Ashton Kutcher is speaking up on behalf of every employee at Walmart who believe they are underpaid.
In reaction to the news this week that an Ohio Walmart is holding a canned food drive for its own “associates in need” who can’t afford Thanksgiving dinner, Kutcher scolded the giant retail chain for not paying those associates enough to maintain acceptable living standards.
“Walmart is your profit margin so important you can’t Pay Your Employees enough to be above the poverty line?” Kutcher tweeted earlier this week, along with a link to a Wire article about the issue.
Also read: Ashton Kutcher, ‘Two and a Half Men’ Co-Stars Top Highest-Paid TV Actors List
“It’s unfortunate that an act of human kindness has been taken so out of context,” the Walmart Newsroom tweeted back. “We’re proud of our associates in Canton.”
The exchange between the “Two and a Half Men” star and corporation comes in the wake of 500 people protesting Walmart’s wages outside a Los Angeles store located in Chinatown last week.
On Monday, the The National Labor Relations Board announced it determined that Walmart was responsible for “unlawfully” threatening, disciplining, and/or terminating employees who participated in legal Black Friday strikes last year in more than a dozen states.
If the NLRB can not reach a settlement with the company, the agency has said it is prepared to file a complaint.
See video: James Cromwell Demands That Walmart Stop Pig Torture
Walmart spokesperson Brooke Buchanan told CNN the company is prepared to “defend” itself against the allegations, and added: “We believe our actions were legal and justified.”
It doesn’t sound like Kutcher agrees. Here is the rest of the exchange:
@WalmartNewsroom you should be proud of your associates but I’m not sure if they should be proud of you.
— ashton kutcher (@aplusk) November 19, 2013
@aplusk We know you believe in opportunity like we do & we’d love to talk to you more about it. http://t.co/Mc3ixj3HNa
— Walmart Newsroom (@WalmartNewsroom) November 19, 2013
@WalmartNewsroom you had 17 billion in profits last year. You’re a 260 billion$ company. What are we missing? http://t.co/pZM4qweQIO
— ashton kutcher (@aplusk) November 19, 2013
@DaveooDave We agree Dave – all associates have an expanded 10% discount during the holidays, including food.
— Walmart Newsroom (@WalmartNewsroom) November 19, 2013
@toddro1971 @WalmartNewsroom being responsible to shareholders at the expense of the welfare of your employees doesn’t work.
— ashton kutcher (@aplusk) November 19, 2013
@WalmartNewsroom Walmart does a lot of great things but it needs to be a leader on this issue as well.
— ashton kutcher (@aplusk) November 19, 2013
@aplusk We think you’re missing a few things. The majority of our workforce is full-time and makes more than $25,000/year.
— Walmart Newsroom (@WalmartNewsroom) November 19, 2013
@aplusk Also about 75% of our store management teams started as hourly associates & they earn between $50,000 and $170,000 a year on avg.
— Walmart Newsroom (@WalmartNewsroom) November 19, 2013
@aplusk Lastly, every year, we promote about 160,000 people to jobs with more responsibility and higher pay.
— Walmart Newsroom (@WalmartNewsroom) November 19, 2013
@aplusk We know we can always get better as a company. This year we’ve made providing more opportunities for our associates a top priority.
— Walmart Newsroom (@WalmartNewsroom) November 19, 2013