Welcome to Wal-Mart's War on Workers
Wal-Mart workers who speak out for a union at work are paying the ultimate price— the loss of their jobs. The world’s largest retailer is also the world’s biggest union buster and anti-worker corporation. For workers who speak out for unionization, Wal-Mart is a war zone.
"Wal-Mart blatantly broke laws," says Brad Jones, who was fired after participating inorganizing activities inKingman, Ariz. "They backed us into a corner, and we needed someone to speak out for us who has some pull, like the union."
"I knew I’d get fired when I got into organizing," says Ken Stanhope, a former department manager at a Wal-Mart store in Wasilla, Alaska. "I just didn’t know how they were going to do it."
Like countless other Wal-Mart employees, Stanhope quickly grew tiresome of the low wages, inadequate benefits, and demands to work off the clock. He was a model employee, running the most profitable pet department in the entire company. Yet as Stanhope began to show signs of being a union supporter, his assistant manager began to treat him differently. His workplace conditions deteriorated. Before he knew it, Stanhope was escorted out of his store by the police and banned from all Wal-Mart stores internationally.
A judge, declaring that Wal-Mart had eviscerated Stanhope’s rights, has since ordered him reinstated with full back pay. While Stanhope points out that the company will spend millions appealing the decision, it’s clear Wal-Mart systematically violates worker rights, victimizing anyone who speaks up for union representation.
Brad Jones became a Wal-Mart victim when the company targeted him after a majority of his coworkers in a Kingman, Ariz., Tire and Lube Express department signed cards authorizing a union election. Despite receiving good marks on his employment reviews, Jones, an active union supporter, was fired.
"I needed someone who could speak for me and had some pull," says Jones. "There’s no way one person can stand up to a huge corporation like Wal-Mart. And with supervisors telling associates that the union isn’t going to help them, workers have no idea what the union can do for them."
Recently, another NLRB judge ordered Wal-Mart to reinstate Jones with full backpay. When he returns to work, Jones plans to pick up where he left off fighting for his right to have union representation.
"I believe in the philosophy behind unions,"explains Jones. "It’s the support of Phoenix Local 99 that has kept me going through this battle. If it wasn’t for the union’s support, I would be nowhere."
Nowhere is exactly where Wal-Mart wants to put all workers who feel like Jones and want an organized voice on the job. "My days are numbered," says Jennifer McLaughlin, who works in the garden center of a Paris, Tex., Wal-Mart. "I’m expecting every day to get fired." Eric Jackson has already been fired from the same store. "I had ‘exceeds expectations’ on my reviews," says the former customer service manager. "Once I signed a union card, I became the worst employee."
Wal-Mart is attempting to use Eric Jackson, Brad Jones, and Ken Stanhope as examples of what will happen to other workers who stand up for their rights. But Wal-Mart workers are fighting back with the help of union and community members nationwide. Last fall, more than 300 organizations joined the UFCW in a National Action Day to launch the People’s Campaign—Justice at Wal-Mart. Civil rights, religious, women’s, community, and student groups, among others, rallied in support of Wal-Mart workers in more than 100 cities across the country, demanding that Wal-Mart respect workers and obey the law.
The People’s Campaign is exposing what’s behind Wal-Mart’s smiling yellow face: the world’s biggest war zone for workers.
"Wal-Mart’s too big for us to go it alone," says Stanhope. "Local 1496 is behind us here, but it’s going to take the help of everyone to make Wal-Mart do the right thing. I know as long as I’m alive, I will do anything I can to see a union in Wal-Mart."WA
Spying on union activities, confiscating union literature, disciplining workers for supporting a union, removing union representatives from stores...Wal-Mart is "Big Brother" in Las Vegas, Nev.
But Larry Allen isn’t intimidated. "I strive to be the ideal employee," says Allen. "If they want me out because I support the union, then they can tell me that’s why. But I am not going to give them any reason to fire me because of my performance on the job."
Unlike many of his co-workers, Allen refuses to allow Wal-Mart’s law-breaking and psychological terror tactics to keep him from speaking out. "Many associates are scared that they will lose their jobs," explains Allen. "I just want to educate my co-workers who are intimidated to let them know that, with the help of the union and its members, we can succeed."
Jaclyn Allen, Larry’s wife, is a former Wal-Mart worker who now works for a union store represented by Local 711. Together, Jaclyn and Larry inform workers about their rights and the union difference through Worker Voice Radio, a weekly radio talk show.
"We have full-time associates who still have to collect welfare and food stamps to make ends meet,"says Allen. "The more union members talk with associates, the more associates will know they have people behind them to fight for their rights."
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