Wal-Mart : bastards

[hamilton]

From the Toronto Star :

WAL-MART TO CLOSE UNION STORE

Canada's largest retailer denies it's out to bust union

Analyst says discounter depends upon low labour costs

DANA FLAVELLE

BUSINESS REPORTER

Wal-Mart Canada Corp. says it is closing its first unionized store in North America after nine days of contract talks, but denies it is out to bust the union.

Canada's largest retailer told the 190 employees of its store in Jonquiere, Que., yesterday that the store would close this spring. It is the first time Wal-Mart has closed a store in Canada except to relocate, the company said.

The discount chain is a division of Wal-Mart Stores Ltd., the world's largest retailer.

Developments at the Jonquiere store were being closely watched across North America by investors and union organizers.

One of the keys to the success of Wal-Mart, which is considered strongly anti-union, has been keeping costs low.

The Jonquiere store is one of several the United Food and Commercial Workers union is attempting to organize across Canada, most in labour-friendly jurisdictions such as Quebec and Saskatchewan.

A second store, in Saint Hyacinthe, Que., was certified last month and is scheduled to begin contract talks soon. A third, in Brossard, Que., has applied for certification.

Michael Fraser, national director of the union, accused Wal-Mart yesterday of "ignoring the laws of Canada and playing the game by its own rules."

Wal-Mart spokesperson Andrew Pelletier, however, denied the company was out to bust the union.

"It is the first time we've had to close a store in a community and leave that community," he told the Toronto Star's Miro Cernetig.

"Ultimately it is a business decision, of course."

Pelletier said the Jonquiere store had never made money and the union's proposals "would have fundamentally changed the store's business model."

For example, the union had asked for scheduling changes that would have required the store to hire 30 more people, said Kevin Groh, another Wal-Mart spokesperson.

An analyst said low labour costs help Wal-Mart compete against other retailers.

"Wal-Mart is scared to death of unions," said analyst David Abella of Rochdale Investment Management.

"Even if they could manage that store with a union, that could lead to a domino effect across Canada and the United States."

Pelletier said the store could have been closed months ago, but the company chose to bargain in good faith.

But, after nine days of talks, including conciliation, the union applied to Quebec's labour board for first-contract arbitration, he said. That meant a contract would be imposed on the store, he added.

The union saw the Quebec organizing drive as key to conquering Wal-Mart.

"It's a pivotal moment," union director Fraser told The Star's Cernetig. "If we can do it, there are thousands of Wal-Mart workers who are out there who will want to be organized."

Jean-Marc Crevier, a Quebec Labour Federation spokesperson, called the store closing "a very big blow."

Claudia Tremblay, a cashier at the store, said many employees burst into tears, "myself included. I'm a mother of two children and I'm separated from my husband. It's very hard."

News of the store closing leaked out after Wal-Mart advised the employees yesterday afternoon.

The store had opened three years earlier.

The Jonquiere store was certified last September. Talks began in October.

The company said it asked the Quebec labour board to appoint a conciliator after four days of talks.

On Feb. 2, the union applied to the board for first-contract arbitration saying conciliation had failed to produce any progress on major issues.

They included work schedules, employee status and seniority clauses, the union said.

Yesterday, Wal-Mart announced the store would close.

The company said it "deeply regrets" the closing and has offered employees generous severance packages that exceed the legal minimum.

The closing comes just five weeks after the parent company, Wal-Mart Stores Ltd. in the United States, launched a multimillion-dollar public relations campaign aimed at countering what chief executive Lee Scott called urban legends and outright lies about the company.

Fu©king nasty bastards. ::

[Jaimoe]

If the employees unionized, you could kiss Wal-Mart's competetive cheap prices good-bye. Let's hope for a union.

[StoneMtn]

These are common tactics.

In Squamish, BC we (briefly) had the world's first nearly-unionized McDonald's. They were brought into the fold of the Canadian Auto Workers' Union (I think, but it may have been another large union). In that case, though, the union had not been certified, and McDonald's waited it out. Shortly before certification would occur, McDonald's managed to get the employees of that store to give up the cause. That was easy enough to do, because McDonald's employees tend to come and go every few months, and most of the union-supporters (the "troublemakers") had already moved on by the time it came to certify.

Let's hear it for the multi-nationals...

[TimmyB]

All it takes is news like this to remind me why I don't shop at Wal-Mart.

[Blane]

it really makes the whole notion of the "level playing field" of the free market system look so obviously corrupt.

[ike]

I was in the United Food and Commercial Workers union for over 10 years, and I saw first hand how the union protected all the dog fu©king employees, and crippled the company financially to the point where they had to close stores and put employees that they were supposed to be protecting out of work.

I say good for Walmart. If they have to close one store just to keep the rest non unionized then it's a good trade off.

[PalacePrincess]

ike, i agree with you!! the idea of unions is great. unfortunately, the reality is they're not very effective. i'm sorry if this makes me sound heartless, but when i saw that wal-mart bit on the news the other night, my reaction was more along the lines of "heh, don't fu©k with wal-mart!".

i'm all for fairness for employees and people being able to afford to live and stuff, but you know what? i happen to like the fact i can buy things at wal-mart cheaper than everywhere else. *i'm* a fricken hard working poor person, i can't afford to be paying ginormous markups, and if i can save my own money to live, then i'm going to. sure, i will support smaller stores where i can, but on certain day-to-day essentials, i'm happy there is a place i can save quite a bit of money. and it's not just wal-mart vs. mom & pop shops, it's wal-mart vs. other huge corporations that have no qualms about charging way more. and you know what? for how "evil" they are, they are saving millions of normal, everyday, hardworking people with kids and jobs and bills money. so that is not entirely evil.

i just wish wal-mart did better things with the millions of dollars they make than pad the pockets of the CEOs.

[ggrtrhhrtgg]

that's the problem Princess, they pay people minimum wage to work there, and they don't give money back to the community that supports it... And I am sick of hearing about all the dog-fu©ker that are in Unions.. Sure, and some people take advantage of welfare too!! (no offense to previous posts, just a general observation) If it wasn't for unions, our lives would totally fu©king suck!!! Because, no company truly gives a sh!t about their employees lives, unless of course, they have to. It is not a perfect system by any stretch of the imagination, but, where do you think the idea of compensation, pensions and benefits came from?? If it wasn't for organized labour, we wouldn't have these "luxuries" that make our living conditions better.

[Large Marge]

I used to work for WalMart in Thunder Bay (night crew at that!) and to be honest, they were probably the best retail employer that I've ever had. Management were highly trained and well respected, and benefits packages were competitive with what the union jobs in town were offering (and without having to cough up hundreds of dollars in Union dues!) Wal-Mart even offered an employee equity plan that allowed for profit-sharing and greatly boosted employee morale. I felt a part of store operations in an inclusive way, rather than the exclusive divide that Unions tend to drive between employee and employer.

I understand that unions have played a very strategic role in getting us to where we are today as far as labour relations and such, but I also believe that in our current (highly-legislated) North American labour environment, the role of the Union needs to be redefined and perhaps even abolished altogether.

While I do not support Wal-Mart for many other reasons, I don’t believe for a second that they had any intention of screwing their Quebec employees (any more than their unionized peers) and I DO believe that the crippling "union mentality" has played a major role in the resulting actions they have taken here.

While Unions have been and may continue to be quite effective, the complacency that they breed here in Canada is very real and needs to be addressed.

2¢

[ggrtrhhrtgg]

I worked at Casino Niagara for four years, and for those four years, we had a vote on whether to unionize or not... So, far, it has never been passed... They opened the new Casino in the Falls, and people, whom are dependant on their income from the Casino, for the last 8 years, are being laid off, or cut down to one shift a week... Getting rid of "Unions" as was previously suggested would be a step backwards in my opinion, the only reason companies have competitive compensation, and benefit packages is because Unions exist... Like them or not, I don't argue that Unions provide headaches and problems for our workforce, but, they have since their conception --protected the worker, and given the common worker rights that did not exist since the Industrial Revolution. Do you really think for a second, that if the threat of a Union did not exist for Walmart, that they would provide workers with competitive wages?? I don't think so. And as far as legislation goes, in the United States, the Republicans have majority in the Senate, so they can change just about any legislation they want. I personally suggest not taking the lifestyle Unions have provided us for granted.

[Esau]

I'm glad to be in mine (14yrs now) thats for sure,especially being in a trade.As for "dog fu©ker"...well,I see them in every type of job and yeah somtimes it protects people who obviously take advantage of it,like Number 2 mentioned,people take advantage of welfare too.

Within my union anyway,if a person is abusing it they eventually get whats coming to em,usually in the form of getting laid off in the first wave of every job or not being able to work for certian companies or even losing their membership.

In some cases I can completely understand where a union may not be a good thing but within the trade community,it is more then required,in my opinion,although like everything,there are exceptions.

5 day work weeks & weekends...

Brought to you by unions.

[rubberdinghy]

i'm all for fairness for employees and people being able to afford to live and stuff, but you know what? i happen to like the fact i can buy things at wal-mart cheaper than everywhere else. *i'm* a fricken hard working poor person, i can't afford to be paying ginormous markups, and if i can save my own money to live, then i'm going to. sure, i will support smaller stores where i can, but on certain day-to-day essentials, i'm happy there is a place i can save quite a bit of money. and it's not just wal-mart vs. mom & pop shops, it's wal-mart vs. other huge corporations that have no qualms about charging way more. and you know what? for how "evil" they are, they are saving millions of normal, everyday, hardworking people with kids and jobs and bills money. so that is not entirely evil.

Here Here! I agree with this whole heartedly!!! I went through a time in my life where I was extremely broke, and was thankful places like wal-mart are around.

and unions are great!

[Kaidy Mae]

How Wal-Mart is Destroying America (and the World)

http://www.tenspeedpress.com/catalog/all/item.php3?id=1046

[AdamH]

Some random facts about Wal-Mart to chew on (from a PBS documentary):

* Hundreds of towns court Wal-Mart. The megastores bring low prices and convenient shopping to rural areas and small towns. They create entry-level jobs and added revenue to local treasuries. Critics say that Wal-Mart creates net job loss in communities, because most of its sales are transferred from existing merchants, resulting in little or no economic gain to the host community.

* In the United States, close to 100 million shoppers patronize Wal-Mart stores every week. Its scope of operations uses the world's largest computer (surpassing the Pentagon's) and the world's largest fleet of trucks.

* Wal-Mart's rate of expansion is so rapid that every two days it opens a megastore, and by 2004 it plans to open a store every day. These stores measure over 200,000 square feet in size, include groceries among their 50,000 items and are often open 24 hours a day. In addition, the Wal-Mart Corporation owns smaller Wal-Mart discount stores and SAM'S Clubs.

* Wal-Mart is the largest employer in the United States after the Federal government with over 925,000 employees. Each year, the company hires 550,000 more employees - three times the number of people the U.S. military recruits every year - replacing those lost to rapid turnover and replenishing its workforce.

* In spite of its large volume of sales, Wal-Mart's corporate contributions are small. Wal-Mart ranked last among major discount retailers, donating four-tenths of a percent of its earnings, well behind its competitors (U.S. corporations average just over one percent). A cornerstone of the company philosophy is that it "gives something back" by keeping prices low.

* Despite a well-publicized "Made in the U.S.A." campaign, 85 percent of the stores' items are made overseas, often in Third World sweatshops.

* Wal-Mart demands that hundreds of recording artists, primarily alternative rock, hip-hop and rap musicians "clean up" their lyrics as a condition of distribution, imposing what amounts to cultural censorship, and bans all music carrying a warning label. It also pulls magazines off the shelves that are considered too provocative.

[AdamH]

This PBS site is really interesting: http://www.pbs.org/itvs/storewars/index.html

More on Walmart Censorship:

Censorship

With its roots in the Southern Christian heartland, Wal-Mart believes that being a "family" store is the key to their mass appeal. They refuse to carry CDs with cover art or lyrics deemed overtly sexual or dealing with topics such as abortion, homosexuality or Satanism. While Wal-Mart is the world's largest CD retailer, and in some regions the only place in town to purchase music entertainment products represent only a fraction of their business. However, it is a different story for recording artists. Because Wal-Mart reaps about 10 percent of the total domestic music CD sales, most musicians and record companies will agree to create a "sanitized" version specifically for the megastores. Sometimes this entails altering the cover art, as John Cougar Mellencamp did when asked to airbrush out an angel and devil on one of his album covers. Other times, musicians change their lyrics and song titles. Nirvana, for example, changed its song title from "Rape Me" to "Waif Me" for the Wal-Mart version. They also changed the back-cover artwork for the album In Utero, which Wal-Mart objected to because it portrayed fetuses. And when Sheryl Crow released her self-titled album, Wal-Mart objected to the lyric, "Watch our children as they kill each other with a gun they bought at Wal-Mart discount stores." When Crow would not change the verse, the retailer refused to carry the album. This type of censorship has become so common that it is often regarded as simply another stage of editing. Record labels are now acting preemptively, issuing two versions of the same album for their big name artists. Less well-known bands, however, are forced to offer "sanitized" albums out of the gate.

[SevenSeasJim]

Some more random tidbits about Wal-Mart

Top 10 Wal-Mart Worst Actions

* A judge fined Wal-Mart $18 million because the company provided incomplete and false evidence in a lawsuit brought by a woman who had been abducted in a Wal-Mart parking lot.

* Upholding a $2.3 million verdict awarded to two women sexually harassed by a Wal-Mart manager, the judge said, the manager's conduct was "outrageous and apparently Wal-Mart was aware of this, since his conduct was witnessed high-level [supervisors].

* Federal judges in three states have fined Wal-Mart--as much as $120,000--for destroying evidence, withholding documents, and other violations in cases where Wal-Mart shoppers were either injured or a crime victim at a Wal-Mart store.

* A jury found that Wal-Mart fired a white female employee because she was dating a black man, in a 1998 case.

* A 14-year Wal-Mart worker was awarded $2.75 million after a jury decided store officials wrongly accused her of stealing.

* Three existing community jobs are destroyed for every two new jobs at Wal-Mart.

* Wal-Mart, the company that wrapped itself in the American Flag, is so patriotic it runs a Buy Mexican campaign.

* Wal-Mart sold fake Tommy Hilfiger apparel to consumers after a judged ordered the company to stop.

* Only 38% of Wal-Mart employees have company provided health insurance--compared to a national average that shows 60% of employees are covered by company plans.

* After the FTC charged Wal-Mart with not identifying the country of origin on apparel items listed on its Internet sales site, Wal-Mart removed the items, apparently preferring not to disclose where the clothing was made.

[ggrtrhhrtgg]

Walmart being blacklisted here, I love it!!

The boycott begins!

[King Toot]

I can't stand Walmart, but it has nothing to do with unions. They move into a community, have low low prices until the competition goes out of business, then the prices are just low, but they're no cheaper than Zellers or Canadian Tire.

The stores that went out of business had more people making higher salaries. Those people all work at Walmart now, making peanuts.

For every $1 spent at Walmart, maybe 10 cents goes to workers, while 90 cents goes to some anonymous rich American investor. The store they replaced had maybe 80 cents staying in the local community. These figures are probably way off, but to generalize, a far higher % of money spent at Walmart leaves the community and country, than, say, the Home Hardware, and Mom and Pop's grocery that they replaced.

Unions are another issue. It's one of those damned if you do, damned if you don't scenarios. Without unions, there would be fewer people making a decent living, as workers' salaries and benefits would be cut as much as possible so managers and shareholders / owners would have a bigger slice of the pie. However, in practice, many unions protect lazy ass employees, who can really slack off without getting in trouble. Anyone who doesn't see this is foolishly naive, or a brainwashed union puppet. I just wish unions took a more realistic approach to their workers' protection, and didn't protect the lazy asses, and didn't strike when the going was already good. Case in point: the public sector in Ottawa. They are paid very well, have great benefits, but may strike for a triple the rate of inflation wage increase demand ? Ludicrous. F*** them. Asking for an increase to keep up with inflation, and benefit protection is reasonable, but more is laughable. They act like these people work hard. Sure, some do, but the workers that loaf all day, take 20 smoke breaks, go home after lunch, send useless memos all day, surf the net, etc. The lack of efficiency is mind boggling, and these people get away with it b/c the union will back them from being fired unless they burn the building down. I know many people that work for the government, and ALL of them have told me that this is epidemic. Most people have about 3-4 hours work per day. Then they go home, or stay and f*** around. Some people work their asses off, and get promoted to the top (kudos for them for having the pride to work hard even though they don't have to); but just as many do the bare minimum, f*** around all day, and collect a large paycheck with mandated raises, and a silver plated pension. I'm all for people getting paid, but they should all work a full day.

I currently work at a job, part time, where, though I'm not in the union, the union (for full timers) sets the conditions for rules of work. Many times we have 2-3 hours work in an 8 hour shift. This inefficiency costs Ontario taxpayers. However, management can't, say, schedule less workers, or they will have hell to pay with the union. Do I mind having less work ? Hell no, but I'm not losing sleep over it, as it has nothing to do with me. I prefer the full workdays, as time goes by much faster when busy.

Another case: In Halifax, a city employee, last year, was passed over for a promotion (probably b/c he's an a hole). So he goes to city hall brandishing a gun, threatening people, scares the sh!t out of the other workers, gets arrested (fortunately he never shot anyone). Naturally he gets fired. However, his union files a grievance over unfair dismissal, using "stress" or "mental illness" as an excuse for this lunatic's behaviour. Is nobody responsible for themselves ? How would you like to be a worker this guy scared when he comes back to work ? Stupid, stupid union.

I'm not anti-union. I'm just a realist. With no unions the worker gets screwed sometimes (not all employers are uncaring and evil). With unions the employer gets screwed sometimes (not all unions are myopic and unreasonable).

This is the truth. I'll just stay out of the debate between the a-hole extremist pro-business fascists, and the wussy extremist pro-labour commies; and enjoy sitting here in the middle. How Canadian !

I just wish there was a happy middle ground that would satisfy everyone.

Will I boycott Walmart ? I've boycotted them since they arrived (except in case of emergency).

[Stapes]

Follow Up

HEADLINE NEWS February 14, 2005

Wal-Mart Canada places ad in Quebec newspapers to vaunt strength of employees

February 14, 2005 - 13:09

MONTREAL (CP) - Wal-Mart Canada took out a full-page ad in several Quebec newspapers Monday, telling its employees they are the "cornerstone" of the company.

The retail giant's move came after its decision last week to close a Quebec store where unionized employees were seeking a first collective agreement.

The company said the store is not profitable but the announcement triggered allegations of union-busting against the U.S.-based company.

Employees at the store in Saguenay, about 250 kilometres north of Quebec City, were awarded union status last summer

Since then, employees at a Wal-Mart store east of Montreal have also been accredited but do not have a contract either.

Wal-Mart's ad says the company has found the last few days "very trying" and seeks to reassure its employees they are its "biggest strength."

"Never let anyone or the Media tell you otherwise," the statement reads.

"You represent the cornerstone of our organization and we believe it is a privilege to have such an exceptional team."

The union representing the 190 employees at the Saguenay store blasted the ad, saying it is insulting to talk about the company finding the last few days hard when workers are losing their job.

"They've been threatening this closure ever since we got the accreditation," said union spokeswoman Marie-Josee Lemieux.

"How can they now say they (employees) are its biggest strength?

"Quebec isn't the Far West where the cowboy with the biggest revolver can do what he wants."

[ggrtrhhrtgg]

King Toot--I don't think anyone here is suggesting that there are not people that take advantage of a Union... But, to classify Union as being non-benefitial because of a few stories here and there is ludicrous... There is a happy medium in my opinion, "profit sharing." However, not too many companies are willing to get involved with that... You are never going to find a perfect system... There will always be problems, loopholes, etc, no matter what you do...However, the fact that the working class gained power, and forced industry to provide the working individual with rights, freedoms, and equitable pay far outweigh the stories of those who take advantage of the system... Do you really think the people at the top of chain are working that hard??? Have meeting on the golf course, 2 hour lunches, board meeting in Las Vegas etc... Laziness is not primarily a working class characteristic.

[King Toot]

Though I generally prefer people at the bottom of the chain, the people at the top, though often a-holes (not always, just a generalization), tend to be workoholics, chasing more and more bucks. I'm not saying that's a good thing, but people who get to the top don't do it by being lazy. Like I said, even in a PSAC environment, those who work the hardest get to the top.

I do prefer unions to no unions.

I suppose my opinion of the lazy worker comes from living in Ottawa, where the civil servant tends to be the laziest of the lazy. This must be true, as I hear my info. from people working there, who have nothing to gain from divulging this info. Someone I know who works at DND is disgusted by many of her co-workers who go home at lunch and don't return with no consequence.

I suppose in a town dominated by the lazy me me me overpaid and underworked civil service, I tend to forget the overworked unionized teachers, hard working steelworkers, etc.

Like I said, not all unions are bad, just some (PSAC), and they give all unions a bad name. I don't care what anyone says, PSAC can go f*** themselves. And I'm more left-wing than right-wing. I just don't blindly follow, I go by what I see.

[ggrtrhhrtgg]

I would agree with that, its truly unfortunate that people take advantage of the system that was created to protect them... Unfortunately, people don't consider what others had to endure so that we could be provided with more. Unionization is not a perfect system. However, it has played a monumental role in developing the lifestyle that the working class has today.

[Esau]

Well,when it comes to going on strike I can only speak for my local,we signed an agreement in late '89 (which gets re-newed every year by membership vote) to have a mediator(sp?) instead of the option to strike.

We haven't had a strike or walk out since 1989.

Laziness is not primarily a working class characteristic.

I agree.

It is also somthing that really bothers me,folks who think thats not the case,I read about how people feel we (union workers) only work a few actual hours a day,well,I ask those people to come to work with me,climb the hydro tower (250ft) and work around 500KVA (6 days a week 10 hrs a day) or the blast furnace in dofasco where when its down they lose 1 million a day in production,so we (workers) end up with two shifts working 7 days a week 12 hours a day (7-12s its called) one shift days and the other nights to get it back on line and try to tell me I ain't workin',sure I get paid well,I also went to school and have logged almost 10,000 hours in my apprenticeship to get where I am.

[colinw]

I am not a fan of WalMart at all, and I avoid it if I can. I would rather support somewhere like Zellers which at least is Canadian.

However, when I heard they closed to the store to prevent unionization I was pretty happy. I have worked directly with a unionized enviroment for many years, and I have worked with some outstanding individuals who took their jobs seriously, did a good job and put in every effort to do things well. I also have worked with a number of slugs, who took complete advantage of the system, were lazy, cheated the system and caused nothing but trouble.

I understand and value the contribution unions have played in the workplace over the years. We have beenfitted very well from unions and they served their purpose. The problem is that unions have gotten greedy in the last few years. There are so many goverment mandated safety nets in Canada that protect workers that the reason unions existed are now obsolete. We have regulations on workplace safety, workweek hours, dangerous tasks, etc. These are the cornerstones of union demands. Unions striking so they can bump their salaries by another 5 bucks an hour to 30/hour for often unskilled labour is ridiculous.

As I said, the unionized workplace has made the working world better for everyone, but their usefulness has diminished and they are regarded more and more as a joke.

[bouche]

5 day work weeks & weekends...

Brought to you by unions.

I always wondered how true that claim was. I have seen it on a t-shirt before.

Anyway, I read this article which seems to debunk many union claims.

http://www.mises.org/fullstory.aspx?control=1590