Chapter Five Wal-Mart’s Anti-Union Strategies © Routledge 2013.
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Transcript of Chapter Five Wal-Mart’s Anti-Union Strategies © Routledge 2013.
© Routledge 2013
Chapter FiveWal-Mart’s Anti-Union Strategies
© Routledge 2013
OUR Wal-Mart
© Routledge 2013
Wal-Mart and Unions
Wal-Mart insists they do not need “third party representation” for their employees
Nationalism and social mobility ladder do not work for all employees
Some employees want a union, but Wal-Mart has kept them from having one
© Routledge 2013
Managing Labor
Very large gaps between hourly employees and managers 2010: Mike Duke earned $18.7
million and Wal-Mart cut 13,000 jobs
Everyday Low Cost not just in the supply chain Low-paid workers Managers minimize costs and are
rewarded for doing so
Interests of hourly workers and managers are fundamentally at odds
© Routledge 2013
Employee Resistance
Stealing Wal-Mart has aggressive “Asset
Protection” program
Quitting Good for Wal-Mart’s bottom line (do
not have to pay increased wages or benefits)
Worked into Wal-Mart’s business model
Bad for other employees (morale and productivity)
© Routledge 2013
Unions
Western culture prioritizes individual experience; labor unions promote group represent the collective interests of
workers constitute one of the only forms of
power outside the company’s control the only check on management
prerogatives
Unions exercise power through: Collective bargaining Work slowdowns Boycotts Strikes
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Unions
Contemporary union demands include larger share of the
company’s profits lighter and more realistic
workloads more predictable
schedules full-time employment overtime pay
Legislation National Labor Relations
Act (Wagner Act) Taft-Hartley Act
© Routledge 2013
Union Busting
Anti-union vs. “pro-associate”
Anti-union indoctrination for new employees Training videos Other propaganda
“Manager’s Toolbox” “Open Door Policy” Identifying early warning signs of
union activity “Coaching By Walking Around” Anti-union hotline in Bentonville
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“Early Warning Signs” increased curiosity in benefits and policies Associates receiving unusual attention from
other associates Slowdown in work productivity or mistakes Reports of employee conflict Increase in complaints and confrontations
with management “Strangers” spending an unusual amount of
time in the associates’ parking areas at the beginning or end of shifts
Associates spending an abnormal amount of time in the parking lot before and after work
Frequent meetings at associates’ homes Associates coming back to the facility to talk
to associates on other shifts Associates leaving work areas on a frequent
basis to talk to other associates
© Routledge 2013
“Final Stages”
Open signs of union activity Literature Membership cards Frank discussions about unions
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Union Busting
What happens when a union effort begins in a store? Wal-Mart exercises their right to demand
an election Near daily, quasi-mandatory store
meetings detailing negative aspects of union organizing
Show anti-union films “Wall of Shame” Right to replace striking workers Fire “troublemakers”
Instances of union formation Palestine, TX Jonquière, Canada
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Jonquière, Quebec
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New Organizing Efforts
OUR Wal-Mart Leverage the stores
principles (“respect for the individual”) against them
Challenge company to recommit to its principles
Warehouse Workers United (WWU) Organizing workers in Wal-
Mart; contracted warehouses
“Chain of Greed”
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Competing Visions of Labor Rights
People vs. a budget item
A company full of people or a corporate person
“Free” market and level playing field or structured asymmetry
The questions: What is the minimum level of benefits that
a working person should enjoy Should we collectively strive to achieve
that for all workers? Is believing in that minimum compatible
with shopping at Wal-Mart?
Living Wage campaigns
© Routledge 2013
Reshaping the Political and Legal Field
Wal-Mart’s anti-union tactics outmaneuver legal protections for labor
Employee Free Choice Act
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission
Is union activity back on the rise?
