## Poverty wages: TJX and BJ’s are heavily reliant on part-time workers, making their median employee pay qualified for goverment food assistance

Two of Central Massachusetts’ highest-paid CEOs run companies where median employees likely qualify for SNAP benefits.

As the region’s top-earning public company CEO, Ernie Herrman, president and CEO of TJX Cos.in Framingham, brought home $23.48 million in total compensation for fiscal 2024. That is a figure 1,565 times that of the company’s median employee compensation, which sat at $15,002.

The TJX median employee compensation is $58 below the federal poverty level. TJX is the parent company for brands like TJ Maxx, HomeGoods, and Marshalls.

Bob Eddy, chairman, president, and CEO of Marlborough-based BJ’s Wholesale Club earned $13.61 million in total compensation in fiscal 2024. As fourth on the highest-paid public company CEO list in the region, Eddy earned 513 times that of his median employee compensation, which is $26,507.

At those pay rates, the median TJX and BJ’s employees would have brought home about $1,250 and $2,209 per month, respectively, both well below the $2,608 maximum monthly income limit for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility for a household of one, according to the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance.

These low wages are by design to keep employees on part-time hours, which reduces the cost of benefits and discourages unionization. Companies, including TJX and BJs, end up employing hundreds of people on government food assistance, turning public disputes over the social safety net – such as President Donald Trump’s suspension of SNAP during the federal government shutdown this fall – into business issues.

“Big corporations and the big employers are the true welfare queens,” said Mariana Chilton, professor of practice at the UMass Amherst School of Public Health and Health Sciences.

BJ’s did not return WBJ’s request for comment regarding its median employee compensation. TJX did not comment directly, instead sending a statement that the company offers a range of supportive services and programs for its employees.

“At TJX, we know our associates bring our business to life, and we aim to support them by making TJX a terrific place to work, providing many career progress opportunities, and maintaining our strong culture,” TJX wrote in its statement.”fostering a positive work environment to help our associates feel welcome, valued, and engaged is core to how we operate, and we believe this encourages many associates to join us not just to find a job, but to build a career.”

## Part-time work, by design

Retail Giants TJX and BJ’s Reveal Anti-Union Strategies

TJX and BJ’s Wholesale Club aren’t shy about their opposition to unions. Their annual reports clearly state their anti-union positions.

BJ’s 2024 annual report states plainly, “None of our team members are represented by a union. we consider our relations with our team members to be good.” However, the report immediately follows this with a warning: “Future union activities, including organizing efforts, slow-downs, or work stoppages could negatively impact our business and results of operations.”

TJX goes into even more detail. The company specifically outlines potential negative consequences of unionization within its operational and strategic risks section. While TJX already has some unionized associates in its U.S. and Canadian distribution centers, the report suggests these unions lead to work stoppages and reduced flexibility due to labor law restrictions.

TJX also reports that if more of its workforce-like its U.S. retail associates-were to unionize, it “may subject us to additional requirements, expectations, actions, or expense.”

These stances aren’t unusual. Many public and private companies with low-wage workers share similar sentiments, according to labor expert Kate Chilton.

“Unions bring people together and build solidarity, allowing them to fight for higher wages and better benefits,” Chilton explained. “The biggest impact of unions is promoting living wage salaries.”

Companies frequently enough rely on a high percentage of part-time workers to discourage unionization. The less time coworkers spend together, the less likely they are to connect and feel empowered to organize.

but these companies can maintain low wages and part-time schedules because they depend on government assistance programs to support their workers.

“Increased profits come from lower compensation, which then puts pressure on the government to prevent poverty and hunger,” said Nathan Meyers, co-author of a recent UMass Amherst SNAP report.”Essentially, the government is subsidizing corporate profits.”

The reliance goes even further. Many large corporations depend on SNAP benefits – food stamps – to help their own employees make ends meet. BJ’s annual report,for example,acknowledges this reliance on federal assistance.