More Than 17K NJ Walmart Employees To Receive Raise

From Walmart:

Walmart and Sam’s Club associates in the U.S. – including more than 17,900 in the state of New Jersey – will receive a raise in their paycheck Thursday, March 10 as part of the largest, single-day, private-sector pay increase ever, more than 1.2 million. The increases are a component of the company’s two-year, $2.7 billion investment in higher pay, better training, clearer career paths and additional educational opportunities for its workers.

Walmart associates are eligible for quarterly cash bonuses based on the performance of their store. Walmart associates across the country earned more than $550 million in bonuses for the full fiscal year, including $12,367,903 in New Jersey. The March 10 paycheck for eligible New Jersey associates will include a share of more than $3,624,000 in bonuses earned in the fourth quarter of the year alone.

“I’ve been with Walmart for 21 years, and these are the biggest changes I’ve ever seen,” said Heike Miller, an hourly associate at the West Berlin Store and a Camden County resident.

Walmart’s associate investment is about more than wages and benefits; it is designed to provide associates the skills, knowledge and tools associates need to grow with the company and provide great customer service. The company is also creating new training programs, which will create clear career paths from entry-level positions to jobs with more responsibility and higher pay.

According to Devang Patel, an assistant manager at the Princeton store, the new offerings provide more options for associates looking to expand their careers.

“I joined Walmart because of the growth potential,” said Patel, who joined the company in 2014 after a stint in marketing and earning an MBA in finance from the University of Worcester in the United Kingdom. "Now, with the new pay and promotion structure, the opportunities are even greater.”

The recently announced changes have had a profound effect for Danniel Vivar, a support manager at Walmart’s Kearny store that started at the company as an overnight associate.

“Morale has improved, and our associates are feeling even more appreciated,” said Vivar, who also joined Walmart in 2014. “We’re also quite proud that our customer services scores have been rising during the past several months.”

The county-based pay-raise breakdown is as followed: 585 associates in Atlantic County (two stores); 1193 associations in Bergen County (three stores); 1012 associates in Burlington County (four stores); 1158 associates in Camden County (four stores); 285 associates in Cape May County (one store); 862 associates in Cumberland County (three stores); 1430 associates in Gloucester County (four stores); 2296 stores in Hudson County (four stores); 211 associates in Hunterdon County (one store); 762 associates in Mercer County (three stores); 2056 associates in Middlesex County (seven stores); 989 associates in Monmouth County (three stores); 1195 associates in Ocean County (four stores); 182 associates in Salem County (one store); 792 associates in Somerset County (three stores); 579 associates in Union County (two stores) and 299 associates in Warren County (one store).

A job at Walmart means competitive pay for all associates. Walmart U.S. and Sam’s Club promoted more than 200,000 associates in 2015, including 4,328 in New Jersey, to jobs with higher pay and more responsibility. Additionally, more than 150,000 associates, including 1,947 in New Jersey, were converted from part-time to full-time.

Associates hired before Friday, Jan. 1 will earn at least $10 per hour. New, entry-level associates hired after that date will continue to start at $9 per hour and will move to at least $10 per hour after successfully completing Pathways, the Walmart's new retail skills and training program. The new, full-time average wage for New Jersey’s Walmart associates is $13.83 per hour. Associates already earning more than $10 per hour will see their annual pay increase starting in March rather than waiting until their anniversary date.

Walmart is raising the starting rate of its non-entry-level hourly pay bands. Anyone earning below the new minimum will automatically move up to the new minimum. Associates at or above their pay band maximum will receive a one-time, lump-sum payment equal to 2 percent of their annual pay.