New - Wal Mart - Unions and Child Labor Fines

captainjoe · Post by **captainjoe** » February 10, 2005 4:52 pm

NEW YORK - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. says it will close one of its Canadian stores, just as some 200 workers at the location are near winning the first-ever union contract from the world's largest retailer.

Wal-Mart said it was shuttering the store in Jonquiere, Quebec, in response to unreasonable demands from union negotiators that would make it impossible for the store to sustain itself.

"We were hoping it wouldn't come to this," Andrew Pelletier, a spokesman for Wal-Mart Canada, said Wednesday. "Despite nine days of meetings over three months, we've been unable to reach an agreement with the union that in our view will allow the store to operate efficiently and profitably."

Pelletier said the store will close in May. The retailer had first discussed closing the Jonquiere store last October, saying the store was losing money.

The United Food & Commercial Workers Canada asked Quebec labor officials to appoint a mediator last week, saying negotiations with Wal-Mart had reached an impasse.

Union leaders dismissed Wal-Mart's reasons for closing the store and promised to fight the move.

"Wal-Mart has fired these workers not because the store was losing money but because the workers exercised their right to join a union," Michael J. Fraser, national director of UFCW Canada, said in a written statement. "Once again, Wal-Mart has decided it is above the law and that the only rules that count are their rules."

Wal-Mart's decision to close the store reflects the retailer's deeply rooted aversion to unions, and its worries that organized labor had nearly established a beachhead, said Burt Flickinger III of Strategic Resource Group, a consulting firm specializing in retailing and consumer goods.

But he said the move could backfire for Wal-Mart, which has worked hard to counter a wave of bad publicity and portray itself as a generous employer.

"The store closing may potentially catalyze the combination of the government (officials in Canada), organized labor and consumers working together against Wal-Mart," Flickinger said.

Claudia Tremblay, a cashier at the store, said many employees burst into tears when managers told them the news Wednesday morning.

"Many people cried, including myself," Tremblay said. "I'm a mother of two children and I'm separated from my husband. It's very difficult."

Tremblay said she abstained from the unionization vote. She said she was upset her noncommittal stance won't save her job.

The store in Jonquiere, about 240 miles northeast of Montreal, became the first unionized Wal-Mart store in North America last September, after the bargaining unit was certified by provincial labor officials. Since then, workers at a second Quebec store have also been granted union status. Neither has reached a contract.

The union efforts at both stores are part of a larger chess game labor organizers are waging with Wal-Mart at stores across Canada. The campaign, financed by UFCW money from both Canada and the United States, is also geared toward capturing workers' attention in Wal-Mart's home country.

The closest a U.S. union has ever come to winning a battle with Bentonville, Ark.-based company occurred in 2000 at a store in Jacksonville, Texas, where 11 workers in the store's meatpacking department voted to join and be represented by the UFCW.

That effort failed when Wal-Mart eliminated the job of meatcutter companywide, and shifted from in-store meatcutting to stocking only pre-wrapped meat.

Recently, some workers in the tire department of a Wal-Mart store in Colorado have sought union representation, and the National Labor Relations Board has said it intends to schedule a vote.

PHBeerman · Post by **PHBeerman** » February 10, 2005 4:53 pm

Finally Walmart does something I agree with

pair8head · Post by **pair8head** » February 10, 2005 4:53 pm

Anybody not see that comming?

rednekkPH · Post by **rednekkPH** » February 10, 2005 4:55 pm

I'll prolly get skinned for this, but good for Wal-Mart!

IMO, there was a time labor unions were necessary, but now they are rarely more than something for lazy people to hide behind.

PHBeerman · Post by **PHBeerman** » February 10, 2005 4:56 pm

rednekkPH wrote:I'll prolly get skinned for this, but good for Wal-Mart!

IMO, there was a time labor unions were necessary, but now they are rarely more than something for lazy people to hide behind.

GPHMTA

captainjoe · Post by **captainjoe** » February 10, 2005 5:15 pm

For a company that has about $260 Billion dollars in sales every year, one would think they could pay their employees more then they do, then they would not have to unionize.

PHBeerman · Post by **PHBeerman** » February 10, 2005 5:16 pm

captainjoe wrote:For a company that has about $260 Billion dollars in sales every year, one would think they could pay their employees more then they do, then they would not have to unionize.

If their employees had some skill that Walmart was afraid to lose they would get paid more. Nobody forces anyone to work at Walmart.

12 lb. nestle crunch · February 10, 2005 9:28 pm

its about time the unions get whats coming to them. i hope this sends a message out to all unionites - if you hate your job that much, we'll gladly take that burdon off your back

1more · Post by **1more** » February 10, 2005 9:33 pm

All Unions want is less work for more money. Good for Wally World

ragtopW · Post by **ragtopW** » February 10, 2005 9:50 pm

PHBeerman wrote:
rednekkPH wrote:I'll prolly get skinned for this, but good for Wal-Mart!

IMO, there was a time labor unions were necessary, but now they are rarely more than something for lazy people to hide behind.
GPHMTA

Ask my Dad.. The Union "lost" years of employment records

moog · Post by **moog** » February 10, 2005 10:19 pm

Support out comrades overseas. Buy at Walmart.

moog · Post by **moog** » February 10, 2005 10:23 pm

PHBeerman wrote:Finally Walmart does something I agree with

What? Close and help the local merchants recover?

moog · Post by **moog** » February 10, 2005 10:25 pm

rednekkPH wrote:I'll prolly get skinned for this, but good for Wal-Mart!

IMO, there was a time labor unions were necessary, but now they are rarely more than something for lazy people to hide behind.

True. Security at the airports one example. But I think non union workers are just as lazy.

moog · Post by **moog** » February 10, 2005 10:30 pm

1more wrote:All Unions want is less work for more money. Good for Wally World

I'm in Afscam, I mean AFSCME. If I didn't have that, the town would have us answer the calls for help on 911 (phone) without the benefits.

If you get non union workers to work without benefits they may not care as much at their job (actually non and union cannot care) and when the stress of a mother yelling in your ear that their infant is not breathing catches up to you in later years, tough luck on collecting. After all humans are expendable in other humans eyes. The not me syndrome.

While I don't agree with unions all the time (heck, I don't trust any human that are in a mob or group) there are many jobs where a person will get screwed. Many imagrants will gladly work without unions, and it sure is not fun to watch them struggle becuase they can't lose at what little they get.

Humans are good at saying "Not My job" and I think that applies to both non and union workers. I see it at my job all the time.

captainjoe · Post by **captainjoe** » February 10, 2005 10:31 pm

If it was not for unions, then compainies would have no incentive to share the profits with their workers. I live in Peoria, Il where CAT is located and hear about unions all the time. Cat had profits of something like $500 million dollars this past quarter, if it wasn't for the workers, whom I would not call lazy, then Cat would not have profited so much. Everyone wants to complain about our jobs going over seas, but the unions help keep them here.

I would be willing to bet that the people who complain about unions are the same ones who would jump at a chance to join one if their job was in jeopardy.

buffettbride · Post by **buffettbride** » February 10, 2005 10:32 pm

PHBeerman wrote:
rednekkPH wrote:I'll prolly get skinned for this, but good for Wal-Mart!

IMO, there was a time labor unions were necessary, but now they are rarely more than something for lazy people to hide behind.
GPHMTA

Ya mean I actually agree with Frank AND Troy on something???

Unions have surprassed their need. There's things like OSHA and EOE to protect employees that didn't exist when the age of the union was in it's prime.

moog · Post by **moog** » February 10, 2005 10:36 pm

Will OSHA gIve me 15 sick days a year? 21 vacation days? Hey, I'm all for going to work and spreading germs.

captainjoe · Post by **captainjoe** » February 10, 2005 10:36 pm

buffettbride wrote:
PHBeerman wrote:
rednekkPH wrote:I'll prolly get skinned for this, but good for Wal-Mart!

IMO, there was a time labor unions were necessary, but now they are rarely more than something for lazy people to hide behind.
GPHMTA
Ya mean I actually agree with Frank AND Troy on something???

Unions have surprassed their need. There's things like OSHA and EOE to protect employees that didn't exist when the age of the union was in it's prime.

Tell that to the people at Wal Mart. If they felt that the laws were protecting them, then they would not have tried to join one.

How can the Waltons be about family values (a family whose combined net worth is over $100 billion)when the people that they employ can't support their own families and have to try to join a union.

moog · Post by **moog** » February 10, 2005 10:39 pm

Does anyone question why the crap they buy at Walmart is low price? I mean most of the stuff there is not really important to have in life anyway. The only stuff that really is cheap is the stuff made over seas for low wages.

buffettbride · Post by **buffettbride** » February 10, 2005 11:40 pm

moog wrote:Will OSHA gIve me 15 sick days a year? 21 vacation days? Hey, I'm all for going to work and spreading germs.

15 sick days????

How unhealthy are you? That would allow you to call in sick more than once per month. If you're calling in that much you should be fired.

It is my very own personal opinion that if the business policies of a company are not in agreement with your personal needs, then it's time to look for a new job.

As for WalMart, in my mind it is a necessary evil. It helps reduce the cost of living for middle and lower income families by selling low-cost, store-brand products. Most of the shoppers aren't concerned that the products were made by 12 year olds in Indonesia but rather the fact that they are able to purchase winter coats for a family of 4. Families are expensive, but WalMart helps make that manageable.