Demos on Walmart's Pay Raise

In response to Walmart's announcement to raise the wage for 500,000 employees, Demos Senior Policy Analyst Catherine Ruetschlin issued the following statement:

"Today is a big win for workers who have been on the frontline rallying for livable wages.  It’s also a win for those of us who have been calling for companies to make investing in their workforces a core management strategy. When a company invests in its workers, it sees returns on those investments. Walmart is the nation’s largest employer, and it’s a step in the right direction when they acknowledge that the low-wage economy is bad for both workers and corporate profits. 

Demos' research has shown that the company could shift the $6.6 billion they used on share buybacks to raise the wages of the 825,000 lowest paid workers by more than five dollars an hour, bringing these workers above the poverty line. So while this is a significant victory, it is imperative that Walmart continue to listen to its workers as they call for living wages and fair scheduling practices."

Additional Materials:

• Retail Politics How America’s Big-Box Retailers Turn Their Economic Power into Political Influence
• Retail's Choice: How Raising Wages and Improving Schedules for Women in the Retail Industry Would Benefit America
• Retail's Hidden Potential: How Raising Wages Would Benefit Workers in the Industry and the Overall Economy