Inside Calexico’s longtime Walmart team
Adrik Vargas
CALEXICO, Calif. (KYMA) – In an industry where employees often come and go, one Calexico store is seeing the opposite.
At the local Walmart Supercenter, more than 200 associates have worked there for over 20 years. About 30 have stayed more than three decades, and Store Manager Oscar Romero is one of them.
He first joined the store as a teenager selling Christmas trees. Now, he oversees more than 500 employees, many of whom he’s watched grow from entry-level associates into long-term careers.
Romero, who grew up in Calexico, says leading with respect has always been his approach.
He remembers shopping at neighborhood stores as a child. Today, he sees his work as giving back to the same community.
That mindset, employees say, has made a difference.
Associate Edgar credits Romero’s leadership for encouraging him to grow within the company after graduating. What started as a job eventually became a management role.
He describes the store as a “home away from home.”
In a small community where relationships run deep, the store has become more than a workplace. It’s a place where coworkers become longtime teammates, and neighbors continue serving neighbors year after year.