“In low-wage sectors, that is going to grow to be one among those issues where persons are leaving low-paying jobs for barely better-paying jobs,” said Bianca Agustin, director of corporate accountability for United for Respect, a nonprofit labor advocacy group. “Given the spread of corporations which have public commitments, I imagine there will probably be some movement on this.”
Walmart, Darden Restaurants, McDonald’s, Home Depot, Hilton, Dollar General and FedEx, which together employ hundreds of thousands of individuals across the country, haven’t said whether they’ll cover travel for out-of-state abortions. A spokeswoman for Walmart, which has 1.7 million U.S. employees, said the corporate recurrently reviews its advantages based on demand from employees, and the corporate is now “taking a look at the evolving federal and state landscape” because it considers its offerings. The remainder of the businesses listed didn’t reply to multiple requests for comment.
“We’re working thoughtfully and diligently to work out the very best path forward, guided by our desire to support our associates, all of our associates,” wrote Doug McMillon, Walmart’s chief executive, in a memo to staff on Friday.
Amazon, the country’s second-largest private employer after Walmart, said it will cover out-of-state abortion travel for its employees, most of whom are hourly employees. But that profit applies to employees on its health care plan, not the contractors who make up a considerable portion of its work force, akin to its vast network of delivery drivers.
Because the list of corporations covering abortion-related travel grows longer, some employees wonder why their employers won’t do the identical. Isabela Burrows, 19, who works at a PetSmart in Howell, Mich., learned that Roe v. Wade had been overturned from a customer last week and grew frustrated that her company hadn’t said anything. Michigan has an abortion ban that has been blocked in court and that Democratic leaders have said they’ll not implement.
