Due to the new US tax law, on Thursday, Walmart announced that they will be giving a raise to their employees along with expanded maternity and parental leave, assistance with adoption expenses, and a one-time cash bonus.
When the announcement was made, these changes wouldn’t be for everyone. They wouldn’t apply to most of the employees that work in Puerto Rico. They also announced a raise for all the workers from Walmart’s sibling chain, Sam’s Club, which was odd for many because recently they closed three stores in Puerto Rico without notice, leaving thousands on the street without a job. When the announcement was made, the governor of Puerto Rico, Ricardo Roselló, asked for the company to reconsider their decision. He expressed that the employees from Puerto Rico should be treated equal to those in the states and declared that this is an example of the inequality Puerto Ricans deal with, seeing as the island is still a US colony. It is important to highlight the fact that Walmart is currently the largest private employer in Puerto Rico with over 50 units which include: 6 Walmart stores, 12 Walmart Supercenters, 11 Sam’s club and 17 Amigo Supermarkets.
Image credit: David Begnaud via Twitter
Another person that spoke up about the situation was David Begnaud. David Begnaud, a CBS correspondent, has been supportive and helpful towards the Puerto Rican people during these past few months. He has been really focused on exposing or daily reality here in Puerto Rico. Shortly after several expressions were made on different platforms about Walmart’s decision to exclude the island, Walmart announced that they would reevaluate the situation, and then they decided to include every employee on the island.