Plumbing Huh?

[swake]

Another take I have heard, the stores that closed had employees trying to unionize.

[dbacksfan 2.0]

Another take I have heard, the stores that closed had employees trying to unionize.

I've been seeing that speculation as well. Apparently the Pico Rivera location was the seen of a strike in 2012 and a location in Canada was closed after the employees unionized.

[Hoss]

With the Mexican flea market one mile to the East doesn't help either. Let alone the sketchy apartment complex across from the old Wal Mart at the traffic circle.

I live in Meadowood Acres which is the neighborhood just south of the old Vegas Club.  Lot of older people and lower middle class.  Last time something sketchy happened near me was someone drove by a house and fired some 22 rounds into the window about 3 years ago.  Those people were kicked out of the home by the landlord and the house was boarded up for a bit until it was repaired AND remodeled.

Haven't had a problem since.  Keep in mind though, that kind of stuff happens in South Tulsa too.

[sauerkraut]

Rumors are flying all over the place. If it really was plumbing I'd think they would of told employees and posted a sign to that effect on the door and not close up overnight. My guess is crime and shoplifting is the real reason for the closing. The Wal-Mart had private security in the lot for years and latter hired police on top of the private security and I guess that was still not enough. It was bad they had homeless people hanging around the store overnight, people sleeping in cars. It's too bad because the store was very close to my house I live less than a mile away form the Wal-Mart. My guess is the store is gone and will not re-open. I wonder what happened to the employees at the McDonalds Restaurant inside the store, when Wal-Mart closed up they had to leave to. The one  post above brings up a good point about workers unionizing- but none of the employees I know from that store ever talked about a union. However, Wal-Mart has said on many occasions that any store that trys to unionize will be closed down.

[sauerkraut]

It would be interesting to find out if the other 4 stores that closed had high crime or were in high crime areas, or what the other 4 stores have in common with one another and that will be a clue as to the real reason for the closing. I wonder what Wal-Mart will  say after the 6 months comes and goes? If all 5 stores had problems with crime and shoplifting that would likely be the reason. It is baffling and something I never expected. The company just spent a few million dollars back in 2010 remodeling that Wal-Mart store they installed new fixtures, totally new shelves and racks, new flooring the works- they even re-did the restrooms.

[Breadburner]

If I was losing 60,000.00 a week in Merchandise....I would shut her down too.....

[sauerkraut]

If it really was plumbing it's strange employees only got 4 hours notice, and the public even less notice- they make it sound like to fix the plumbing issue the whole floor would have to be torn up and the system re-done. If crime was a issue one way to help out with that would be to have the store open from 7:am to 11:pm and no longer offer 24 hour service. Much of the crime problems at Wal-Mart were during the overnight hours. I wonder what happened (or will happen) to all the stuff inside the store, how can they load up a full store of goods onto trucks and ship it to where?-  plus  the employees were all let go so who would empty out the store? What about the foods like milk that need to stay cold, other foods have a shelf life and can't stay on the shelf for 6 months that is if they re-open by then. There's a lot of stuff inside the Wal-Mart store from automotive tires to paints to clothes, TV sets, food, and  live fish in the tanks. I have not seen any trucks going in & out of the Wal-Mart store hauling away the inventory.

[AquaMan]

It is apparent you've never worked retail. Or never paid attention. If they are closing the store it will be emptied quickly. Trucks. Big trucks. Warehouses. Merchandizing teams. Moving teams.

I doubt the union stories. They would have the tacit approval of the city and the state for anything damaging to any union. Unions may no longer have dues withheld from state checks. That should tell you something.

Nah. They're making ready for mass migrations from earthquakes.

[sgrizzle]

If I was losing 60,000.00 a week in Merchandise....I would shut her down too.....

81st and Lewis has more theft than Admiral.

[dbacksfan 2.0]

It is apparent you've never worked retail. Or never paid attention. If they are closing the store it will be emptied quickly. Trucks. Big trucks. Warehouses. Merchandizing teams. Moving teams.

I doubt the union stories. They would have the tacit approval of the city and the state for anything damaging to any union. Unions may no longer have dues withheld from state checks. That should tell you something.

Nah. They're making ready for mass migrations from earthquakes.

The Supreme Court of Canada ruled on Friday that Walmart violated Quebec's labor code when it closed a store in the province that had become one of the first Walmarts in Canada to unionize. The ruling's impact on unionization efforts at other Canadian stores may be limited because it took issue with the timing of the closing, in 2005, not the company's right to shut operations. The court sent the case to an arbitrator to determine appropriate remedies, which will probably include compensation for the 190 workers who lost their jobs. Walmart has said it did not close the store because it was unionized. Quebec, a largely French-speaking province, has traditionally been one of the most labor-friendly jurisdictions in North America. Friday's ruling found that Walmart had erred in closing the store during a freeze period, which starts when workers file to unionize and ends when they get a contract, go on strike or are locked out. Quebec law limits employers' ability to change working conditions during the freeze. "Once a union has been certified, you have to negotiate," said Gilles LeVasseur, a professor and labor expert at the University of Ottawa. The retailer did not immediate respond to a request for comment.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/28/business/international/walmart-illegally-closed-union-store-court-says.html?_r=0

[AquaMan]

Oklahoma is about as far removed politically from Quebec as America is from Russia.

It does appear that they are lying about plumbing to disguise their real motives. If it is union busting then their management is worse than I thought. They just raised their own starting wages, Costco has shown a willingness to compete with them in their strongest markets while currently cherry picking current and former Walmart workers promising them higher wages and credit for time served at WalMart. So long to managers whom you invested time and money.

IOW, we are watching the next retail leader succumb to its own sins, just like Sears and Penney's before them. Value your workers, offer them competitive wages, show them a path to career development and you need not worry about unionization in a state like Ok. Its default anti-union. Consider them chattel, force them to work part time to avoid benefits, insure the older workers for investment purposes, abuse your suppliers by forcing them to make inferior products at lower prices etc, etc. ....and you create enemies, encourage unions and invite competitors.

[sgrizzle]

I can see Quebec from my house.

[Breadburner]

They are donating the food to the Tulsa Food Bank....I believe......

[AquaMan]

I can see Quebec from my house.

In between Pittsburgh and Richmond running north-south.

[Conan71]

Here's business insider's take:

http://www.businessinsider.com/wal-mart-suddenly-closes-stores-2015-4

I heard another story yesterday that they were looking at cutting out a layer of management throughout their system. They also cut about 2500 management jobs at Sam's back in January.

Target is also laying of home office personnel.  Must be something in the, uh, water?

http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/news/2015/03/05/target-layoffs-ceo-brian-cornell-samsclub-2010-wmt.html