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American Morning

Former Wal-Mart Worker Speaks Out

Aired June 26, 2002 - 08:19   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: For millions of consumers, Wal-Mart's prices cannot be beat. But there are questions this morning about how the retail giant actually does business. Lawsuits filed in 28 states accuse the retailer of pressuring employees to work and not get paid for it.

Former Wal-Mart worker Elena Lopez is one of the original plaintiffs in what's now a class action suit in Texas. She claims she was asked to miss work breaks, work off the clock, and was not paid properly for overtime.

The company issued this statement. And quoting now, "Wal-Mart as a company is not engaged in a concerted effort to deny people proper compensation." That is a quote.

We asked the company to come and talk about it today. They gave us a few statements from the company, but declined our offer.

In Houston, Elena Lopez and her attorney, Russell Lloyd, are our guests this morning.

Good morning to both of you.

RUSSELL LLOYD, ATTORNEY: Good morning.

ELENA LOPEZ, FORMER WAL-MART EMPLOYEE: Good morning.

HEMMER: Elena, you worked the night shift, essentially, for about a year's time in (UNINTELLIGIBLE), Texas, at the Wal-Mart there. Give us more insight into your story. What happened, and what do you allege?

LOPEZ: The problems were working off the time clock, you know, being asked to do things that you probably didn't get enough time to do during your regular working hour. So when you have maybe somebody walking the floor to let you be released, you would have to wait to let them know, you know, what it is that they want you to do.

They would tell you what it is that you wanted picked up or removed it from your area, your work space, and stuff like that. If it wasn't done before you left, you would ask, they would ask you to clock out and wait to be released. They'd walk the floor and then after they walked the floor, if they found anything they disliked, then they would ask you to please pick it up, you know, or have it done before you left, even though you were already off the clock.

HEMMER: How often did that happen, Elena?

LOPEZ: It happened quite a bit. I mean it happened often, because, in the morning, there were several things that people would leave because they were scrambling around trying to get out of there on time. And not passing your 40 hours is kind of impossible when you have a heavy workload and lack of -- how should I explain this? We were short employees a lot, and we had a high turnover rate there at that one store.

HEMMER: Did you tell management, Elena, about your situation?

LOPEZ: Yes, I did. Several times I came, and most of the employees that worked with me also went. So it was something that they were aware of.

HEMMER: Why not quit and walk away?

LOPEZ: Well, at the time the situation was good for me as far as the hours and working overnight, because I had children to tend to, and I kind of alternated working at night. My husband worked during the day, and it was easier for us at the time.

But eventually that is what I did, because it got to be too much.

HEMMER: Russell Lloyd, we have a statement from Wal-Mart. We read one earlier. I want to give another one that applies specifically to this case. Put it up on the screen now. And quoting now from Wal-Mart, "Whether or not the allegations are proven true, Elena's experience is not representative of the treatment received by all Wal-Mart associates in Texas."

There is a similar case in the state of Ohio, where the reaction was completely the opposite, where employees of Wal-Mart said it's an upstanding company, it's one they're proud to work for. Why is it different, in this case, in Texas?

LLOYD: We've got statements to that effect in Texas, as well. And if you'll take a look at those statements, you'll notice that they're all from presently employed Wal-Mart employees. Wal-Mart has the ability to bring a radio coercion on its employees to obtain their cooperation, and I believe that's what has happened.

All those statements that have been filed, both in Texas and in the other states that we've dealt with, have come from people who are still employed by Wal-Mart and still subjected, we think, to coercion.

HEMMER: Let's just put some common logic into this. Wal-Mart is a company repeatedly in the Fortune 100 top companies in the nation. It appears to get rave reviews from a lot of people who have passed through that way in terms of employment. Could this not just be a case where a large company comes to their employers and says you know what, we work off margin. We need to keep our profit up. If we keep our profit up, you stay employed. You have a job. Does that not serve in a case like this? LLOYD: The fact is the people that they're talking to are the hourly employees, who have the least bargaining power of any people in the work force. They should not be allowed to let the profits of this largest corporation in the world rest upon the backs of their hourly employees by pencil whipping them, by making -- undermanning the stores -- by making them work off the clock, by driving them through their breaks.

The middle management are the ones who are in the worst position. Wal-Mart tells them they have a certain number of hours a week to get the work of the store accomplished during that week. If they go over those hours, they suffer. They get rockets from Bentonville. It's a very tightly organized organization.

Every hour that is clocked in by an associate at Wal-Mart goes directly to Bentonville. So they know what's going on in those stores and a number of those...

HEMMER: Do you think there is evidence to show that there was collusion among managers at Wal-Mart that, indeed, show and make the point that you're making here?

LLOYD: It's a corporate culture. Their official policy is that they're not going to allow people to work off the clock. But they set the situation up so that they have no options. The managers have to get the people to work off the clock. They have to get the work done. The stores are undermanned, and they have no option but to make these people do work off the clock or work through their breaks, because they simply don't have enough people.

HEMMER: Elena, how much money or time do you think you were cheated out of at Wal-Mart?

LOPEZ: The money figure yet hasn't been established, but it will be once the numbers and stuff are together. The hours...

HEMMER: If that's the case, then, what do you hope to accomplish by filing this lawsuit and being a part of it?

LOPEZ: The hours, you know, if I could answer that, the hours are anywhere from three to four hours a week because -- or probably even more -- because of the estimated time of every single day this happening, not only during lunch break, but, like, in the mornings, like when I say that you're clocked out already, and they want you to do other things before you leave.

I would really like to see some of their rules and regulations changed. You know, they have a big, massive rule book that Wal-Mart is supposed to follow as far as open door policy and how they treat their employees, especially the elderly that work for them.

HEMMER: Thank you for your time.

Elena Lopez, former Wal-Mart employee, Russell Lloyd, her attorney, there in Houston, Texas.

Thanks for sharing with us.

LOPEZ: Thank you.

LLOYD: Thank you.

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