Dive Brief:
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The majority of New Yorkers want a Wal-Mart store, but there's a catch, according to a new survey released on Monday by Quinnipiac University.
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While 55% of New York City residents say they want policymakers to allow a Wal-Mart store (and 39% oppose one), the same percentage also say the retailer should pay its workers better. The poll of 1,108 New York City voters was taken between July 30 and August 4 and has a margin of error of 2.9 percentage points.
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The same poll found that 65% of New Yorkers believe that ride-hailing company Uber is being limited by city officials because of pressure from taxi drivers. Some 47% oppose efforts to limit Uber while 40% support limitations.
Dive Insight:
A great majority of New Yorkers (64%) say they’d shop at Wal-Mart if one were nearby. But while this Quinnipiac poll found support for having a Wal-Mart and shopping at a Wal-Mart, there’s also strong support for the retailer to pay its workers a living wage.
The retail giant recently did raise its hourly pay, but, of course, New York City wages would likely be higher in order to quality as a living wage. That would take an approach more like that of Ikea, which employs the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s living wage calculator in deciding how to pay its workers. The method takes into account prevailing wages and cost of living in various regions of the country.
The point is likely moot, for both Wal-Mart and Uber. City officials, including the mayor, have opposed the retail stalwart and the disruptive upstart in what they say is an effort to protect good jobs and small businesses—something many New Yorkers, for all their grumbling, likely agree with as well.
