Fils this one under WTF???
How stupid is it for senior managers at a major American corporation to tell employees who to vote for, and not expect themselves to wind up starring in a viral Internet story? This week's player: Wal-Mart:
From the The Wall Street Journal (via the Huffpo): Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is mobilizing its store managers and department supervisors around the country to warn that if Democrats win power in November, they'll likely change federal law to make it easier for workers to unionize companies -- including Wal-Mart. In recent weeks, thousands of Wal-Mart store managers and department heads have been summoned to mandatory meetings at which the retailer stresses the downside for workers if stores were to be unionized. According to about a dozen Wal-Mart employees who attended such meetings in seven states, Wal-Mart executives claim that employees at unionized stores would have to pay hefty union dues while getting nothing in return, and may have to go on strike without compensation. Also, unionization could mean fewer jobs as labor costs rise ... The Wal-Mart human-resources managers who run the meetings don't specifically tell attendees how to vote in November's election, but make it clear that voting for Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama would be tantamount to inviting unions in, according to Wal-Mart employees who attended gatherings in Maryland, Missouri and other states. "The meeting leader said, 'I am not telling you how to vote, but if the Democrats win, this bill will pass and you won't have a vote on whether you want a union,'" said a Wal-Mart customer-service supervisor from Missouri. "I am not a stupid person. They were telling me how to vote," she said. Wal-Mart is now denying that it told employees who to vote for, but the company admits that it has a problem with a bill Barack Obama supported in the Senate:
The measure, called the Employee Free Choice Act, would allow labor organizations to unionize workplaces without secret ballot elections. It was co-sponsored by Barack Obama, the presumed Democratic presidential candidate, and opposed by John McCain, the presumed Republican nominee.
Wal-Mart spokesman Dave Tovar told The Associated Press that the company did discuss the bill with its employees, including what it sees as the negative impact, and noted that the company's stand on the legislation is no secret.
"We believe the Employee Free Choice Act is a bad bill and we have been on the record as opposed to it," he said. But he said the company wasn't advocating that its employees vote against backers of the legislation. "If anyone representing Wal-Mart gave the impression... they are wrong and acting without approval," said Tovar. In fact, he said that Wal-Mart has been working with both Republicans and Democrats. "Half of our (political action committee) contributions are to members of each party," Tovar said. "We regularly educate our associates on issues which impact our company, and this is an example of that." Need I remind you that Wal-Mart is America's biggest employer... It's also one of the most vehement opponents of unions in the U.S. (and probably cautions its workers from ever talking to anyone who works at Costco, where workers make a lot more money and have benefits...) Writes Kevin Drum:
This is par for the course. Few companies are as rabidly anti-union as Walmart, and there was never any doubt where their sympathies lie on this issue. They have a habit of firing workers who try to organize their stores, closing down stores that vote to organize anyway, and outsourcing entire departments when multiple stores vote to organize. (See T.A. Frank's "Everyday Low Vices" for more.) Bottom line: For these guys, warning people to vote against Barack Obama hardly even rates on the fear-o-meter. It almost warms my heart that they're taking a Democratic win this seriously, to tell you the truth.
BTW, the last time I looked, labor costs were about 10% of revenues for Walmart. (Or is it Wal-Mart? Their own website can't make up its mind.) If their "associates" did vote to join a union and fight for higher wages and benefits, the result would probably be an average increase in prices chain-wide of about 1-2%. Not exactly a catastrophe of Biblical proportions.
| Labels: unions, Wal-Mart |
