| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 27, 2000 |
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American Standards of Fair and Free Elections: Not at Wal-Mart Intimidation, coercion, worker firing, and threats poison election process in Kingman, Arizona as Wal-Mart continues its systematic, nationwide illegal campaign to deny workers a free choice for a voice in the workplace. Wal-Mart faces new federal charges alleging that the retail giant engaged in its typical bully tactics of firing a union supporter, using wage raises to discriminate against workers that stood up for union representation and even forcibly removing a worker from one of its stores for exercising his legal right to wear a union button in the weeks before a scheduled union representation election for tire and lube employees of Wal- Mart's in Kingman. Wal-Mart's conduct makes it impossible to conduct a fair and free election under the standards of the National Labor Relations Board(NLRB). Wal-Mart also faces federal charges in Pennsylvania, Florida, Nevada, Kentucky, California and Texas. The NLRB has already issued a complaint finding that Wal-Mart had violated federal law by refusing to recognize and bargain with workers in Jacksonville, Texas, after the workers voted for union representation. The NLRB has consistently ruled against Wal-Mart in the company's effort to snuff out the growing union support among its workers. Wal-Mart has a flying squadron of union busters dispatched from Bentonville and ready to descend on workers anywhere in the U.S. Workers are herded into forced meetings to be barraged and harangued with anti-union propaganda. One-on-one intimidation sessions usually follow that combine promises and threats in order "re- educate" pro-union workers. Wal-Mart's tactics would be condemned as human rights abuses if they occurred anywhere else in the world. Wal-Mart refuses to allow a free and fair choice. Wal-Mart uses fear and intimidation to rig election results like a third-world dictator. The United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) will continue to organize Wal-Mart workers and demand that Wal-Mart live up to the legacy of Sam Walton and respect the rights of workers, obey the law, and live by American standards. "Wal-Mart told us they cared about employees. That's not true," said Maurice Miller a Wal-Mart meat cutter from Jacksonville, Tex. "That's why we organized our meat department in Jacksonville to get a voice on the job." The UFCW is the largest organization of retail workers in North America, with 1.4 million members. Workers at retail food industry leaders such as Kroger and Safeway are members of the UFCW. |
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