WASHINGTON, DC



Senator Bernie Sanders is once again taking on large corporations, this time taking aim at Walmart. In a new bill titled The Stop WALMART Act, or The Stop Welfare for Any Large Monopoly Amassing Revenue from Taxpayers Act, legislation would prevent large companies—defined as those with more than 500 workers—from buying back stock unless workers were paid a minimum wage of $15, MarketWatch explained. It would also have companies ensure that their CEO’s compensation did not grow higher than 150 times the median pay of its workers.

"The Walton family, the owners of Walmart, are the wealthiest family in America with a net worth of about $180 billion. Meanwhile, most Walmart retail workers are working for horrendously low wages with minimal benefits," Sanders said in a statement to CNBC. "The wealthiest family in America must pay its workers a living wage."

However, Walmart contends that it listens to workers and invests in training, benefits, and wages, according to a CNN Business report.

"We have increased our starting wages by more than 50% in the last three years while also adding new benefits like paid time off, advanced job training, paid family leave, and college for $1 a day," the grocer said in a statement. "In addition, our associates continue to earn quarterly cash bonuses—more than $625 million last year alone."

While CNBC noted that the act may not gain traction due to the fact that Republicans currently control the Senate, as we’ve reported on our sister site AndNowUKnow, Senator Sanders has been a powerful voice in the past. At the beginning of October, after Sanders introduced legislation that would tax corporations for tax burden related to low-wage employment, Amazon raised its minimum wage to $15. The legislation was aptly titled "The Bezos Act.”

Amazon has been a target for President himself, as well. Back in March Trump stated that the company did not pay enough taxes to state and local governments.

In addition to his criticisms of Amazon, Sanders also pinned Disney as a company who does not pay its workers decent wages. Disney responded by giving its employees raises.

"Amazon and Disney did the right thing by raising their minimum wage to $15 an hour," Sanders said in the statement. "Walmart can and must do the same."

Will the mega-retailer follow in Amazon's and Disney's footsteps and boost its own minimum wage? Deli Market News will deliver you the latest.