Wal-Mart steels itself for Black Friday labor showdown

[No Elephants]

Wal-Mart steels itself for Black Friday labor showdown

<snip>

The nation’s largest retailer and a consortium of workers’ rights groups have traded jabs after Wal-Mart responded to threats of Black Friday walkouts and protests at 1,000 stores across the country by Organization United for Respect at Walmart (OUR Walmart).

Wal-Mart filed an unfair labor practice suit against the United Food and Commercial Workers union with the National Labor Relations Board last week asking the NLRB to stop the protests, which the retailer claims are an attempt to disrupt its business. OUR Walmart claims the union doesn't control it, however, even though the two organizations have ties.

But Black Friday shoppers can probably expect labor actions to be a minor annoyance, at most. While 1,000 protest events sounds like a lot, Wal-Mart has 4,500 stores in the U.S. In an email to NBC News, company spokesman David Tovar characterized participants as “a handful of associates, at a handful of stores scattered across the country.”

<snip>

UFCW spokeswoman Moira Bulloch called the organized actions “very much unprecedented” and said shoppers at some stores could see workers walking out or protesting.

<snip>

Rob Wilson, analyst at Tiburon Research Group, said he thinks the work actions are being driven more by an effort to unionize than to improve working conditions, which is similar to what Wal-Mart alleges in its NLRB suit.

Bulloch disputes this, as does Mary Pat Tifft, a leader with OUR Walmart. "The UFCW has no ownership, equity or other controlling interest in OUR Walmart,” she said via email.

I hope it is being driven by an effort to unionize!

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/wal-mart-steels-itself-black-friday-labor-showdown-1C7154887

[formercia]

1. The Economy must be improving

People are willing to risk their jobs for fair treatment. I hope the workers win. Beating Wally-World would be a big fish to fry.

Workers in this Country need a big victory to encourage others to speak-out.

[No Elephants]

2. For labor, Wal-Mart is a big Target.

See what I did there?

Once upon a time, Target was considered the blue lower-priced store, while Wal-Mart was the red one. However, Target has become such a behemoth that I am not sure that is still true.

Still, I have never heard some of the things about Target's employment practices that I heard about Wal-Mart's.

Once, at Target, a woman walked up to me and said, "What are you doing? Shouldn't you be working somewhere?" I could not imagine what was going on and feared I has somehow caught the attention of a crazy person who might attack me any second.

Turned out she thought I was an employee because I was wearing beige trousers and a red tee shirt. I had never noticed that is the color combination that all Target employees wear. Phew.

I won't make that mistake again.

[formercia]

3. Lucky you didn't get Fired.

for not wearing your Name Badge. :rofl:

[Enthusiast]

4. That is funny!.........nt