Wal-Mart workers in Tennessee need social help to pay health care costs

One out of four Wal-Mart workers in Tennessee have to go to the state's social authorities to get their health care costs paid. A survey by TennCare and the state Department of Labor, quoted at the AFL-CIO website, found 9,617 of the retailer’s 37,000 workers were enrolled in TennCare, designed to provide health care for low-income workers.

Normally, in the United States, workers and their families are covered by health insurance paid by their employers, established by collective agreements. Wal-Mart is a notable exception, denying large numbers of workers these benefits. As the company also pays sub-standard wages for short working hours, workers have to rely on social benefits. This indirect public support for what is the largest company in the world has generated much criticism and irritation among tax-payers in the United States.

In a recent advertising campaign, Wal-Mart claimed its wages and health care benefits provide its workers with a good standard of living and quality health care. A 2004 study in California found Wal-Mart workers who qualified for various forms of public assistance cost the state about $32 billion.