Wanting Wal-Mart's $12-an-hour jobs(but Maryland Democrats say no way!)

Baltimore Sun ^ | January 20, 2006 | Chris Guy

[sickoflibs]

PRINCESS ANNE // Folks around here aren't too sure about the politics of Wal-Mart up in Annapolis, but there is one thing that pretty much everybody in this Eastern Shore county seat can agree on: 800 jobs at a mammoth retail distribution warehouse would be a boon.

And another thing: $12 an hour is not chump change in Somerset County, Maryland's poorest jurisdiction, which for decades has seen a steady decline in the traditional stalwarts of the local economy, farming and seafood.

Now, a week after the Maryland General Assembly overrode Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s veto of a bill requiring Wal-Mart to spend more on employee health care, residents are waiting for the other shoe to drop - wondering whether the controversy might push the world's largest retailer to put its big distribution center someplace else.

"We have a labor force who work with their hands, and there is absolutely no question that Somerset County needs the jobs," says Sharon Harris, who with her husband, Bill, runs a hardware store here and another in nearby Pocomoke City.

Wal-Mart officials have been talking for more than a year about building a 470,000-square-foot distribution center outside Princess Anne. But last spring, after the General Assembly passed the health care bill, the company said it might wait an additional two or three years before buying a 170-acre property a couple of miles south of town. The company has remained tight-lipped since Democrats overturned Ehrlich's veto last week.

"Right now, we are weighing our options," Wal-Mart spokesman Nate Hurst said after the vote. "This bill certainly sent a message to the business community, and companies like ours are taking a step back and wondering how business-friendly Maryland is." Hurst would not say when the company would decide whether to go ahead with .....

[sickoflibs]

Continued : "....whether to go ahead with plans for the warehouse. Daniel K. Thompson, Somerset County's economic development chief, worked with state officials for two years to lure Wal-Mart. He says that losing the distribution center - which would be located next to one of the county's largest employers, the Eastern Correctional Institution - would be a blow to the region, including Virginia's Eastern Shore"

MY comment : This is typical of democrats to try to get rid of all private jobs and keep these people on welfare, Oh but they care! They also increased the minimum wage by a $1 to make sure plenty of poor voters are on welfare.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-md.vetoes18jan18,1,6341229.story

[harpu]

WalMart needs to pack-up and move just across the borders so that Maryland loses the tax revenue but keeps the Maryland shoppers.

[goldstategop]

Maryland liberals have told the riffraffs to get on welfare and stop looking for affordable consumer goods.

(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")

[FormerLib]

The funny thing is how they stamp their little feet indignantly everytime they do something like this and the negative effects that Bob Ehrlich warned them about come true as a direct result.

[HEY4QDEMS]

"We do not think that anybody in the state should have to give in to corporate blackmail."

No business should have to give in to legislative blackmail.

[FormerLib]

They also need to transfer as many employees as they can to Wal-Mart-owned subsidiary companies until Wal-Mart no longer qualifies to be penalized by this law.

[Youngman442002]

The Elites know what the "little people" need....
They don't need a WalMart with their cheap goods...no..they need to pay more...

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Didn't want you to miss this one. :)

[sinkspur]

They also need to transfer as many employees as they can to Wal-Mart-owned subsidiary companies until Wal-Mart no longer qualifies to be penalized by this law.

A Walton Staffing Services subsidiary would be in order. Fire enough to get below the 10,000, have Walton Staffing hire them all, lease them back to the stores as independent contractors.

[CharlesWayneCT]

The law requires them to spend 8% of their "labor costs" on health care.

If Walmart simply reduced the salary for these jobs from $12 to $10 an hour, their current health care expenditures would meet the law's requirements.

[TruthShallSetYouFree]

and companies like ours are taking a step back and wondering how business-friendly Maryland is

There's nothing to wonder about. The libs in Maryland have made their position on business abundantly clear.

[Gabz]

"We have a labor force who work with their hands, and there is absolutely no question that Somerset County needs the jobs," says Sharon Harris, who with her husband, Bill, runs a hardware store here and another in nearby Pocomoke City.

But, but, but.................I thought the Big Bad Evil WalMart forced all small businesses to shut down..../sarc.

BTW, the Harris' hardware store in Pocomoke city is super!!! But I wouldn't know about it if a WalMart Associate had not suggested I check there for something WM didn't have.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

With every Wal-Mart bashing article I read, my desire to work for Wal-Mart grows and grows. ;)

Watch for the Wisconsin libs to try something like this. They haven't made any in-roads lately, and we do have one and possibly two new Wal-Marts coming to town (with a few hundred jobs each at $11/hour) but their blind hatred leads them; not their sense of economic development.

You really nailed it when you said, "This is typical of democrats to try to get rid of all private jobs and keep these people on welfare, Oh but they care!"

[Gabz]

LOL!!! GMTA, I just pinged you to this :)

[Emmett McCarthy]

Which, to the leftie's way of thinking, makes those unwanted results Erlich's fault. Maryland is a beautiful state and many, if not most, folks in rural Maryland are sensible folks. Sadly, their legislature is dominated by the lefty Democrats from the Baltimore-Washington area. That's one of the main reason I'm grateful not to live there anymore. Over there on the Eastern Shore, Wal-Mart can choose to put this distribution either in Virginia or Delaware with no logistical difference to speak of, so why would they put it in Maryland with this kind of threat hanging over their heads?

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Nice to see you! Haven't heard from ya much at our other hang out lately...I haven't been there much either; too much actual WORK to do lately, d@mmit! ;)

[3AngelaD]

As a resident of Virginia, I certainly hope my state's economic development gurus are already on their way to Arkansas to court Walmart. We could use those $12 an hour jobs in many of our rural and semi-rural areas. Walmart should take Maryland's hint and close down its operations there as its leases expire, and relocate right on the Maryland/Virginia border, and perhaps Delaware. Why go where you're not wanted?

[Graybeard58]

The bill, crafted by Democrats, requires companies with 10,000 or more employees in Maryland to spend 8 percent of their payroll on health benefits, a mark met by the state's other large employers.

This is misleading or I have read wrong accounts of the situation. What I have read is that while there may be other "large" employers in the state, Wal-Mart is the only one with more than 10,000 employees and therefore the only one that this law will affect.

[irishlass]

I live in Wicomico County which is next door to Somerset County-and believe me-Somerset County could use these jobs. The sad part is, the State of Delaware is very business friendly and is only about 1/2 hour away-thus, these jobs could easily end up in Delaware which would serve the libs right.

[Graybeard58]

Watch for the Wisconsin libs to try something like this.

I don't have a list of the states but I have read that there are 30 states considering similar laws.