Canada’s high court, looking festive after the holiday season, is back to its full compliment of 9 judges. The court has been a judge down for six months now, ever since the retirement of Judge Michel Bastarache. Thomas Cromwell, a Nova Scotia judge, will fill out the Court, which will return to session this month.

Among the cases on their docket? Weighing Wal-Mart’s claim that it did not close a Jonquière, Que., store in order to crush a fledgling union, an issue that came up again late last year.

Wal-Mart employees laid off in Jonquière in 2005 are to have their case against the U.S. retailer heard Jan. 19. The workers claim the giant retailer killed their jobs after they exercised their Charter right to organize themselves into a collective bargaining unit in 2004. Shortly after the workers certified a union to represent them – the first successful union drive at a Wal-Mart outlet in North America – the company closed the store, citing financial reasons, putting 190 employees on the street.

A loss for Wal-Mart certainly won’t look good for the company as it fights to slow progress of the Employee Free Choice Act south of the Canada border...meaning, here. As we noted a couple days ago, Wal-Mart already appears to be doing anything it can to resolve issues that might come back to haunt the company in the EFCA fight - such as settling its vast array of wage and hour cases.

Supreme Court set to tackle Wal-Mart case [Toronto Star]

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Check out this week’s issue of the Wal-Mart Watch Weekly Update for Elected Officials – a compilation of Wal-Mart news from across the country and beyond.

This week’s issue begins with a Bloomberg report of Wal-Mart being placed on a list of most controversial companies. Also named - the company responsible for producing melamine-tainted milk in China. The list includes companies criticized for producing negative impacts on communities, health, and the environment, and was based on a study by RepRisk, a consulting firm that analyzes companies’ exposure to controversial issues and news.

You’ll also find stories from BusinessWeek and the Financial Times on how corporate giants like Wal-Mart are gearing up to battle potential pro-labor legislation in 2009. With President-Elect Barack Obama and the Democrats taking over next year, retailers are bracing to fight the Employee Free Choice Act – or EFCA – which could make it easier to organize unions in the workplace.

In addition to EFCA, you’ll find stories on Wal-Mart and the economy. And from the legal front, read about a $19 million discrimination lawsuit filed against Wal-Mart and Pepsi in West Virginia. Plus, in the world of product safety, read more about questions raised by the controversial chemical BPA, as well how Wal-Mart has been selling lead-tainted face paint for kids…a no-no anytime, and especially around Halloween.

And finally, check out our “Stateside” and “Wal-Mart International” sections to find out what’s going on with Wal-Mart around the country and across the globe. Chicago city aldermen have a wish list for an Obama presidency; the fight continues over whether Wal-Mart can build near a Civil War battlefield in Virginia; and towns in California and Nevada deny Wal-Mart the ability to sell alcohol on its store shelves.

Wal-Mart Watch Weekly Update for Elected Officials [November 12, 2008]

Several stories over the past two days have outlined the oncoming fight between Wal-Mart and the Obama administration over labor reforms, primarily over the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) - but also health care reform and a slew of other potential legislation.

This is no suprise for anyone. Wal-Mart isn’t stupid, it read the writing on the wall and has been preparing for a democratic win and a push for labor reform for a while. It’s been donating more money to politicians (including democrats) to curry favor, as well as funding major anti-EFCA initiatives (not to mention explicitly telling its employees to vote for John McCain.)

Other big business - retailers especially - will be play major roles in the fight, but no American Business’s model is more threatened by labor reform right now than Wal-Mart - which looks to be ground zero in the upcoming battle with the new administration.

A labor attorney quoted in Reuters sums it well:

“You’ll see an all-out battle at Wal-Mart” by labor, said attorney Richard Hankins, who leads the labor and employment practice at the law firm of Kilpatrick Stockton.

Jonathan Birchall at FT tells about the Obama administration could hit Wal-Mart on health care as well:

On healthcare, Mr Obama’s platform included setting a minimum contribution level for businesses to their employees’ healthcare plans - an approach that has been opposed at state level by big non-unionised retailers, including Wal-Mart...The retailer, with more than 1.3m staff, has said it wants to work on healthcare reform with a new administration.

And if Wal-Mart hadn’t already made it clear enough how much it refuses to change or pay its workers a dime more, check out the gall on Lee Scott - quoted by the Associated Press at the recent analysts’ meeting:

“It’ll be generations in the impact it [EFCA] has on this country. And it won’t be positive. I guarantee you that. It will not be positive. But for Wal-Mart, in the short term, and in the longer term on a relative basis with our peers, we’re going to run this business,” Scott said. He continued, ”We like driving the car and we’re not going to give the steering wheel to anybody but us.”

Will the next four years see better wages and benefits for Wal-Mart’s 1.4 million employees? Will it loosen Wal-Mart’s grip on the steering wheel? We look forward to finding out - and blogging about it. 

The National Journal’s Under The Influence Blog brings our attention to a new 501(c)6 group called the “Workforce Fairness Institute,” whose sole purpose is to fight the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA).

The National Journal tells us:

Packer would not identify the WFI’s funders. But sources familiar with its creation speculate that such big retailers as Wal-Mart and Home Depot—a which are high-profile opponents of EFCA—are likely among the group’s donors. One source says the WFI is trying to raise as much as $10 million for its operations.

Presumably, Wal-Mart and other companies are spending early while preparing for a possible Obama administration and strong Democratic majorities in both the House and Senate - which are expected to make a push for the legislation which, of course, would make it easier for Wal-Mart workers to form unions and negotiate contracts for higher wages and better benefits.

The WFI website is savetheelection.org, and the featured video is a fake news broadcast which for the first minute or so openly implies that the presidential election is being taken away. Halfway through it tells us we’re talking about a possible change in unionization rules.

But - the website reminds us that WFI (just like Wal-Mart!) is “NOT anti-Union.” Which is reassuring.

We’ll do our best to investigate WFI’s funding disclosure laws, and Wal-Mart’s role in the venture. As usual....we’ll be watching. 

The Associated Press recently released an examination of Wal-Mart’s lobbying disclosure form for last quarter. Over a three month span, Wal-Mart lobbying expenditures reached $1.4 million, fighting legislation relevant to labor issues, cargo security, and health care. Wal-Mart brazenly fought against the Employee Free Choice Act – a bill which would give employees more leverage in the quest for fair wages and affordable health care. Even more egregious may be its combativeness towards the ADA Restoration Act – a pending piece of legislation which would clarify the rights of peoples with disabilities. See the full article from the Associated Press:

Wal-Mart spent $1.4M lobbying government in 2Q [Associated Press via MSN Money]

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer, spent nearly $1.4 million in the second quarter lobbying the federal government on union matters, cargo security and other issues, according to a recent disclosure form.

The Bentonville, Ark.-based company, which has 1.3 million domestic employees, lobbied on the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. Wal-Mart and the Retail Industry Leaders Association mounted a successful legal challenge to a Maryland law that required companies with more than 10,000 workers to devote at least 8 percent of its payroll to paying for employee health insurance. The judge ruled that ERISA pre-empted the state requirements.

The Employee Choice Act, over which Wal-Mart has drawn criticism for having politically partisan sessions with employees, was also listed, as was the Family Medical Leave Act and the American with Disabilities Restoration Act, according to the form filed July 21 with the House clerk’s office.

Wal-Mart Vice President of Corporate Affairs Raymond Bracy is listed on the reporting form as the company’s lobbyist. The form shows he also lobbied regarding a variety of tax issues and on legislation regarding Chinese imports and China’s currency.

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