/14, 4:00 PM

    Maybe I missed it, but I don't see the actual guide. And I doubt makingchangeatwalmart.org is an objective source on what it contains. I'd like to see the actual guide, or at least direct quotations from it, so I can make my own judgements.

  • by m52go on 3/10/14, 3:42 PM

    Walmart is disgusting. The bright lights, recent attempts at upscaling their image, and the stupid yellow smiley face are all fronts for what's nothing more than a sweatshop for the unfortunate people who have to work there.

    I avoid it...more people should too.