Posted on 02/11/2005 1:58:23 PM PST by quidnunc
The chief executive of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. yesterday defended the retailer's decision to close a Canadian store after its employees voted to form a union, saying demands from negotiators would have forced an already unprofitable store to hire 30 more people and abide by inefficient work rules.
"You can't take a store that is a struggling store anyway and add a bunch of people and a bunch of work rules that cause you to even be in worse shape," H. Lee Scott Jr. said.
In his first interview since Wal-Mart announced it would close the store in Jonquiere, Quebec, Scott said Wal-Mart saw no upside to the higher labor costs and refused to cede ground to the union for the sake of being "altruistic."
"It doesn't work that way," he said.
Wal-Mart's decision has infuriated the United Food and Commercial Workers union, which was negotiating a contract for the Quebec store's 190 employees. If it had succeeded, the store would have become the only Wal-Mart store in North America with a union contract.
"Wal-Mart is trying to send a message to the rest of their employees that if they join a union the same thing could happen to them," said Michael J. Fraser, the union's national director in Canada. Fraser said the union plans to file unfair labor practice charges against the chain with the Quebec Labor Relations Commission.
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(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Amen to that. Fight back against the trial lawyers and the union bosses. A business can't make a profit - then they need to shutter their doors. And the workers who tried to get unionized, well guess what, you've become unionized but now you don't have jobs.
I work in a unionized workplace. Everyone wears their little Teamsters shirts. Lots of bitching and moaning. Lots of fun. I will not support the AFL-CIO for a list of reasons. I have been asked many times to join though. I know Republicans who are in the union. Why? "Company treated us bad blah blah blah" they say. They are not happy with the Bush-bashing that goes in some of the meetings. I feel sorry for them.
Also sends a very obvious message to otheres tempted to organize Wal-Marts..
Wal-Mart's anti-union stance is, in my estimation, one of the main reasons why it is being demonized.
Boards of Directors and a competitive marketplace "keep corporate America honest". Which is far better than fat, gold-chained union thugs who climb out of Cadillacs keeping them "honest".
agreed.....unions did have their place many moons ago but when they became more corrupt than the big business owners they sought to remedy, well, their usefullness was minimized to just about nothing..........
That's how crazy it's getting.
You must like paying higher prices then.
Ping for read...
I never read posts by Clintonfatigued. Patriots should organize a boycott of the Poster who epitomizes socialist America at its worst.
I used to wear my "God Votes Republican" tee shirt to stewards meetings. Pissed allot of people off, loved it. My family helped to organize the Local and I was a very good Steward, nothing they could do to me, Trotskiite scum.
This is going to get ugly, folks.
I believe this is the plan. So they close a store, they have plenty of them, but they send a message employees wont forget.
Yep. Union violence will happen. It will also head south, to the USA.
I call BS on you.
Lol....Stay or else we blow up the building!! I say let the unions in, jack up the prices 500% and lay everyone off. Naw, too much work, just close the store and leave.
I call BS on you too.
Another reason that unions suck. People that feel they need to organize to get anything are unmotivated, irresponsible slackers. I've never been in a union. Everything I got, I got it from being a great employee. Most companies reward people that are assets to the business. If they don't, you find someone who will.
Very nice. Why did you join the union in the first place?
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