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Wal-Mart fires Union activist for eating a banana while it was being paid for Wal-Mart has once again shown how far it will go to keep trade unions out. Just one day after being accused by the National Labor Relations Board for violating workers' rights in Arizona, the company was found to have wrongly denied unemployment benefits from a Texas worker. The Texas Workforce Commission Appeal Tribunal found that Sidney Smith, a meatcutter with an unblemished 55-year record in the retail industry, was entitled to unemployment benefits. According to Wal-Mart, Smith was fired for eating a banana while it was being paid for. But UFCW charges on behalf of Smith that are pending before the NLRB claim that the company fired him for his pro-union activism. The UFCW hopes that the NLRB will act on the charges within the coming weeks. Smith is one of the famed 'Jacksonville Texas Seven' who voted for UFCW membership. "I used to have faith in this company but ever since we voiced our desire to have union protection at Wal-Mart, management has been out to get us," Smith says. A host of NLRB complaints against the company for violating workers’ rights confirms Smith’s assessment. In upholding Smith’s right to unemployment benefits, the Texas tribunal said that it was reasonable for Smith to believe he was not committing theft by eating a banana while it was being purchased and that the company "failed to establish misconduct" on his part. Wal-Mart says "employees are family" and union efforts are a "waste of time." But the truth is, the union is the one standing behind Wal-Mart employees, like Sidney Smith, demanding workers be treated fairly, with dignity and respect. Company management is the one thumbing its nose at the law, firing, threatening, coercing, and intimidating workers who want to end management favoritism and make Wal-Mart a better place to work. If Sam Walton were alive, the voices of loyal workers like Sidney Smith would be heard, and the current batch of Wal-Mart managers would be looking for work elsewhere. |
