by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
Citizen Journalist
Word out of Bentonville, Arkansas, is that Walmart, the
world’s largest retailer, is preparing to offer insurance benefits to the
same-sex partners and spouses of their employees. The corporation, which got its start as a
five-and-dime in rural northwest Arkansas, has a long history of
ultra-conservative positions, so this sudden change-of-heart is reverberating
loudly across the Walmart community of employees as well as the nation.
Walmart, the bell cow of the Fortune 500, is a bit late in coming to the game. Over sixty-percent of the member corporations
of that elite group already offer domestic partner benefits. A Walmart corporate spokesman noted that of
its thirty primary competitors, all but two (Publix and Stop and Shop)
already offer benefits to same-sex partners and spouses.
Walmart is the second
largest employer in the United States, only trailing the federal government in
total number of employees. The Walmart
workforce within the United States exceeds 1.3 million. Those employees who have been with the
company for over a year and work an average of thirty hours or more per week
qualify for insurance benefits.
A spokesman for Walmart said that domestic partners, married
or unmarried, are qualified for the insurance benefits as long as they have
been together exclusively for twelve months – and that no proof is required for
enrollment.
One has to wonder how the denizens of Tea Bag Nation, many
of whom view their frequent visits to the local Walmart as near-religious
experiences, will react to this heresy.
1 comment:
It takes some people much too long to accept reality, but celebration is still in order when they finally do get there!!
Post a Comment