Federal Way Wal-Mart workers rally for better benefits

By Jacinda Howard • October 30, 2009 3:03 pm
Former Federal Way Wal-Mart employee Kim Quartimon took part in a Walmart Workers for Change event Oct. 26. She expressed her desire to see the corporate company provide more affordable health coverage to its employees. Quartimon and others asked the store's management to 'take off their masks' and help out employees.
Former Federal Way Wal-Mart employee Kim Quartimon took part in a Walmart Workers for Change event Oct. 26. She expressed her desire to see the corporate company provide more affordable health coverage to its employees. Quartimon and others asked the store's management to 'take off their masks' and help out employees.

A small group of current and former Wal-Mart employees rallied for improved employer responsibility from the megastore Oct. 26 in Federal Way.

The group, along with a Harborview Medical Center doctor and union leaders, gathered near the South 314th Street Wal-Mart for a short demonstration. They called for a national health care bill that provides affordable, quality care for all. They also delivered materials to the store manager, asking him to stand up for his employees and fight for better medical coverage.

The event was held with the help of UFCW Local 21, based in Seattle. The men and women who spoke are involved with Walmart Workers for Change. Kim Quartimon, who formerly worked at the Federal Way Wal-Mart Supercenter and whose mother also works for Wal-Mart, said she is upset that the company is raising the prices employees will pay for their health insurance plans beginning in 2010. Quartimon said her mom’s plan will jump from $43 per pay period to $75 for the same period.

“That, to me, says Wal-Mart doesn’t care about their associates,” Quartimon said.

The company says it supports employer responsibility, but has not demonstrated that through its actions, UFSW21 spokesman Tom Geiger said.

Wal-Mart supports its employees and health care reform, said spokesman Greg Rossiter. The corporation is part of the Better Health Care Together coalition, a group urging reform of the U.S. health care system.

“We’ve been a very longtime and staunch advocate for reforming the nation’s health care system,” Rossiter said.

Ninety-four percent of the company’s employees have some sort of health care plan, whether it’s offered through the corporation or another source, he said. Employees have access to plans that can be obtained for as little $9 per month for an individual and $27 for a family, Rossiter said.

When Wal-Mart spokesperson Michelle Bradford was contacted in June, she said medical insurance is offered to full-time and part-time associates, and plans begin at $5 per month. Bradford was unwilling to discuss deductibles or specifics of the plans offered to Wal-Mart employees. Rossiter expanded on Bradford’s comments slightly, saying the higher an employee’s deductible, the lower the premium.

Across the board, the cost for Wal-Mart associates to remain insured will increase come the new year, Rossiter said. The amount of those increases will depend on the employee’s chosen plan, he said. The system currently in place is not sustainable, he said.

“It’s not news to most people that health care costs are rising dramatically across the country,” Rossiter said. “Everyone’s costs are rising.”

This is not the first Walmart Workers for Change event in which Federal Way Wal-Mart employees have participated. Quartimon also spoke at a June 4 rally in Renton. She and her peers hope to unionize and secure higher wages, comprehensive health care coverage and improved working conditions.

“We don’t want Wal-Mart to go away,” Quartimon said in June. “We just want an even playing field.”

Learn more

• Wal-Mart health care coverage: www.walmartstores.com

• Better Health Care Together: www.betterhealthcaretogether.org/homepage

• Walmart Workers for Change: www.walmartworkersforchange.org