Shoppers jam Lynnway Walmart amid protests

LYNN – Kathleen Cappuccio will spend about $2,000 this holiday season shopping in Walmart for her three young children and other relatives, and she likes to think the retail chain’s workers earn enough money to shop for their families.Anti-Walmart protesters in a statement released Friday said “hundreds of thousands of Walmart workers are paid less than $25,000 a year?” Cappuccio hopes the statistic is inaccurate.”I don’t see how someone could raise a family on that,” the Winthrop resident said.Massachusetts Jobs for Justice Executive Director Russ Davis said Walmart pays low wages and offers employees or “associates” health care benefits not all workers can afford.”It’s pretty unsustainable for a lot of people. Those low prices are low for a reason,” Davis said.Jobs for Justice and other organizations announced 1,500 protests outside Walmart Friday timed to coincide with after-Thanksgiving sales at the stores, including the Lynnway Walmart.Patricia and John Heuskin shopped at the Lynnway Walmart on Black Friday and they don’t buy all the criticism leveled at the retail chain. Their son recently started working at a Pennsylvania Walmart store and Patricia Heuskin said he recently received a raise and store purchase discounts.Walmart workers earn, on average, close to $12 an hour, according to a company statement bearing Walmart corporate communications vice president David Tovar’s name.”The majority of our workforce is full-time, and our average full-time hourly pay is $12.81 an hour. We are also proud of the benefits we offer our associates, including affordable health care, performance-based bonuses, education benefits and access to a 401K,” Tovar stated.His son’s good fortunes aside, John Heuskin aimed one complaint at Walmart Friday.”What I don’t like is they are killing all the small businesses,” he said.The Heuskins estimate they will spend $800 shopping at Walmart this holiday season while Norma Lopez of East Boston estimated on Friday she will spend about $300. She thinks it is important protestors publicly point out wage rates at Walmart but said she has to take advantage of the chain’s low prices.”It’s really comfortable to shop here – you save money,” she said.John Rago of Revere said anyone, including Walmart employees, should feel lucky to have a job. He thinks the store chain is fair to its workers and said he saved $400 by getting his glasses replaced in the Lynn store instead of an eyewear chain’s local store.Jobs for Justice and other protest organizations called on Walmart Friday to “…publicly commit to improving labor standards, including providing workers with more full-time work and higher wages,” a statement bearing Davis’ name said.Tovar in his statement said Walmart wages are “…on the higher end of the retail average,” and said jobs at Walmart lead thousands of employees to promotions and “greater economic security for families.”Cappuccio said she assumes Walmart is subject to the same regulations and oversight that apply to other businesses.”I can’t imagine they don’t treat employees to a certain standard. They must be doing something right,” she said.