The city’s only Walmart store is sponsoring a job fair Friday on the West Side as it continues to reach out to the Black community.
The city’s only Walmart store is sponsoring a job fair Friday on the West Side as it continues to reach out to the Black community. The one-day job fair runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Prosser High School, 2148 N. Long Ave. Job seekers can expect on-site interviews and an opportunity to work for the nation’s largest retailer, said Alderman Emma Mitts, whose 37th ward includes Prosser and Walmart, 4650 W. North Ave. “Ever since Walmart opened a West Side store it has been an economic boom,” Mitts told the Defender. “And this job fair gives residents an opportunity to work for an employer who cares about restoring economic development in underserved communities.” Mitts said applicants should be professionally dressed and bring a copy of their resume. There will be 50 computers on-site for applicants to use to apply for positions. Walmart employees will be available to assist the applicants. According to Steven Restivo, a spokesman for Wal-mart Stores Inc., the average hourly wage paid to employees at its West Side store is $11.77. “Walmart believes in paying livable wages and quite frankly we pay a higher starting wage than most Chicago retailers,” he added. Mayor Richard M. Daley, who joined Mitts at a news conference to promote Friday’s job fair, said since the 2006 opening of Walmart it has been a big benefit to the West Side and Chicago economically. “Eighty percent of the (Walmart) associates are from the West Side and the majority are full-time,” Daley said. “(And) the city has collected more than $4 million in sales tax revenue from the store since it opened.” Daley also said he supports more Walmart stores in Chicago and urged the City Council’s Finance Committee to approve another Walmart proposal at a Friday committee meeting. “In the long run, these stores can help us build a better future for neighborhoods and working families,” added Daley. Copyright 2010 Chicago Defender Photo: Defender/Worsom Robinson
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