Wal-Mart to shut unionized store

[Manix]

<snip>


Wal-Mart Canada Corp. announced Wednesday it will close a Quebec store whose unionized employees were involved in negotiations to obtain their first labour contract.

“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,” company spokesman Andrew Pelletier said in a statement.

The store, which will close in May, is located in Saguenay, about 250 kilometres north of Quebec City. Nearly 200 employees received union accreditation last summer, making it the chain's only unionized outlet at the time.




Globe and Mail

[maxsolomon]

2. and so, small business in Quebec is saved

by unionism.

go figure.

death to walmart!

[HamiltonHabs32]

60. 1-(800)-328-0402 Give them a Call

Tell them how much you enjoy shopping elsewhere... Or just bitch them out.

[brainshrub]

3. I hope the Canadians boycott their union-busting asses.

My God, Wal-Mart is so evil.

:mad:

[stevedeshazer]

4. Good

Expect a resurgence in the local economy.

[BoogDoc7]

6. Yes, but...

Where will those unionized workers find jobs?

[Hobarticus]

14. At other retailers that won't be squeezed anymore by Wal Mart...eom

[w4rma]

15. At the small buisnesses that will spring up to replace this monster. (nt)

[cosmicdot]

18. do you know something about Saguenay that you can share?

what is the economy there? what is the unemployment rate?
is it a one-horse town? is K-Mart the heart and soul of the community?

[ldf]

42. don't confuse

kmart and walmart.

[China_cat]

39. Canada has some very strong unions.

The former walmart workers will have no problem.

[MsMagnificent]

56. We're back to Sinclair's "The Jungle" in terms of laws

but if ENOUGH people unionize and bond in brother/sisterhood for the good of us all, then either companies will have to hire union members or have the CEO's go run the cash registers themselves.

The people have power -- they just have forgotten how to use it lately.

[Shakespeare]

5. SO vindictive, but completely expected.

Evil, evil, evil corporation.

[fleabert]

7. Not surprised at all...

I bet they leave the building and lot to rot too, any eyesore for the whole neighborhood. It's their way or the highway.

[Renew Deal]

8. Unionize them all.

I'd love to see what happens.

[AlCzervik]

10. hear hear!!!!

[nolabels]

64. This could be a good idea

That way they all could be shut down

Our chances are fluttering away of shutting this down this verciferous cancer with just a national movement. They are spreading the wings ever far as they can.

Forbes 2000
Wall-to-Wall Wal-Mart :puke:
Bruce Upbin , 04.12.04

The retailer conquered America and made it look easy. The rest of the world is a tougher battleground.

With 3,550 stores in the U.S. and 1,000 Supercenters to be added in the next five years, all that's left for Wal-Mart is mop-up. It already sells more toys than Toys "R" Us, more clothes than the Gap and Limited combined and more food than Kroger. If it were its own economy, Wal-Mart Stores would rank 30th in the world, right behind Saudi Arabia. Growing at 11% a year, Wal-Mart would hit half a trillion dollars in sales by early in the next decade.

But its mesmerizing success in the U.S. masks this fact: Overseas, Wal-Mart has won some--and lost a lot. Just a few victories have been swift: Canada, Mexico and the U.K. More than 80% of its international revenue comes from these three countries.

In Europe it has proven at times adept, at times inept, at acquiring. In China it struggles with a dauntingly primitive supply chain. In Japan it is taking rice-grain-size steps so as not to damage a powerful but backward retail ecosystem. It has achieved runaway success in Mexico, but stumbled among stronger competitors in the huge markets of Brazil and Argentina.
(snip)
http://www.forbes.com/free_forbes/2004/0412/076.html

[Canuckistanian]

9. What a tragic loss for Saguenay

Now all those out-of-work people will have to work at locally-owned stores.
And there will be a severe shortage of Chinese-made crap.

[mdhunter]

11. Read this part from the SFGate story...

"The closest a U.S. union has ever come to winning a battle with Wal-Mart was in 2000, at a store in Jacksonville, Texas. In that store, 11 workers _ all members of 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 moved away from in-store meatcutting to stocking only pre-wrapped meat."

Truly evil.

Sacrifice the quality of their stores and product so as not to have a union.

Read it here http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article/article?f=/n/a/2005/02/09/financial/f124701S60.DTL and also not the more liberal introductory paragraph.

[cornermouse]

16. True.

Have you noticed that they're offering less variety? You can't get what you want anymore, not even if you ask about it. It takes longer to go around and shope in 2 or 3 places as opposed to 1, but it has become worth it.

Type edit.

[0rganism]

50. Shopping elsewhere was always worth it

Wal-mart is not the consumer's friend and it never really was. The money you spent buying products there was used to destroy your community, and you probably paid more in socialized costs, directly or indirectly resulting from Wal-mart's activities, than you saved in the first place.

[cornermouse]

12. Canada should kick ALL the Wal-Mart's out of their country.

Wal-Mart needs Canada. Canada does not need Wal-Mart.

[notadmblnd]

13. They should be made to eliminate any semblance of they're existence

tear down the building and plant trees.

[girl gone mad]

17. Proof that the Wal-Mart business model is dependent..

on being able to screw over their employees.

Wal-Mart's shareholders should take note. I would be wary of owning a company so ill-equipped to deal with change.

[Lauri16]

19. UFCW member checking in!

We get stuff in our union newsletters about the evil empire all the time. They are unreal.

I'm really sorry to hear about that store in Quebec. Their economy isn't in the best of shape to begin with, having another 200 people out of work really sucks. I thought there was a store in Ontario that was unionized. I used to live up there, and I remember when Walmart first came to Hamilton. I could have sworn they were union.

[Gman]

20. Despite meeting once every 10 days over 3 months???

and that's good faith bargaining??? Three times a month? Why weren't they meeting every day from 8 to 5 to work to get an agreement?

[Hobarticus]

22. If management's not willing to meet, they could strike...

in order to force them to the table.

But, I'm sure they knew that if they did, WM would can the lot of them. My guess.

They had labor over a barrel...now they've dropped them in.

[Gman]

36. That would be a ULP strike in the US

(Unfair Labor Practice) which is very risky. But I don't know what Canadian laws say on this.

[durablend]

24. Because they never intended to reach an "agreement"

Smiley Mart already knew it was a lost cause (ie the employees weren't going to kiss their asses), so it was just a matter of time until they closed it.

[applegrove]

21. There is a second Union Wal-Mart in Quebec

There is a second Union Wal-Mart in Quebec. I dare them to close that store too.

[Fla Dem]

23. Sends a clear message to other Wal-Mart employees....don't unionize.

Two other W/M stores in the Saguenay area. Bet there won't be any unionizing there. Union probably thought if they got a contract with this store, others would also unionize. Unfortunately it backfired. Feel bad for the employees, but it won't hurt Wal Mart.

[Democrats_win]

25. They "don't want unions to tell them how to run their business."

So they can cheat their employees in every way known to mankind.

Remember their school supply scheme. Customers would buy notebooks, put it in a bin and the store manager would put it back on the shelf.

[TexasLawyer]

33. Wal-Mart is cheating US taxpayers, too

Among other things, many Wal-Mart employees are not paid a living wage (or its employees are limited to strictly part time work so that they will draw no benefits, meager as they are). When Wal-Mart employees are drawing welfare, using food stamps, living in subsidized housing, using Medicaid, etc...that means taxpayers are essentially subsidizing Wal-Mart's payroll and health benefits with U.S. tax dollars.

I don't think what we "save" by shopping there is, in the big picture, worth the price.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

62. WTF?

The store was STEALING notebooks from customers?

[durablend]

65. Not "directly"

Smiley Mart was caught at least once stealing from their own "Toys For Tots" bin and putting the customer dontations back on the shelf for sale. They "claimed" that what they put back was stuff the customers had "stolen" (not paid for) and put in the bin but I don't think that was ever proven.

[LeftCoast]

26. WooHOO! Now we know how to make Walmart close a store!

Great news!

[napi21]

27. Walmart to shut down store in Canada because they voted for a Union!

I just heard this on Lou Dobbs program. When the store employees voted to unionize, Walmart said that instead of accepting that decision, they were shutting the store and firing all the employees.

I will check for a link.

[AtLiberty]

Hmm... Does this mean we should all obtain part-time jobs...

at Wal-Marts across America and start unionizing like hell?

Let's DU Wal-Mart. I'm going to apply for work in the guns & ammo department.

[Moderator]

Duplicate

Please continue discussion here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1225030

[wolfgirl]

That'll show those

Canadians! :grr:

I hate what Walmart has become - When Ol' Sam was alive, it was a great place...he's probably spinning in his grave. The family should be ashamed!

[merwin]

dupe (and not lbn)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1225030

[The Backlash Cometh]

Shit. Was it that easy to get rid of them? Damn. Those Canadians

know all the secrets.

[davidinalameda]

28. surprise

wonder how they let that vote go on

figured they would have fired the employees that were involved with getting the union there in the first place

[Skink]

29. Oh goody more Walmart's for us...

[China_cat]

30. That's the reason

the supercenters here in the US have plastic wrapped meat and no butchers now. A while back, the meatcutters voted to join a union. Walmart fired them all and started buying their meat already cut and prepacked.

But if it's causing them to close a store, I'm happy. Need to close down more of them. Guess we'll just have to wait and see if they don't just restaff.

[merwin]

1. If they restaff then they'll have a big lawsuit coming

[Riding this Donkey]

31. You go Canada!!!!!!!!!

Good for them.

[Spinzonner]

32. So now maybe CostCo Canada can take over the facility

[mermaid]

34. This Is ALSO Why Many Companies Prohibit Employees From Discussing Their

salaries.

They want to keep workers STUPID, so that they can continue to fuck them over!!

Beautiful example of this: I was working with a temp agency. I was placed at a job for 8 bucks an hour. Some other temps came in from a different agency, doing the same job, and THEY were getting paid $9.50 an hour to do the same fucking job!!

My agency got pissed when a few folks from my agency confronted our agency about the discrepancy in pay, and we were ALL reminded that discussing our salaries was grounds for termination.

But they ended up knuckling under and paying us $9.50.

BUT, they did NOT make up for the three weeks we were paid only 8 bucks!

Now, I have been placed by this agency, again, at the same place...and THIS time, they are paying me ten bucks.

They want to keep us workers all STUPID, though...so that they can fuck us over!

[napi21]

35. This salary stuff has been going on for many years!

I worked for the Federal Reserve Bank mack in the 70's. I worked night turn, and by accident during an internal audit, I found out that the people on the day shift, doing the same job, were being paid $2.50 and hour more than I was. I had worked there for almost 4 years so they couldn't say I was just a rookie employee.

I approached the dept. mgr. about it, and he said he'd check into it. After weeks of waiting, I asked him again, and he said it was bank policy that those on daylight had a different status!

Back then, you didn't try to sue, so I got another job, making a better salary than the folks on the day shift at the Fed.

Still pisses me off though, and that's been 28 years ago!

[mermaid]

40. I Don't Doubt It!!

but, again...companies do NOT want employees to discuss their salaries...because they don't want one employees to have justification to ask for more money.

See, I never discussed my salary. I just overheard the other temp agency people discussing THEIRS. and then some others from my agency began discussing OURS. Meanwhile, I was just doing a slow burn, and avoiding the conversation entirely, but LISTENING very well.

Then, When I asked my agency about the pay I was able to honestly say I HADN'T been discussing my salary...but that employees of a different agency HAD been discussing theirs!

Nevertheless...if that hadn't happened...and I hadn't overheard all of this...I guarantee I never wold have been bumped up to the $9.50...I know damn well my agency did not WANT to pay me $9.50.

And, I'm now back at the same place only because the client company requested ME, specifically, and BY NAME. Because I'm damned good at what I do. Of the 20-plus of us who eventually were on that assignment, only 4 were asked back, and I'm one of 'em....and at an increased rate of pay, too!

[dorktv]

43. That is illegal you know. You have the right to talk about your

wages. 1937 law prohibits retaliation.

[mermaid]

55. And Just TRY And Get Justice After The Fact

and put food on your table while your case slowly creeps thru the court system!

The bastards know it, too!

[LostinVA]

63. I Sued for this very thing

And received a $2,500 check. Several of us at a store did this (it was a big box chain). Yup, it took about nine months, and nope, they didn't fire me. It was actually the other way around -- they KNEW we would sue their asses if they tried anything!

Just an FYI: they tried so many dirty tricks: having home office VPs come in and make believe they were employees, and lying to the INVESTIGATOR from the department of labor. Of course, we told her this,a nd she asked to see ID from them. Hehehehhehehehe....

I hate Wal-Mart.

I hate Union busters.

[Igel]

37. "The store, which will close in May ..."

and reopen in August.

[mermaid]

41. With All New Employees!!

the ones who voted for Union won't be among them, bet your ass on it!!

[dorktv]

44. Who will then vote to Unionize!

[napi21]

47. You can't operate a store the size of a WM with no experienced

people! They may find some desperate people to work there, but they won't be destperate for long. Everybody in that area has to know the reason the store was closed, and how they are treated now. I think unions have a good chance in Canada!

I hope the employees in the US will soon understand this too!!! If all the employees in every WM voted to join a union, the company couldn't shut them ALL down!!!! Scare tactics are working now, but that might change.

[Broadslidin]

38. Another Example of the Phony 'good jobs' Wal-Mart Parasite....!

*

[Fitzgibbon]

46. Talk about eating your young? Don't enough people in the States

get it that shopping at WalMart is a faustian bargain? You're infliciting a manufacturing death by a thousand cuts to yourself and the labour gains of a century ago are slowly being eroded. When does it end? With indentured servitude?

:wtf:

[durablend]

67. Yo'ure just talking to the blind sheeple...

Same reasoning why they can't get it through their thick skulls why * is evil, they can't see why Smiley Mart is bad. It's almost the same "cult" mentality with them.

[sam sarrha]

45. i was at walmart and the intercom said, "all Available Employees to the

registers.." i looked at the cashier and said,"I guess that means break time is over", she couldn't control herself.. and totally lost it..

[Kansas Wyatt]

48. Attention All Unions Across America....

All Unions across the Nation, regardless of trade, should coordinate an effort together and immediately mobilize their members to target all WalMart stores to unionize. WalMart has admitted the way to hurt and destroy them.

[jmcgowanjm]

49. Kansas sets the trend-Harper's Ferry here we come! n/t

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

51. In other news:

"Wal-Mart will open a new store across the street."

[pdurod1]

52. Get rid of Walmart in your neighorhood: UNIONIZE IT!

Thanks Canada

[Minstrel Boy]

53. "Is there aught we hold in common with the greedy parasite?"

Is there aught we hold in common with the greedy parasite,
Who would lash us into serfdom and would crush us with his might?
Is there anything left to us but to organize and fight?
For the Union makes us strong!

[sellitman]

54. This makes me smile

deep down!

[earth mom]

57. I LOVE UNIONS! What a great way to kick Walmarts a$$ outta dodge

I rarely shop at Walmart these days-I boycott them as much as possible anymore-but broke my rule when I found myself in one a couple of weeks ago and while there was talking to an employee and though I can't remember how we got on the subject she told me that if anyone comes in and starts to talk to the employees about unions they are to report it to management immediately! I was shocked! Is that even legal?! :grr:

[imacoolbreeze]

58. How Ironic !

Remember when unions in America always involved American made goods? Now you want to unionize Chinese goods? Hahaha! BOY are we getting desperate! ( Shouldn't be much longer now! )

[noonwitch]

59. Shop at Meijer, they have a union

Not many stores do.

[B3Nut]

61. I'd love to see Meijer in Wisconsin....

I always went to the one in Battle Creek when I lived there...we ended up with 2 of them. The new one is across the street from the MallWart, and lo and behold............it's thriving. Go into Mall Wart and then go into Meijer. Mucho better. I wish we had a Costco in Madison too, I'd love an alternative to Sam's. Wal-Mart is evil.

Todd in Beerbratistan

[SiouxJ]

66. If you want to help spread the word about Wal-mart

there's a grassroots email effort going on that you should look into. I'm sure most people here probably already know about it, but since I only found out about it yesterday maybe not, so here it is:

http://walmart.purpleocean.org/answer/ad6ef2d45f4fd6c32f2bb9a0bc88cb3d/

Sign up and spread the word. I'm always surprised at how many people don't know about their labor practices, not to mention their "eliminate the competition" strategies. This is any easy way to spread the word and stop them before they become the ONLY place to shop.

[Glenda]

68. http://www.walmartsucks.org/

here's an interesting site :)

[Glenda]

70. Widow v. Wal-Mart - they took out life ins policies on unhealthy emps

http://www.walmartsurvivor.com/120902.html

Three years ago, Michael Rice, a 48-year-old assistant manager at
the Wal-Mart in Tilton, N.H., helped a customer bring a large television out to her car.

On his way back to the store, he suffered a massive heart attack and collapsed. Seven days later, Rice died.

Wal-Mart collected at least $325,000 from a life insurance policy the company had taken out on him. His wife and two sons never saw a
dime.

Now Rice's wife, Vicki, is suing Wal-Mart. In court papers, she
argues that the corporation did not have the right to insure her
husband's life, and that the benefits the company received from his
death should rightfully go to her.

"They used Mike terribly," Vicki Rice said from her new home in
Bangor, Maine.

"They abused him, working him like that," she said. "And then
they go out and collect $300,000? It's very immoral."

[Red State Rebel]

71. Key Man Insurance on Employees is not unusual

I've worked for companies that did it and we have it at our business. You insure the life of key employees to cover losses the business might suffer while replacing the employee and to cover your cost of having trained and educated the employee to the level they have reached.

If the wife wanted life insurance proceeds, she should have taken out her own policy on her husband.

[Glenda]

72. This guy wasn't a Key Employee

And the policies were not taken out on Key Employees - only ones with known health conditions. THen walmart would work them to death and benefit from it.

[Red State Rebel]

74. Anyone in management is a key employee

I didn't see anywhere in the quotes that this guy had a known health problem. Only that the widow was pissed that she didn't get any of the proceeds.

The law says you cannot insure anyones life without their permission so the guy had to know this policy existed.

[Solon]

75. You have no clue as to how Wal-Mart works, do you?

OK, an This is the hierarchy of Wal-Mart, roughly, though some terms vary from store to store. Lowest rungs are the Floor Associates and Cashiers, cashiers get paid more, but never mind. Next up are the CSMs and department managers, glorified Cashiers and Floor Associates basically, they have the power to *gasp* actually change pricing in their departments(with Associate Manager's approval of course), and they get paid about 50 cents more than floor associates and cashiers. Next up are Assistant/Support managers, they are the ones that the real managers order around to tell other people what to do, they cannot fire or hire people by themselves, but they get the "honor" sometimes, to tell someone they are fired all for about a dollar or two more an hour than dept. managers and CSMs. None of the ones above are salaried employees(i.e. they can date floor associates ;)), and none have the power to fire people on their own.

Now we get up to the Associate Managers, they are salaried, make about twice as much as the next lowest employees, and are managers of several departments in the store, they also can fire people and hire them if they want. They are the ones that go to Benton ville for training, and they are the ones who Wal-Mart keeps regardless of how incompetent they are. Actually that applies to all managers from this and above, oddly enough.

Then we get up to Store Managers and Co-Managers, they are the ones with their names on the Receipts at the stores you buy from. Co-Managers are basically the same, though I don't really know what the hell they are for, we had one who lasted about 3 months at our store, then he moved to another location as a Store Manager, I think its a temporary on the job training or something.

District Managers are next, they of course manage several stores in an area, etc. etc. The key here is that all employees below Associates Managers are expendable, easily expendable, they are not the ones who can get away with shooting up a store with a pellet gun to get at a bird that flew in through lawn and garden(true story! Our Store Manager actually did that at 3 in the afternoon during my shift, he was sent back for "retraining" in Benton ville, and was knocked down to Associate Manager for a year, you think any of the hourly employees would have lasted a minute after a fiasco like that?)

[Glenda]

77. heh heh!

"they are not the ones who can get away with shooting up a store with a pellet gun to get at a bird that flew in through lawn and garden(true story! Our Store Manager actually did that"

LOL! Maybe they considered this as Employee Perks for you guys - sort of entertainment. :)

[Glenda]

76. How does having a law stop Walmart?

Here's another article:

http://www.valleyadvocate.com/gbase/News/content.html?oid=oid:766

If this URL doesn't work, google "Vicki Rice" Walmart
and it will be one of the first hits



Dead or Alive, Wal-Mart Gets Value From Its Workers

In New Hampshire, Vicki Rice discovered that the company had an insurance policy worth more than $300,000 on her husband, the assistant manager of a Wal-Mart store in Tilton, who died of a heart attack in 1999 after carrying a television set to a customer's car. Now Rice is suing Wal-Mart in federal court,

And in Texas, where it's illegal for corporations to take out life insurance on middle- and low-level employees -- known unflatteringly as "janitor insurance" or "dead peasant insurance" -- other relatives of deceased Wal-Mart employees are going to court to keep the company from reaping big profits from the deaths.

During the 1990s, Rice and the other plaintiffs have learned, Arkansas-based Wal-Mart bought 350,000 policies on its employees, borrowing money from the insurers themselves -- Hartford Life Insurance Co. and AIG Life Insurance Co. -- to pay for them. Wal-Mart says the insurers did not make it clear that "janitor insurance," which is sometimes seen as a disincentive for employers to keep workplaces safe and healthy, was not legal in all states. When the federal Internal Revenue Service discontinued tax deductions for such policies in 1996, Wal-Mart stopped buying them.

...

The New Hampshire and Texas cases show that the nation's largest retailer, which is famous for discouraging its employees from unionizing and bargaining for benefits packages on their own terms, fully understands the value of benefits -- when the benefits go to the company. But Wal-Mart spokesman Bill Wertz brushed off suggestions that the company was uncaring.

[Solon]

73. I could understand that if they were...

Store Manager or above, but he was an assistant manager (hourly wages still if memory serves me correctly) for chrissakes, even the Associate Managers, the lowest salaried employees, get fired occasionally, still requires extraordinary circumstances, but they get fired with little cost to the company as a whole. For floor associates it makes even less sense, Wal-Mart has the highest turnover rate in the industry, and they try to pull this shit, my question is, do they keep the policy after you quit or are fired?

[solinvictus]

69. Here's a clearinghouse website on Wally World..

http://www.againstthewal.com/