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National Labour Board
backs workers, says Wal-Mart illegally threatened to cut bonus to block
organising
Wal-Mart managers in College Station, Tex., illegally threatened employees with loss of their "stakeholder bonuses" and termination in March in response to the workers' efforts to form a union, the National Labor Relations Board alleges in a sweeping complaint issued August 30. "In College Station, Wal-Mart unleashed its full bag of tricks, threats and promises straight out of its corporate anti-union manual on a group of discount store employees who just wanted to improve their working conditions," said Michael E. Leonard, who is directing the support of the United Food & Commercial Workers Union for Wal-Mart employees. "What is significant about this complaint is that for the first time the NLRB has understood the central roles that threats concerning profit-sharing bonuses and promises of promotions play in Wal-Mart's anti-union program," the union vice president continued. "This complaint shows the government is getting really serious about Wal-Mart's flagrant violations of workers' rights." According to the NLRB, its investigation of workers' charges found that managers at store # 1150, 1815 Brothers St., College Station, had: Illegally threatened employees would lose their "stakeholder bonus" for signing union cards. (Stakeholder bonus is Wal-Mart's term for a store-level profit-sharing program.) Unlawfully predicted a loss of bonuses if the union was successful, and stated that the union would cost the company money and could reduce bonuses. Unlawfully restricted employees from soliciting for the union, and falsely telling them they could be terminated if they continued. Illegally promised an employee a future with the company if he did not solicit for the union, falsely told him it was illegal to solicit on company property and unlawfully threatened him with discharge. Wrongfully asked an employee to spy on other employees' union activities. Illicitly interrogated employees about the union, and asked employees to discover and tell management about the union sympathies of co-workers. Wrongfully refused to allow employees to solicit during breaks or meal times and was grounds for termination. Unlawfully solicited an employee to stop the union organizing. Illicitly promised an employee consideration for a management trainee position if he "stayed out of trouble". Illegally told an employee "he shot himself in the foot" for discussing the union with management. Unlawfully created an impression that managers were keeping an eye on employees' legal union activities in the lunch room. The complaint names store manager Larry Beavers, two assistant managers and the store's personnel manager as having committed the unfair labor practices. But, Leonard noted, "Bentonville's so-called Labor Team calls all the shots, leaving store-level managers to take the heat for the Home Office's dirty work." An administrative law judge will hear evidence presented by the NLRB at a hearing to be scheduled soon. |
