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letters | WALMART REACHES OUT TO VETERANS

Job offer amounts to a hollow promise

RE “IS Walmart’s offer good for veterans?” by Juliette Kayyem (Op-ed, Jan. 17): This month Walmart announced plans to hire 100,000 veterans over the next five years. With praise from the first lady and impressive statistics that retail supports 1 in 4 jobs, it’s hard not to applaud the company. Walmart claims it will hire every military veteran who wants a job. But in fact, the offer applies only to veterans within 12 months off active duty. What about the thousands of other veterans who can’t find jobs?

What’s more, the veterans Walmart employs would receive low wages and negligible benefits. According to Kayyem, as many as 80 percent of Walmart employees could be on food stamps. The company’s offer seems like a hollow promise.

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Walmart’s president talks about supporting our veterans, but this isn’t the solution. Small paychecks won’t improve one’s long-term standard of living. Veterans deserve substantial, long-lasting jobs that support them.

Tori Chitwood
Dallas