Wal-Mart Stores raising some wages, capping others

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is raising starting pay at about a third of its nearly 4,000 U.S. stores by an average 6 percent and introducing wage caps for the first time on each type of job in all stores, the company said Monday.

The nation's largest private employer said the changes would help it remain competitive with other retailers and meet a need for workers and managers as it continues to expand.

Wal-Mart has more than 1.3 million U.S. employees.

The announcement comes less than two weeks after Chicago became the largest city in the nation to require big-box retailers to pay a "living wage," despite objections from Wal-Mart and other businesses. Chicago's City Council adopted an ordinance requiring mega-retailers to pay at least $10 an hour plus $3 in fringe benefits by mid-2010. Mayor Richard M. Daley could veto the measure but would need two aldermen to drop their support in order to avoid having his veto overridden.

Gerald Celente, director of The Trends Research Institute in Rhinebeck, N.Y., an independent think tank that follows economic and other trends, said Wal-Mart appeared to be reacting to negative publicity about its pay following the Chicago ordinance.

"The increase in starting salary is a very smart thing to do," Celente said.

Wal-Mart denied any connection to the Chicago vote. The pay increases began before the vote and have taken effect at more than 1,200 stores spread across the country, Wal-Mart spokesman John Simley said.

"It's part of a wider effort that's been under way for more than two years, not related to the Chicago ordinance," Simley said. He said the pay restructuring started in June 2004 when Wal-Mart introduced new classifications for each type of job.