During the battle to oppose workers' right to organize, Wal-Mart is a polarizing figure. From it's support for Communist Chinese unions while opposing independent unions elsewhere, Wal-Mart is on a corporate mission to make sure that workers are not afforded any level of dignity. In Canada, where workers have stronger union rights than U.S. workers, Wal-Mart is particularly virulent in opposing its workers. So, the following story from the Canadian National Union of Public and General Employees will give some evidence to both sides of the debate. The pro-worker side will see this story as another example of Wal-Mart's intransigence and refusal to bargain by any means necessary. The anti-worker side will see this as proof that when workers organize companies simply close up shop, since companies like Wal-Mart would rather take their ball and go home if their workers win. If you oppose the Employee Free Choice Act I'm sure I'll hear from you, but if you support it make sure you speak out. I'm proud to be an American, but I'm ashamed that Wal-Mart is an American company.
Wal-Mart workers unionized at third store in Quebec
Employees in Gatineau follow lead of those in Jonquiere and Ste-Hyacinthe
Ottawa (22 Dec. 2008) - Less than two months after closing a tire and lube shop in Gatineau to get rid of a union, Wal-Mart is now faced with a certification order for 150 employees in the adjacent retail store − located across the Ottawa River from Canada's capital.
The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW Canada) has been certified bargaining agent for the employees and wants to begin negotiating a first contract immediately. Predictably, Wal-Mart is appealing the order to the Quebec Superior Court.
Employees at the store signed union cards 3 1/2 years ago when the tire and lube shop was unionized. However, certification was delayed while Wal-Mart, using its bottomless financial and legal resources, exhausted all means available to avoid a union.
Wal-Mart now says only 63 of the original 194 employees from 2005 remain on staff in the store and it is asking the Quebec labour board to order a secret ballot before the union is recognized.
The ultimate card - shutting down
When it had no option left but to deal with a union at the tire and lube shop, Wal-Mart played its ultimate card in October and shut the shop down, claiming it could not remain profitable if forced to pay wage rates decreed in a contract imposed by the labour board.
The union, and critics across Canada and beyond, said the company was merely behaving as it always does − doing whatever it takes to kill any union, no matter how small, wherever it appears in any Wal-Mart operation.
In 2005, Wal-Mart shut down a full-fledged retail store in Jonquiere, Que., just as an arbitrator was set to impose a union contract. The company is also facing arbitration at a second store in Ste-Hyacinthe, Que.
Meanwhile, workers have also been certified at a Wal-Mart store in Weyburn, Sask., where Wal-Mart is also resorting to all legal tactics available to delay and kill the union drive.
NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) has signed a protocol with the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW Canada) to support and cooperate in the UFCW's campaign to organize workers at Wal-Mart stores across Canada. NUPGE
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