Free Republic

Thousands of Wal-Mart employees are fighting to get their jobs back after Wal-Mart suddenly closed five stores last week without warning.  The retailer said it closed the stores in California, Texas, Oklahoma, and Florida due to persistent plumbing issues that could take as long as six months to fix. More than 2,200 workers were laid off as a result and given two months of severance pay.  But some critics are skeptical that Wal-Mart closed the stores because of plumbing issues. Officials in the five cities where Wal-Mart closed stores claim the company hasn't sought permits for plumbing work, according to ABC...

Conspiracy theorists are working overtime to explain why Walmart suddenly closed 5 stores in 3 states this week, laying off 2200 workers. The stores are expected to reopen in 6 months. The company claims the closings are releated to ongoing and pervasive plumbing problems. But the conspiracy theorists believe it has more to do with workers who took part in the Black Friday strike than with faulty sewers. Business Insider: Wal-Mart employees say they were completely blindsided by the news, having been notified only a couple hours before the stores closed at 7 p.m. Monday. "Everybody just panicked and started...

The budding “revolutionary guards” among WalMart employees may be learning a lesson about economics in the real world; a course they were never offered during their substandard public educations. The pressure from militant employees and union thugs has brought about a series of raises for WalMart workers, which is supposed to be good news. But is it? Some of these raises will start immediately and others will follow until all REMAINING workers will see remarkable increases in their salaries; some will be getting $80 per week raises. Nevertheless, WalMart has not become the largest retailer in the world by voluntarily...

Wal-Mart faces a potential labor injunction from a union group asking the company to rehire all 2,200 employees affected by the abrupt temporary closing of five stores a week ago. One affected store, in Pico Rivera, California, has been a hotbed for worker protests against Wal-Mart. A union is asking labor regulators to go to court to force Wal-Mart to rehire all 2,200 employees affected by the abrupt temporary closing of five stores a week ago. The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union filed the charge on behalf of OUR Walmart with the National Labor Relations Board on Monday,...