Arbitrator Imposes Collective Agreement on Behalf of Quebec Wal-Mart Workers

Good!  There IS justice in the world!  I personally don’t think that unions are always the answer - in fact in many cases they don’t really do anything for you but take money out of your paycheck.  However in a lot of cases they DO work for the worker and it is your legal RIGHT to form one.  Essentially corporations have gotten things to the point where your right to form a union is completely meaningless (just like freedom of speech in Russia or China).

If a company is “behaving” the right way and trying to listen to their workers than there’s no NEED for a union (and I don’t mean the fraudulent “open-door policy” at Wal-Mart).  Basically the employees won’t really see the need for a union because it will just mean more money taken out of their depressingly small paychecks. 

The bottom line is that corporations (ESPECIALLY Wal-Mart) need to know that they can’t just do whatever they feel like doing.  It’s pretty bad that the government had to get involved in this situation.

If you work at Wal-Mart you have NO rights NO protection and NO representation (trust me - I WORK for this piece of crap company -but not for too much longer - I’m going on my fifth year and I can’t even believe that.).

You are all blind to what this website is attempting acheive.  Remember that Unions are a Business and they want your money.  Secondly, in doing research based on many comments on this website, I have found that WM actually pays 8% higher than other retailers.  Third, why is no one gonig after McDonald’s or BK, Taco Bell, Sears, etc.  What has WM done to the rest of the world besides give on avg. $300 mil per year to local and national charities?

wally world is nothing but slave runners if you get hurt at work the management team turn others against you. The management team is a joke take a problem to them they go and discuss it with your fellow workers.I hope the union can help the workers there because they are working for a shit company that knows no laws and care nothing about there workers as one manger told me WHERE ELSE WOULD THESE PEOPLE GET A JOB

Yeah, in SOME cases Wal-Mart pays more - I will give you that - there are even crappier jobs out there.  However, the differences in pay from one employee to the next are astounding sometimes and don’t make any sense.  However, I think someone should actually work there before they say “It’s not that bad”.  If you WORK there and that’s your genuine opinion than good for you but a lot of people differ.  Is EVERYTHING about my job bad?  No.  There are some things that are okay and there’s always something worse but a lot of people have a lot of legitimate complaints about it.

Al, you’re sure not kidding about management discussing people’s personal business with other workers and other management.  Some managers aren’t bad and I actually feel bad for a lot of them but some will openly mock, insult, or belittle the employees.

i work at a walmart in quebec and this morning they had an anti-union propaganda speech for us at the meeting. they are not announcing that the union stuff is finalized, they said they would “update us with any news”. i think they will find any way they can to shut down the garage.

All anti Wal-Marter’s know that OF COURSE WAL-MART WILL TRY AND FIND A WAY TO CLOSE THIS TIRE AND LUBE CENTER. They may even close the store--that’s how much they hate unions.
Actually, it’s not the unions they hate--IT’S THE FACT THEY WOULD END UP PAYING MORE TO THEIR EMPLOYEES. The unions would give their employees bargaining power--and the power to bargain for more money and better benefits. Wal-Mart hates unions because of what they would do to their bottom line. Unions would put more money in the hands of employees and less money in Wal-Mart’s pocket.
Get it straight folks, Wal-Mart cares for nobody. They only have one real concern---stockholders. They haven’t gotten the nickname “Best of Bentonville” for being a nice guy. They suck the life out of nearly everything they touch.

Jane;

[Actually, it’s not the unions they hate--IT’S THE FACT THEY WOULD END UP PAYING MORE TO THEIR EMPLOYEES. The unions would give their employees bargaining power--and the power to bargain for more money and better benefits. Wal-Mart hates unions because of what they would do to their bottom line. Unions would put more money in the hands of employees and less money in Wal-Mart’s pocket.]

Tell that to the California Grocery Workers.  What Walmart is afraid of, is the union ‘strike’ tactic, that hurts both the company and the employees, by trying to ‘extort’ as much as they can from the company.

What the union really wants, is more money in THEIR pockets and 1.5 million employees paying dues, is very tempting to them.  Just think, if each employee paid only $10.00 a month in dues, that would be $15 million a month (or $180 million a year), in the union’s pockets.  And, “paying dues”, is the ONLY thing that they can guarantee.

RIGHT ON CHARLES

In California’s recent supermarket strike, the big grocery chains said they had been forced to cut health benefits and create a lower wage tier to compete with Wal-Mart.

Creating a lower wage tier. It sounds like Wal-Mart is dragging everyone else down. I guess that’s why they call it the ‘race to the bottom’.

What Walmart is afraid of, is the union ‘strike’ tactic, that hurts both the company and the employees, by trying to ‘extort’ as much as they can from the company.

Wal-Mart’s model of a disposable workforce is unsustainable over the long haul. Unionization, or collective bargaining, would merely speed the process along.

“There is only one boss, the customer. And he can fire everybody in the company, from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.” ~ Sam Walton

FUNNY JANE YOU HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH THE CRAP TREATMENT AND CRAP WAGES TARGET AND K-MART YOUR FAVORITE STORES PAY AND TREAT PEOPLE.JANE SOMEONE I KNOW JUST STARTED WORKING AT WM NO WORK EXP GUESS WGHAT FULL TIME WORK AND 10.00 AN HR TO START.SO MUCH FOR YOUR CHEAP WAGES AND UFCW UNION GARBAGE ON HERE.GOT AN ANSWER ON THAT JANE?BALONEY KEN WM IS DRAGGING EVERYONE DOWN.SORRY KEN ITS THE HIGH COST UFCW UNION GROCERY STORES AND OTHER RETAILERS YOU FAVOR AND THEIR CHEAP WAGES AND REFUSAL TO GIVE FULL TIME WORK TO ALL.

sorry ken wm pays my friend 10.00 an hr to start with no previous work exp and full time work and good benefits enough of your wm pays cheap wages bs and garbage.10.00 an hr ken thats better than target and k-mart 2 stores you favor pay.got anything to say on that?enough of your wm dont care about anyone garbage too.

...“Best of Bentonville”...

If you say so, Jane.

Time For You to Do Some More “Research,” Stacey!

I think if you do some more “research” Stacey, you’ll find that Wal-Mart is larger than McDonalds, BK, Taco Bell, and Sears put together.

Also...Wal-mart is China’s 6 or 7th largest customer...that’s something that BK, Taco Bell, and McDonalds can’t lay a claim to.

Do all of these companies you mentioned have a “army” of 10-12 (I lost count) lobbyists working in Washington to look out for the company’s interests?

Typing ALL CAPS doesn’t do much for your style, Matty. You still sound like a mental patient.

Personally I think the entire service sector should collectively bargain. From burger flippers at McD’s to working room service in Vegas. We’re not a manufacturing economy anymore, we’re a service economy. OK. I say let’s make SERVICE more expensive. It’s the American way!

What’s good for Wal-Mart is BAD for America!

more bs from ken v on here as usual.hey screwed all you favorite stores including high cost ufcw union grocery stores have as many lobbyists as wm does so shut up.we dont hear you putting down the ufcw for lobbying why?why is it ok for the ufcw to lobby but not wm?

oh course ken v cant answer why wm pays better than k-mart and target can he ?he name calls which shootsdown his credibility on anything negative he says on wm on here.

I think the entire service sector should collectively bargain.

That would include “k-mart and target” and even your personal favorite, Matty, Kroger.

Federal labor law prohibits Wal-Mart from discriminating against associates for engaging in “concerted activity.” This prohibits something as minor as giving an associate a less desirable schedule, cutting an associate’s hours or otherwise retaliating against an associate. Concerted activity means any activity that workers engage in with other workers or for the benefit of other workers, including communicating with each other on websites about working at Wal-Mart.

...and even your personal favorite, Matty, Kroger.

I thought Kroger was already represented by the UFCW.

Need to be careful, Kenbo, your out-of-whack emotions cause you to type irrational thoughts…

Hi again everyone. Sorry I couldn’t be with you for a while!

I wonder what Walmarts next move will be?
First the store closing is going to the supreme court and now the auto service workers have a contract.
One thing is for sure. If Walmart screws with human rights again then their image will sink even lower than it aready is.

R E M E M B E R
J O N Q U I E R E
Q U E B E C
Home of Walmart Worker Abuse

R E M E M B E R
J A C K S O N V I L L E
T E X A S
Home of Walmart Worker Abuse

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/business/story.html?id=c04c1fe1-f116-4907-875d-3ac96efdd0e2

Wal-Mart Union Targets Supercentres
Allison Lampert, Montreal Gazette
Published: 5 hours ago
Union leaders are preparing to use the history-making collective agreement won by nine Wal-Mart garage workers to organize more of the retailer’s Canadian stores.
The United Food and Commercial Workers, which negotiated the Quebec contract, is especially interested in unionizing Wal-Mart Canada Corp.’s Supercentres, which have undercut rivals and forced down wages in Ontario.
“There’s a reson why we get calls in our office from Wal-Mart employees,” UFCW Canada president Wayne Hanley told The Gazette, during an international gathering of union delegates this week in Montreal.
“The delegates that I talk to are hoping it will be a spring board for other unionizing efforts across the country.”
The collective agreement imposed last week by arbitrator Alain Corriveau calls for improved holiday pay and an estimated 30 per cent wage hike for entry-level auto workers at the Tire & Lube garage in Gatineau.
Wal-Mart has yet to decide on the future of the Gatineau garage and the three-year collective agreement which it’s called “disappointing.” Paul Ratslaf, Wal-Mart Canada’s vice president for human resources, said the retailer would have to close the garage “with regret” if Corriveau changed the retailer’s salary scale.

R E M E M B E R
J O N Q U I E R E
Q U E B E C
Home of Walmart Worker Abuse

R E M E M B E R
J A C K S O N V I L L E
T E X A S
Home of Walmart Worker Abuse

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/letters/story.html?id=8b9b6d55-61bb-4ba7-b1d2-b7be875db9c4

Share the wealth
Calgary Herald
Published: Monday, August 18, 2008
Re: “Supreme Court not the place for Wal-Mart, union debate,” Susan Martinuk, Opinion, Aug. 15.

Susan Martinuk’s defence of Wal-Mart was a particularly nauseating exercise in union-bashing.

Readers looking for balance might want to check out WalmartWatch.com. They should also scan Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, plus the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, both of which supposedly ensure workers’ rights to organize (freedom of association). Wal-Mart has a despicable track record in this country, the United States and the world over for thumbing its nose at labour laws, trampling workers’ rights, intimidating employees, destroying local businesses and paying subsistence-level wages that guarantee the multibillionaire Walton family members continue to rake in obscene profits.

There isn’t a union on the planet that is against a company making a profit; they just want the workers who are responsible for creating the wealth to share in it. Wal-Mart’s claim that a unionized store can’t be profitable would be laughable were it not taken as gospel by journalists such as Martinuk.

Canadians need to see that we are living in a corpocracy that is driven by greed and cares not one whit about our eroding standard of living.

Who else but unions are prepared to stand up and fight for our right to make a living wage and a better tomorrow for future generations?

It sure won’t be Sam Walton.

Deborah Richmond,

Carleton Place, Ont.

© The Calgary Herald 2008

R E M E M B E R
J O N Q U I E R E
Q U E B E C
Home of Walmart Worker Abuse

R E M E M B E R
J A C K S O N V I L L E
T E X A S
Home of Walmart Worker Abuse

I thought Kroger was already represented by the UFCW.

That’s why it’s Matty’s “personal favorite”. Duh!

Sarcasm is a foreign language to you, huh, bb?

“There are a lot of issues here, but what they add up to is the end of the age of Wal-Mart,” contends Richard Hastings, a senior analyst for the retail rating agency Bernard Sands. “The glory days are over.”

bbrd,

Isn’t it a hoot, how an anti person claims ‘sarcasm’ when you catch them in a lie?  But, they never can see sarcasm when one of us says something ‘tongue in cheek’!!

Like I have said before, they are so self absorbed and set in their views, they refuse to see anything that is opposite of those views!!  Remember, the liberals are always trying to SAVE THE WORLD or save us from ourselves!!  What I can’t figure out, is how they controlled Congress for over 40 years and somehow things are still messed up in government, if their ideas are so good, you would think that everything would be great!!  Oh, I forgot, it is the conservatives that mess everything up!!

...when you catch them in a lie?

You and Mary seem to have a new obsession with lies. Pray tell, RDS, please post the “lies” you’ve caught us in.

Oh, I forgot, it is the conservatives that mess everything up!!

How could you forget the last 8 years?

“The modern conservative is engaged in one of man’s oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.” ~ John Kenneth Galbraith

..”.when you catch them in a lie?” “You and Mary seem to have a new obsession with lies,"Ken V~~~~~~~~~~~Ken, isn’t that a textbook example of projection on their part?

Ken V,

“Pray tell, RDS, please post the “lies” you’ve caught us in.”

1.) That Wal-Mart underpays their employees - That’s your opinion, not FACT, Wal-Mart pays what they say they will pay!!

2.) That Wal-Mart ‘dumps’ employees onto the welfare programs - The welfare programs take these people on, Wal-Mart may suggest it, but they don’t sign them up, the employees do that on their own!!

3.) That Wal-Mart FORCES other businesses to close their doors - those businesses, LOSE their customers, by not satisfying the customers needs, the fact that many businesses survive after Wal-Mart comes to town, is evidence of this!!

“How could you forget the last 8 years?”

Is the President the “KING OF THE U.S.”?  NO, Congress controls the ‘purse strings’ and makes the laws and who is running Congress now?

RDS: And you believe that I am the one who needs to be deprogrammed?

ddrb,

“RDS: And you believe that I am the one who needs to be deprogrammed?”

And, which of my comments aren’t true?

And, which of my comments aren’t true?

Claiming Congress is responsible for the last eight years is not true. If I were Mary I would call you a liar but I’m not so I won’t.

“Success isn’t measured by how much merchandise you sell. Real success is found in the development of, and opportunities you provide for, the people who are selling it.” ~ Barney Kroger

RDS:  : re: Anti-WalMart lies
1.) That Wal-Mart underpays their employees - That’s your opinion, not FACT,( RDS)-- Well,RDS, seems you’ve discredited your OWN position on this.-If an OPINION is NOT a fact , then its incapable of being false,i.e., a LIE!

To further clarify, an opinion may be erroneous, but that does not consitute a lie.

“Claiming Congress is responsible for the last eight years is not true.”

I never said that Congress was responsible for the last eight years, I said that Congress played a big part in it, both parties!!  Instead of fighting all the time, if they worked together for the benefit of the citizens, we would ALL be better off!!

“To further clarify, an opinion may be erroneous, but that does not consitute a lie.”

If you KNOW your opinion is erroneous, but you present it as fact, it then becomes a lie!!

Liar, liar…
Pants on fire!

“There is no perceived risk in attacking Wal-Mart anymore. They have gone from being a business success story to being a cultural villain.” ~ Eric Dezenhall

RDS: Well,you have to prove knowlege aforehand AND intent-otherwise you have plausible deniability-you know, WalMart’s standard defense.

DDRB, so you’re claiming that you guys are all ignorant and not liars?  I guess I can live with that.

Dave:  You are obviously able to live with a lot of things,Dave,working for Walmart as you do. Understandably,I think your “reach “ now exceeds your “grasp “of reality .Perpetual states of denial and PR do that, I have read.

How is it that you have a better “grasp of reality” of how Walmart treats their workers when you have never worked there, then I have when I do work there?  It’s fine though.  You can rip Walmart all you want.  Customers keep shopping there, sales keep going up, and my pay keeps going up.  It must be tough knowing that all your efforts are in vain.

Dave: As I said, your ability to be objective is occluded by your paycheck. WalMart’s corrosive practices extend well beyond the issue of employee compensation. A premier example is the intent to sway this upcoming Presidential election. To defeat a Democratic candidate,to keep a Republican in office ,SOLELY for the corpoation’s selfish interests .(The rest of the country’s objectives and issues be damned.) Time will tell whose efforts have been in vain,Dave.

Walmart didn’t try to sway the election.  They were simply informing employees of a bill that will pass if Obama gets elected.  I’m not sure why this is so difficult for you to understand.  Walmart doesn’t know how anyone votes so any union sympathizers will now vote for Obama, and anti union people will vote for McCain.  Why does Walmart’s management getting informed about this bill scare you so much?  Are you worried that it will motivate more of us to get out and vote and cause your precious Obama to lose?  If that is the case then you obviously think that more Walmart employees are against unions than are for it, which makes me wonder why you would be for the unionization of Walmart against the will of its employees.

Dave,

“I’m not sure why this is so difficult for you to understand.”

The main reason she doesn’t understand, is because she doesn’t WANT to understand anything that isn’t ANTI Wal-Mart!!  An ‘open mind’ would want to know all the facts BEFORE making a conclusion, she and others only want to hear ONE side of the issue!!  When the other side is presented, they go “LA LA LA LA LA, I can’t hear you”, then they say “Your stupid”!!

“"Precious? Obama? Dave, Are you REALLY a GUY? I don’t know too many red blooded fellows who choose to use that terminology!

I was using it mockingly. Nice jop resorting to personal attacks though when you’re showed to be wrong yet again.

Dave: Seems you and your crew are very comfortable with “mockingly using” a LOT of personal disparagements . An example: Mocking Screwed, for being kind to his mother,and distorting his words.

No one mocked him for taking care of his mother they mocked him for taking someone to the place that is supposedly so evil.  I misquoted him unintentionally since it was a day or so later I had forgotten the exact word he used.  Speaking poorly of his mother on an internet site still doesn’t seem right to me no matter what his exact words were.