Wal-Mart: The Union Busters

Ryan Parkinson
0644565

Wal-Mart – The Union Busters
2A03 – Unions: Research Paper
Submitted: November 10th, 2010

If you unionize it, they won’t come. Known as one of the biggest union busters worldwide, Wal-Mart (WMT) doesn’t just leave employees union-less; they leave them unemployed. In fact, it can be argued that WMT doesn’t even recognize their staff as employees, referring to them as ‘associates’, a term that implies higher status and unionization.[i] We know, however, that this is not true and actually means lower pay and workplace dictatorship. This was evident when on October 17th, 2008, the multinational retail chain officially closed a tire and lube shop where workers had recently joined a union.[ii] This was the second…show more content…
Secondly, as unions develop, more networking can take place, sharing information globally, creating transparent information amongst all union members. Accurate international information, including wage and benefit figures, will allow union members to eliminate wage disputes during the collective bargaining process. For example, employers may misrepresent wages of international workers or use low international wages as leverage to force union concessions on wage. By unionizing globally, information can be verified, In addition, global wages will increase, eliminating wage completely as a source of power for employers during negotiations. Moving forward, unions should use real life examples, such as the comparison of WMT and Costco, to show that unionization does not hinder a corporations profit potential and future growth opportunities. In fact, unionization can actually increase growth and profit. Through diversified training programs and increasing employee moral, two key benefits of unionization, companies can improve efficiency and thus prosper in long run. This can pay dividends to a company internally, indirectly reducing costs. For example, the unionized workplaces, such as Costco, experience significantly less employee turnover than unionized…show more content…
html.

Wakeup Wal-Mart. “Costco vs. Sam's Club: A Social Responsibility Showdown.” accessed October 29, 2010. http://blog.wakeupwalmart.com/ufcw/2010/09/costco-vs-sams-.html.

Walker, Cathy. “Unions in China: A View from a Canadian Unionist.” The Socialist Project. 26-29.

Walmartstores.com. “History Timeline.” accessed October 24, 2010. http://walmartstores.com/ aboutus/7603.aspx.

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Notes

[i] “Wal-Mart to Allow Unions in China,” The Washington Post, accessed October 26. 2010. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/09/AR2006080901924.html.

[ii] “Wal-Mart closes unionized Quebec tire and lube shop,” The National Union of Public and General Employees, accessed October 25, 2010,http://www.nupge.ca/news_2008/n17oc08b.htm.

[iii] Ibid.

[iv] “History Timeline,” Walmartstores.com, accessed October 24, 2010, http://walmartstores.com/ aboutus/7603.aspx. [v] Gregor Murray and Joelle Cuillerier, “The Sky is not Falling: Unionization, Wal-Mart and First-Contract Arbitration in Canada,” Just Labour: A Canadian Journal of Work and Society – V.15 – Special Edition, 78-98.

[vi] Ibid.

[vii]