Chapter Five Wal-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 © Routledge 2013

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 © Routledge 2013

“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 © Routledge 2013

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 © Routledge 2013

Jonquière, Quebec © Routledge 2013

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” © Routledge 2013

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? © Routledge 2013