Walmart gets busted here for essentially trading on employee misery to raise money for the company’s PAC. Walmart matchestheir contributions 2-for-1 to the company fund for employees facing hardships A debate is underway at the federal level on whether this is legal.

In the meanwhile, you can figure where most of the incentivized Walmart employee PAC contributions go — to Republican candidates. There are exceptions, including U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor. Perhaps Tom Cotton would like to complain about this practice.

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In response, the group Our Walmart released a statement from Walmart employee Barbara Gertz,”What Walmart workers really want is for the company to publicly commit to pay better wages and provide steady hours that let us support our families. Many of us can’t pay for groceries or afford rent. Today’s news is further proof that Walmart is determined to spend millions to support politicians who vote to cut food stamps and who oppose increasing the minimum wage, instead of focusing on creating good jobs in our communities. It’s upsetting to hear that Walmart not only exploited the associates in critical need fund to push a political agenda that hurts ordinary Americans, but it also may have done so in violation of federal election laws. This is just the latest example of Walmart acting as though it’s above the law.”

FEC commissioners are deadlocked on whether the practice is illegal or not, but Walmart’s practice of offering 2 to 1 charity donations in exchange for employee donations has caused current and former FEC commissioners to call the practice illegal and over the line.

Walmart is essentially forcing employees to make a political contribution in order to get hardship assistance for their fellow workers who are destitute because of the company’s practice of paying starvation wages.

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