300 Walmart Associates on Maui Get Pay Raise

Walmart, Kahului. 2014 file photo by Wendy Osher.

As part of the largest single-day, private-sector pay increase ever, more than 3,800 Walmart and Sam’s Club associates in Hawaiʻi, including more than 300 associates on Maui, will receive a pay raise in their March 10 paycheck.

The increases are part 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.

As of February 2016, the new full-time average hourly wage in Hawaiʻi is $15.38 an hour and $11.68 an hour for part-time associates.

In Hawaiʻi, the company operates 12 retail units including 10 Walmart stores (one in Kahului on Maui), and 2 Sam’s Clubs.  Representatives say the company spent $290.1 million with local suppliers, supporting 8,959 supplier jobs in FYE 2015.

Walmart also paid $21.5 million in taxes and collected $53.4 million on behalf of the state of Hawaiʻi as part of transactional sales of taxable goods and services for FYE 2015.

Walmart associates are eligible for quarterly cash bonuses based on the performance of their store. For the full fiscal year, Walmart associates across the country earned more than $550 million in bonuses, including more than $2.3 million in Hawaii. In addition to the higher wages, the March 10 paycheck for eligible Hawaii associates will include a share of the more than $890,000 bonus earned in the fourth quarter of the year alone.

“Receiving the increase is a great thing,” said John Bingaman, Department Manager for Health & Beauty Aids at the Honolulu Walmart on Keeaumoku St. “I’ll be able to put more into my 401K and stock benefits that Walmart provides.”

A job at Walmart means competitive pay for all associates. Last year, Walmart U.S. and Sam’s Club promoted more than 200,000 associates, including more than 700 in Hawaiʻi, to jobs with higher pay and more responsibility. In addition, more than 150,000 associates, including more than 400 in Hawaiʻi were converted from part-time to full-time.

This month’s pay changes include:

• All associates hired before Jan. 1, 2016 will earn at least $10/hour. In Hawaiʻi, where the starting wage is higher, all Walmart associates earn at least $10 an hour.
• New entry-level associates hired after Jan. 1 will continue to start at $9/hour and will move to at least $10/hour after successfully completing the company’s new retail skills and training program known as Pathways.
• Associates already earning more than $10/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% of their annual pay.