This was first posted here four years ago today, but is still valid. It’s from AlterNet:
Indeed, Costco’s pay is much, much, much better — a full-time Costco clerk or warehouse worker earns more than $41,000 a year, plus getting terrific health-care coverage. Wal-Mart workers get barely a third of that pay, plus a lousy health-care plan. Costco even has unions!
Yet, Costco’s labor costs are only about half of Wal-Mart’s. How’s that possible? One reason is that Costco workers feel valued, which adds enormously to their productivity, and they don’t leave — employee turnover is a tiny fraction of Wal-Mart’s rapidly revolving door.
Three times the pay but half the labor costs. Imagine that!
If Costco’s worker generosity is so great, why doesn’t Wal-Mart imitate it? – By Liza Featherstone – Slate Magazine