The Anti-Wal-Mart

MANIFESTO

Here is an amazing story about Jim Sinegal, the founder and CEO of Costco. In an age where the bottom line means anything, he is a man that refuses to take advantage of his employees for the sake of profits. Costco ranks 29th in the country for annual revenue, yet he only takes a salary of $350,000 plus bonuses. (He is worth over $150M thanks to stock holdings.)

"I just think that if you're going to try to run an organization that's very cost-conscious, then you can't have those disparities. Having an individual who is making 100 or 200 or 300 times more than the average person working on the floor is wrong."

He pays his employees well, offers health care (including dental), retirement plans, and has no problem with worker unionization.

The Teamsters union...represents 14,000 of Costco's 113,000 employees. "They gave us the best agreement of any retailer in the country," said Rome Aloise, the union's chief negotiator with Costco. The contract guarantees employees at least 25 hours of work a week, he said, and requires that at least half of a store's workers be full time.

What is incredible is that people actually criticize this man and the way he runs his company. In an era when working Americans are being squeezed like never before by corporations and corporate-thinking, this man is making a difference. And he still manages to sell industrial-sized mayonnaise for pennies on the dollar.

Mr. Sinegal...rejects Wall Street's assumption that to succeed in discount retailing, companies must pay poorly and skimp on benefits, or must ratchet up prices to meet Wall Street's profit demands...Good wages and benefits are why Costco has extremely low rates of turnover and theft by employees, he said. And Costco's customers, who are more affluent than other warehouse store shoppers, stay loyal because they like that low prices do not come at the workers' expense. "This is not altruistic," he said. "This is good business."

Now that I am moving to Brooklyn, I'm am thrilled that I will have a Costco so close. I will happily give this company and this man my money. By standing up to Wall Street analysts who only care about stock prices, he is doing his part to make America better. He is truly one of the great American businessmen.

I always feel guilty shopping at WalMart and hereby vow never to spend my money there again. They are a hateful company that exploits its workers to almost unprecedented levels for the sake of the bottom line. I used to grit my teeth and just buy my stupid $9 DVD. Now I'm going to Costco. (I'm hoping some of you reading will join in my crusade.)

Costco and Jim Sinegal are challenging the notion that to make money, you have to screw your workers over. He and his company deserve our patronage and our respect.