Read Wal-Mart Watch’s Complaint to the FEC

Today, several labor groups asked the FEC to investigate Wal-Mart. Last week, Wal-Mart Watch submitted a formal complaint to the Federal Election Committee last week, requesting an investigation of Wal-Mart’s political intimidation. From the letter:

As reported in the Wall Street Journal on August 1, 2008, in a piece entitled “Wal-Mart Warns of Democratic Win,” Wal-Mart has been mobilizing its store managers and department supervisors across the country to warn them of a Democratic victory in the November general election. More specifically, it has been reported that Wal-Mart has been informing its employees that a Democratic victory in November could lead to the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act, which in turn would allow workers to form unions without the fear of being fired and allow a simple majority of employees to certify a union to act as their representative.

Wal-Mart representatives deny any wrongdoing, and only an FEC investigation would answer this question for sure. Meanwhile, controversy still remains over Wal-Mart’s fear-mongering insistence that unions will bring fewer jobs and yet lower wages to the company’s employees. Its attempt to intimidate employees out of standing up for their rights is doubly shameful, and while we await an FEC investigation, the company’s anti-union misrepresentation and propagandizing should not be overlooked.

Wal-Mart Should Be Probed Over Political Meetings, Group Says [Bloomberg News]

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. should be probed by federal regulators over reports that company officials broke the law by advising employees against voting Democratic in the November elections, a worker advocacy group said.

Wal-Mart Watch has requested the Federal Election Commission investigate media reports that Wal-Mart managers advised employees against voting for Democratic candidates, according to a letter to the FEC dated Aug. 6. Managers told employees that a Democratic victory could lead to the formation of a union, which might impose fees on workers, the letter said, citing a Wall Street Journal story.

“These are serious actions taken by Wal-Mart which are in violation of federal election law, and we request that you investigate them to the fullest extent possible,’’ wrote David Nassar, executive director of Wal-Mart Watch, in the letter.

Wal-Mart denies breaking the law.

If managers gave the impression that Wal-Mart was advising employees how to vote they were “wrong and acting without approval,’’ wrote Wal-Mart spokesman David Tovar in an e-mailed statement.

“We believe that if the FED looks into this, they will find what we’ve known all along, that we did nothing wrong,’’ Tovar wrote.

News about the Wal-Mart Watch letter was earlier reported by the Wall Street Journal. The AFL-CIO and other labor groups plan to submit petitions with 60,000 signatures asking for a probe, the WSJ said.

Posted by Media Team on Thursday, August 14, 2008

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