In case you thought it was time to give Wal-Mart a break, or give them the benefit of the doubt...
Found this HuffPo story on the Twitter:
Ex-Walmart Greeter Jan Sullivan Loses Job, Home After Being Attacked By Customer
Jan Sullivan, 73, of St. Augustine, Florida, is moving into a mobile home after being fired from her job as a greeter at Walmart over an altercation with a customer on Black Friday last year, the Tampa Bay Times reports. Sullivan was fired from the employer she called her "home" and "family" for 22 years, three days after she reportedly grabbed a customer's sweater in response to the customer shoving her.
After sending out dozens of unsuccessful job applications, Sullivan has been forced to sell her home. Making matters worse, she’s not entitled to unemployment benefits either because she was fired for “misconduct.”
Wow.
An earlier article in the Tampa Bay Times fleshes out the story a little more with some more background. Walmart clams Jan Sullivan "clearly violated company policy". They remorselessly fired a woman who said that "Walmart was like my home, like my family."
Walmart purposely fought her application for unemployment benefits and government help.
Walmart had presented the state with a handful of grainy images taken from a video recording, Sullivan says. They show her gripping the woman's sweater, but don't explain what led to it. She has never seen the video.
Sullivan has contacted at least three law firms. Only one called back, to say they couldn't help.
Wal-Mart not only fires this 73-year old lady who had worked for the company since about 1989, but they call it "misconduct" because she was trying to defend herself when a customer pushed her in the Black Friday Chaos. Now she has lost her home, and greedy Wal-mart couldn't care less, as long as the profits keep rolling in.
This is also a reminder that we vote with our dollars. Wal-Mart only exists because people shop there. Every dollar spent at Wal-Mart enables this kind of abuse of workers. Wal-Mart worker abuse stories are also a look at what the working world would be like without unions. You would think that 22 years of service to Wal-mart would give Jan Sullivan some job security, but not in today's corporate-ruled world.
This is so wrong, and is only one of numerous cases of worker abuse at the hands of greedy Wal-Mart. And they get away with it. Again and again. If corporations like Wal-Mart really were people, then maybe they would have a little human decency and compassion for an elderly woman who is now in dire straits because of Wal-mart's action.
Join me in boycotting Walmart for this and other abuses. We need to spread this story, and hit Wal-Mart in the wallet, the only language corporate fatcats understand. Not one more penny at Wal-Mart. Not one more dollar for this greedy company who used this woman's hard work for 22 years and then threw her away when it was convenient.