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Wal-Mart's harassment
campaign keeps workers out of UFCW Wal-Mart has once again shown how far it is prepared to go to stop its workers from joining a trade union. In Loveland, Colorado, the 18 workers of Wal-Mart's Tire & Lube Express did not dare to vote for union representation after management had put extreme pressure on this little workplace. At the same time as CEO Lee Scott was smiling himself up in front of fellow managers in Los Angeles, union busting experts from the Bentonville headquarters were at it in Loveland. Transfers of workers to stack the cards for the election, anti-union videos, and personal 'discussions' were on the Colorado agenda, rather than a plush lunch as in Los Angeles. Wal-Mart violates ILO Conventions In stark contravention with the international labour conventions which guarantee freedom of association and collective bargaining, Wal-Mart has once again shown how arrogant it is towards its own workers. When Lee Scott accused the unions for demanding high wages, he was talking about workers who earn 10 dollars or less, 700,000 of whom are also deprived of health insurance for themselves and their families, and who often have access only to a limited number of working hours, further cutting their incomes. The truth is that Wal-Mart employs working poor, and clearly wants to go ahead doing this. To say that retail workers in unionised stores are too well paid for Wal-Mart to afford is also not serious. These are not high-wage earners but people who can make a decent living through their work, feed and house their families, go to the doctor when necessary, and send their children to school. Wealthy owners and management, workers and families get social assistance In this light, there is no moral rectification to Scott's and Wal-Mart's approach. The main owners, the Waltons, regularly top the list of the wealthiest Americans. Scott himself takes home a considerable compensation for what he is doing. The talk about doing a favour to the consumers, many of whom support Wal-Mart also through their tax money when paying medical costs for uninsured workers' children, sound hollow. - In a ten-day period, Wal-Mart compiled a virtually unmatched public record of abusive, illegal and irresponsible conduct involving women, children and taxpayers, UNI Commerce affiliate UFCW says. - These most recent reports come on top of Wal-Mart already facing the largest sex discrimination lawsuit in history, court convictions for forcing employees to work without pay, and government complaints for the illegal firing and intimidation of workers for exercising workplace rights. - In Canada, Wal-Mart is closing a store and taking away the livelihoods of almost 200 workers rather than comply with the law providing a fair and impartial process to reach a contract with workers. At the Same time, Scott is quiet about all of this and attacks UFCW instead, for trying to organise their workers. Doors to New York closed for Wal-Mart No wonder that the people of New York want the Bentonville retailer to stay out, as do communities all over the United States. The contractor who was going to build a Wal-Mart store in Queens, New York, has now pulled out of the deal, keeping the company out at least for the time being. On the world level, things are not that good either. Two important operations, in Germany and Japan, do not really look to be taking off, and Wal-Mart has already lost a lot of money and credibility on them. Wal-Mart workers outside the United States are unionised And yes, there are unions in Wal-Mart. Workers in Brazil, Japan and Germany are well unionised, enjoying collective agreement provisions. In the United Kingdom, there is also a union presence in Wal-Mart, and collective agreements. In South Korea, a UNI Commerce supported organising campaign is about to begin. In Russia, trade union organising will start immediately when the first Wal-Mart opens it doors.
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