One guy was wailing about how he was going to feed his labradoodle. A three thousand dollar dog. He could afford that but he couldn't put anything away for a rainy day?
Walmart pays some of the employees "enough" that they can get food stamps. So, let's look at it, a person with a disability:
- Disability check
- Food stamps
- Medicaid
- Housing assistance
- Occasionally, paid helper (bathing, cooking, housework)
Let me tell you about Walmart, they don't owe anyone a job. They will, and should, hire those they think will be the best fit for the company.
An example, Ron was being very negative yesterday. I took him to the Waffle House. They had a card with attributes they were seeking in an employee. Positive, upbeat, hardworking, reliable... and Ron, even in that mood, laughed and said "They would never hire me" meaning his attitude was such they wouldn't want him.
Me, on the other hand, I could probably get hired.
But from what I have seen Walmart has gone over and beyond in hiring people with disabilities. I have had cashiers in wheelchairs, wearing braces, with severe tremors, etc. I have seen people with intellectual difficulties pushing dustmops around the floor.
They don't owe anyone a job. Especially someone who is already being taken care of by society. If they can find a good fit, they will hire, but there may not be a good fit.
Retail is hard work, I lift, carry, squat, push, pull, reach, and bend all in the first 20 minutes on the job. I move heavy things. I lift carts up in the air. I pull carts. I do a hell of a lot of reaching. I walk and stand constantly. Ron can only do his work because I honestly do the work of both of us. You have to be physical. If you can't, then there's no work for you.
And that is not Walmart's fault, that is just the nature of working retail.
And it is sad, because a lot of these people are suing, and that makes everyone with disabilities look like a bunch of sue-happy Charlies. And that is the last thing "we" should want.
An employer is already hesitant to hire someone with a disability. They worry about liability and ability to perform the job. Now they're going to sue if it doesn't work out?
Let me tell you a story about 2 people we had when we did the deli.
Two of them came with the deli, they had been hired by the previous administration. One was named "Bea". She was obese, lazy, didn't do a lick of work unless you stood over her and told her to. She had arthritis, that I believe, and she used it as an excuse constantly "I need to sit down, my arthritis". She took constant smoke breaks. She took time of with no notice. She was always found sitting down, trying to gossip with the other employees. When she quit on a whim Ron "let" her, and then told her he didn't have a position when she asked to come back. She was "disabled". We were happy to see her go.
Now contrast that with "Jane". Jane had undiagnosed ADD or maybe ADHD. She was always moving, always talking, always working! She was like a hurricane. I loved to see her come in. She was on her feet, working, we would have to tell her to take breaks. She never paid any mind to my moods (remember I was not yet diagnosed), and just did the job with a great attitude. I still miss her. And she was "disabled". But she worked her ass off and earned a place in my heart. She made such an awful job that much easier. She was a right arm. I am still friends with her on Facebook. If everyone had a Jane there would be no employment issues for people with disabilities.
But, the honest truth, the jobs I have done the last 20 years have been very active, physical jobs. There is maybe room for one man in a wheelchair but helping him takes me away from my other work. If he weren't the boss Ron would let "the man in the wheelchair" go. It's inefficient at best.
If we were going to hire someone, it would be someone strong and able to do the work. Who could pick up a case of water without a problem, stock the machines, and help Ron. We wouldn't hire someone with a physical disability if it meant they couldn't do the job (I could see maybe a guy with a bad leg, or one arm, but not much else).
And Walmart shouldn't either. It's not their job to hand out "free" jobs to everyone in a wheelchair. It is the person in a wheelchair's job to harvest some skills that render them employable across a wide range of platforms, and then go get a job doing that.
But retail is often not the place for a person with a physical disability.
Edit to add: Walmart has never gotten an attitude about Ron sitting and waiting in his wheelchair. Unlike another big chain I will not mention, where the greeter told me, quote "You move him. He makes it (the entry way) look bad". Oh, I saw purple after that.
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