NATIONWIDE — Today, in response to Walmart’s release of their 2019 ESG Report, Cyndi Murray, United for Respect leader and an associate who has worked at Walmart for 19 years, issued the following statement:

“Too many people who work at Walmart are stuck in part-time, low wage jobs. Conveniently, Walmart would like to focus on how much store managers get paid, but about half a million associates are stuck in part-time positions and being left out of the equation. I work full-time at Walmart, I’ve been here for 19 years, and even I don’t make $15 an hour. This has to change.”  

Contrary to today’s news, Walmart associates report that full-time hourly jobs — and the job security, healthcare and family leave benefits that typically accompany them — are out of reach for many at Walmart, especially for people of color. A 2018 report by United for Respect found that Walmart’s part-time workforce has been growing and that there is a deepening divide between who does and doesn’t succeed at Walmart and other corporations, based on the hours they receive. According to a survey of over 6,000 associates at Walmart, people of color are more likely to be involuntary part-time, with four out of five part-time Black, Latinx and Asian associates saying they would prefer to work full-time.

While competitors like Amazon, Costco and Target have publicly committed to raise wages to as much as $15/hour, Walmart’s base pay is only $11/hour. At 34 hours a week — Walmart’s definition of full-time work — full-time associates receiving Walmart’s base pay make about $19,000 a year, below the federal poverty line for a family of three. Meanwhile, about half of Walmart’s 1.5 million U.S. employees are part time and have few opportunities to access to full time work.