I worked for Walmart over the summer last year as a dairy/frozen associate. Management decided to cut off a lot of hours for a couple of weeks, which resulted in weekends being short handed in the back since almost everyone was called up to the registers. The truck unloaders who worked in the back were also part of the group who were scheduled to get off work early as well.

One weekend, two trucks came in late and there was no one in the back to unload the truck. One of the assistant managers (really weird lady) found me and told me to help them unload a truck. However, I told her I wasn't sure I could handle it because I've never done it before, and I was really bad at controlling a normal pallet jack. She said I was strong enough, so I just went to make her shut up. Usually in this situation, my boyfriend (who worked as grocery department manager) would do it for me because he knew I wouldn't be able to handle it. I also had trouble pulling really full carts as well.

There were probably about two other women who were there with me. I went first into the frozen/dairy foods truck and was told to take the highest stacked pallet (all gallons of juices). Keep in mind that the frozen and dairy trucks have a divider to separate the frozen from dairy. However, near the divider, the truck floor tends to get icy.

Right when I pulled, I lost control of it due to the ice and the slight angle the truck was on. It was too heavy for me to stop it and it just pushed me against the truck wall and slowly built its weight against my body. I panicked when I heard the back pop and couldn't breathe. I tried to cry and scream, but I couldn't really get air in. It kept getting heavier until someone finally noticed and tried to push it off me. He only did it enough to where I could start crying, but after I cried people heard and two other guys ran to help.

The same manager who told me to unload the truck hugged me and kept calling me "baby" and those kind of names while she tried to calm me down. It was extremely frightening the whole time because I felt really helpless with all the weight on me. I was dumb and never filled out a report until a week later, but it was already too late.

They still made me work the rest of that shift, but I spent most of it hiding in the dairy fridge and sitting on empty milk crates while I tried to calm down. I turned my two week notice in soon after the incident. It was scary being around stacked pallets, though. I didn't get hurt except for an achey back for a week. I just really wish she would have listened when I told her. I'm sure if I was stronger and knew how to control/what to expect, I would have been able to unload it just fine... But I didn't, and I let her know.

My friend also almost had a whole pallet of juices fall on him. The whole thing was tilting towards him and he just ran right before it all fell down. Scary.

My boyfriend (who still works there) told me that the same manager was let go a few months back. Not sure why.