Several speakers at Wal-Mart's annual shareholder meeting knocked the company's pay for store workers, including one woman who accused the retailer of retaliating against her store and others after they spoke out for a wage increase.
The criticisms came during the shareholder proposal segment of the meeting, which Wal-Mart streams online and routinely hosts with much fanfare, including celebrity appearances and performances.
Wal-Mart, in a statement, noted it has invested more than $1 billion in its associates "including raising wages, creating new training programs and giving associates more control over their schedules."
Venanzi Luna addressed the crowd at Bud Walton Arena to propose a change that would allow an independent chairman on the company's board of directors. It was revealed later in the meeting that that proposal and four others from shareholders had failed to pass.
Luna said she is an employee at a Pico Rivera, Calif., Wal-Mart that closed abruptly this year for six months to fix plumbing problems. She said she believes that closure — and others like it — were retaliation after workers organized a strike to push for $15 an hour pay and full-time schedules.
Luna said workers were given only a five-hour notice of the closure and were told their old jobs and pay could not be guaranteed when it reopens.
"If Wal-Mart executives are not punishing us, then they should promise us right here right now that they'll reinstate us when our store opens," she said. "That's the right thing to do."
Jeff Gearhart, Wal-Mart's executive vice president for global governance and corporate secretary, replied that the 2,200 workers from the temporarily shuttered stores were given 60 days of pay and that some 1,400 of them have been offered jobs at other Wal-Mart locations.
"Look, that doesn't change that we're concerned about them and we're concerned about running great stores," he said after Luna's speech. "Our goal is to get all of these five stores back open by Christmas and have them operate in a way in which we and you will be proud."
Other speakers during the shareholder proposals also criticized Wal-Mart for low worker wages.
Mary Watkins, who works at a store in Washington, called for the $15 an hour minimum.
"The Walton family receives billions of dollars in dividends from our company each year," she said. "Yet, tens of thousands of associates receive so little each year that they are eligible for food stamps. That's a double standard and that has to stop."
Cynthia Murray, meanwhile, asked for a change that would allow long-term shareholders to nominate up to a quarter of the board representatives.
She acknowledged that Wal-Mart has in recent weeks announced pay increases for associates, but said that's only a start.
"For three years, we have been standing up for better pay and more hours and finally we have gotten results," she said. "So if you are one of the associates included in the recent announcement, congratulations, you deserve the wage increase. But we are not finished. We are going to keep working until all associates get what they need to support their families and serve our customers. That starts with getting Wal-Mart to publicly commit to paying at least 15 dollars an hour and providing a consistent full-time schedule for every associate that wants one."
Brian Nick, a spokesman for Wal-Mart, noted the more-than $1 billion investment in its workers.
"In addition, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation have made a $100 million, five-year commitment, to help entry-level workers build new, in-demand, skills," he said in a written statement. "In addition to raising wages, we'll continue to provide an opportunity ladder for our associates to climb as they develop new skills to enhance their careers.”