Mustafa Tovi is at the top of a good week. Although he says he doesn’t get emotional easily, Tovi remembers cringing when he got a call from Walmart.
On Father’s Day, Tovi shared a few tears with his family when they learned he was about to be promoted to head of emerging markets at the company he spent decades at .
“It’s a dream come true,” said Tovi, 45. Fortunerecalling that he started as a part-time employee earning $8 an hour.
Tovi remembers the exact date he applied for his first job at Walmart: July 15, 1999. Joining the retail company at the encouragement of his wife (who also worked there), he received the job offer on the same day of application. “I was on top of the world,” he said, noting that the rate was very high for him at the time and better than what other retailers were offering.
Tovi quickly rose through the ranks, becoming a deployment manager just 90 days later, overseeing projects up to assistant manager, then co-manager and finally store manager. He said he met people who cared about him, taught him and led him to new opportunities “and that’s what keeps me going,” he said. Tovi has been a store manager for 16 years now, this year marking his 25th anniversary at Walmart.
Now Tovi makes six figures. He says his base salary is now $168,000, up from $143,000 in 2023. And he has the potential to earn even more thanks to Walmart’s new pay policy.
This winter, Walmart increased base pay for managers and introduced stock plans such as a manager grant of up to $20,000. While Tovi made about $326,000 last year (taking into account a $183,000 bonus), he stands to make up to $524,000 now, according to Anne Hatfield, a Walmart spokeswoman. This includes a potential bonus of $336,000 (up to 200% of his base income if he meets his goals) and the new stock investments.
While the goals aren’t public and Hatfield says it’s “too early to know how many (managers) will meet them,” they say Walmart “rewards store managers for growing their businesses.” As their store’s profits increase, so does their annual bonus.
Fighting a reputation for poor pay
For years, Walmart has tried to shake its reputation for poor working conditions and pay, particularly for hourly employees. America’s largest private employer has long paid many workers so little that they qualify for government assistance: A 2020 Government Accountability Office report named Walmart the top employer of Medicaid enrollees in three states and the top employer of SNAP recipients in five. Despite the company’s billion-dollar valuation, many Walmart employees have yet to receive their share.
“Walmart started paying more not in response to a tight labor market, but in response to competition from fellow retailers and also because it knew it wasn’t paying enough,” said journalist Charles Fishman to ABC News in 2019. “These wages, and this plan, serves Walmart well as competition tightens,” explained the author of The Wal-Mart effect.
And these policies mean Walmart has laid off employees, especially managers. The management job cuts meant more work for those who remained, anonymous employees said. Bloomberg, and legacy systems and the onset of COVID-19 have made the situation worse.
It appears the pandemic has placed some of the power in the hands of workers, forcing large retail or fast food companies to start paying fair, even competitive, wages given staff shortages. As conditions deteriorated in areas often marked by minimum wages, turnover reached particularly high levels, particularly in the hotel and restaurant sectors.
The impact lingers, as chains from Raising Cane’s to Chipotle roll out six-figure salaries. These giants are seeking to improve their retention rates, remain competitive with other chains, and bow to growing pressure from local groups demanding workers receive a living wage during times of high inflation (e.g., California law on the minimum hourly wage of 20 dollars). Paying well, unsurprisingly, has an impact on loyalty. Bloomberg reports that Walmart’s annual manager attrition rate decreased 2% in just one year to 21%, citing Revelio data.
When Tovi started at Walmart, he and his wife were looking to start a family, to achieve a level of financial stability to take that step and buy a home. Fast forward a few decades: “I can say we have three beautiful children today and we own a beautiful home in Plano, Texas,” says Tovi. The couple invested money in various ways, including in real estate, having rented several properties.
Having fled his native Kurdistan for Turkey for a few years before immigrating to the United States in 1991, Tovi says he was “given the opportunity to live the American dream.”
“I thank God every day, I thank Walmart every day because of Walmart, the reason I have what I have today,” he said. Belief in the American Dream appears to have declined in recent times, particularly among younger generations struggling to build wealth and afford housing amid high costs of living and high student loans. Although Tovi doesn’t have a college degree, he says he encourages others to get one. Regardless, there were some victories in the blue-collar world, as UPS workers won a six-figure score thanks to the strength of a collective union and pension.
Retail workers are potentially poised for a long-awaited victory. However, it appears that not all Walmart employees are as poised for success, as a change or flattening of pay structures last year meant that some entry-level employees were earning less than they previously would have. Spokesman Hatfield said Walmart recently announced a new bonus program for associates as well as a new training program to become technicians. “We’ve increased front-line wages by about 30% over the past five years, bringing our average hourly wage in the United States to almost $18,” she says. Yet this is often not enough to survive in this economy, as the Fight for $15 campaign notes; this group and others now say a $20 minimum wage nationwide is a necessity.
That being said, Tovi says his goal is to help spread opportunities to others as well and talks about opportunities for similar career trajectories, noting that in his building alone, four associates have been promoted to manager in the last four month.
Just as others saw potential in Tovi, he finds joy and purpose and does the same for others. He knew he had found his calling when he became a manager because his passion was “giving back to the associates.” He thinks fondly of the success of one of the people he supervises, named Miranda, especially when she learned she had her own opportunity to lead and become a store manager.
“That moment really, really satisfied me because we knew the hard work, the time we put in and the bond we built,” he said, noting that he and Miranda spoke several times a day .
For now, Tovi is tackling his new job title and looking to thrive in the role. His next dream is to become a regional vice president and “become the best I can be at helping others.”
He insists that his story is not unique. “I want to have the opportunity to be where I am,” he said. “With hard work and dedication, anyone can achieve it. »
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com