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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Just catching up on more stories from the holiday season. This from West Virginia - a whole gaggle of new tax laws will be taking effect in the new year are designed to save businesses money and create jobs? Sounds like there must be a catch, right?

According to State Tax Commissioner Christopher Morris, both the business franchise tax and the corporate net income tax rates are being lowered under the changes. In addition, businesses can get tax credits for creating jobs that are full-time, pay at least $32,000 and offer health benefits. Companies are limited in the number of created jobs they can can receive tax credits for, but every little bit helps, right? C’mon Wal-Mart...we know West Virginia is now a combined reporting state, so you can’t pull your little tax shenanigans there anymore, so why not create a few new full-time jobs, throw in some benefits, and save a little money in the process?

W.Va. Businesses Expected to Save Money Under New Tax Laws [WSAZ NewsChannel 3]

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Life in the minority isn’t easy. When you’re in the minority and a recipient of threats and abuse because of your minority status, life gets even harder. But when you bring these issues and concerns for your own safety to the attention of your employer, and they do nothing, thats called the tipping point.

And so it was for Louay Kezy, a Michigan man who has filed a $12 million lawsuit against Wal-Mart after being on the receiving end of anti-Muslim and anti-Arab abuse at work. Kezy’s attorney, Nabih Ayad, relayed Kezy’s story to the Detroit News:

“They demeaned him, harassed him, called him names. They accused him of being a terrorist,” Ayad said. “Supervisors ordered him to do jobs that were unrelated to his duties. They allowed a joke, a game to continue where co-workers would toss a ball near him and pretend it was a grenade, a bomb. Wal-Mart allowed this hostile environment to continue and they fired him when he complained.”

Dearborn, Michigan, has a very large Arab and Muslim population, and with that in mind Wal-Mart opened an experimental store there in March which offers a special line of products geared toward the Arab American and American Muslim communities in the Metro Detroit area. Unfortunately, the same respect shown to customers may be missing with regards to employees.

“It is absurd that his supervisors think they can take this action against an Arab American without consequences right in the middle of the largest Arab community outside of the Middle East,” Ayad said. “That Wal-Mart can take their money as consumers but allow an Arab employee to be abused is absurd.”

This is a refrain we’ve heard all too often. Issues of discrimination within Wal-Mart seem to follow the company like paparazzi on Britney Spears.

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We’ve covered Wal-Mart’s wage and hour (and overtime) issues many times over, culminating with last week’s $54 million settlement in Minnesota. We all get that Wal-Mart would prefer its employees work through breaks. And we certainly know that when it comes to paying employees for overtime, well, Wal-Mart would prefer that be optional.

California wage laws are, not surprisingly, fairly strict. And now, with that state facing a financial shortfall, the LA Times is reporting that business groups and GOP lawmakers are using wage and hour law as a bargaining chip in negotiations over how to fix a $14.8-billion hole in the state budget. The argument is that state laws like those in California - the ones mandating breaks for workers working at least 6 hours in succession, and requiring an employer to pay time-and-a-half once a worker has worked more than 8 hours in day - are expensive for employers to follow and force them to flee the state for friendlier confines. Places where breaks are voluntary [for the employer] and overtime exists only in a fantasy dreamland.

Not surprisingly, California Democrats and labor officials in the state disagree.

Employers’ latest efforts to tie both the meal break and overtime issue to contentious budget negotiations are aimed at reversing basic worker rights, said Art Pulaski, executive secretary-treasurer of the California Labor Federation.

“It’s about trying to help Wal-Mart and other big corporations get away from the long-established understanding that people should get a meal break at work” or be paid extra for extra hours, Pulasksi said.

“This has nothing to do with the budget or stimulating the economy,” said Barry Broad, a lobbyist for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and other labor unions. “It doesn’t help the economy to lower 20 million people’s wages during a recession.”

It has been suggested that if state lawmakers can’t come to a consensus and close out these budget negotiations, a state government shutdown in the spring is a distinct possibility.

Overtime pay, rest breaks become bargaining chips in state budget crisis [LA Times]

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According to Good Jobs First and The Wall Street Journal, a large chunk of sales tax revenue gets redirected to retailers like Wal-Mart, a company that pockets an estimated $70 million a year in sales tax revenues.

At least that is the finding of a report released today by Good Jobs First, a nonprofit research group here in Washington:

Most of us don’t realize that in a majority of states with a sales tax, a portion of the money actually goes into the pocket of the retailer under programs set up by state and local governments. In this first-ever comprehensive national analysis of the subject, Good Jobs First finds that the public sector is losing more than $1 billion a year through these sales-tax diversions. A large share of revenue gets redirected to giant retailers such as Wal-Mart, a company we estimate pockets more than $70 million a year in sales tax revenues.

The state laws discussed in the report allow retailers to keep a portion of sales-tax revenue to offset the cost of collecting the funds in the first place, a reasonable enough excuse (especially since state governments are so flush with cash at the present). But does anyone really, and I mean REALLY, believe that Wal-Mart spends $60 million a year collecting sales tax? In this age of computer everything and electronic money transfers, I have a hard time believing it costs more than a fraction of that.

As it stands, many states have calculated a vendor compensation rate, which can be applied to a percentage of sales tax revenue to determine how much a retailer gets to keep for its trouble. As the WSJ reports, Good Jobs First has identified 13 states that impose no ceiling on the total amount retailers can keep. In states such as Illinois, Texas, Pennsylvania and Colorado that vendor compensation rate can be applied to the full amount of sales tax a company collects, resulting in substantial returns for companies like Wal-Mart. Good Jobs First has estimated the givebacks in these states - Illinois ($126 million), Texas ($90 million), Pennsylvania ($72 million), and Colorado ($69 million). Jesse Drucker at the WSJ kindly puts some perspective on those numbers - for example, the $90 million Texas gives away by not capping vendor compensation would cover the $82 million price-tag needed to fund that state’s primary pre-kindergarten program.

For what its worth, the Illinois Revenue Department was quoted as saying the state has tried to cap the compensation program, but relentless lobbying by the retail industry has so far kept legislators from making changes.

Skimming the Sales Tax: How Wal-Mart and Other Big Retailers (Legally) Keep a Cut of the Taxes We Pay on Everyday Purchases [Good Jobs First, November 2008]

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Starting now, Wal-Mart Watch will be periodically updating you on some of the new comments submitted to our Employee Speak-Out site.  These comments are sent in from visitors to our site who are former or current employees of Wal-Mart and its sister companies, who have been victims of the systematic abuse and discrimination that Wal-Mart is known for inflicting upon its employees.  Remember that if you have a story to tell about working at Wal-Mart, we encourage you to tell us about it - we’ll put it up on the web and let your voice be heard.

As we look forward to the next 4 years, we hope that this website will be among the many tools that Wal-Mart workers use to help change Wal-Mart and their lives for the better.

Workplace stress leads to tragedy for pregnant worker:

“I was a manager in the housewares department. I just got my separation notice from them for not returning to work from my leave of absence. There is a reason I didn’t return; I feel they are responsible for the death of my baby.”

Anonymous on Age-Based Termination:

“Wal Mart is systematically targeting anyone over 40 years of age for firings through systematically assigning the heaviest, most back breaking jobs to that class of people in the facility. Managers are encouraged to pressure senior employees into quitting and firing to ensure that young strong backs are maintained in the facility.”

Anonymous on How Not to Vote

I attended a meeting that was conducted by a market manager. We were not told to not vote for Obama

After years of struggling in one of the world’s most competitive retail markets, Wal-Mart announced today that it is downsizing operations in Japan. Wal-Mart bought a majority stake in Seiyu several years ago, and just last year the retailer bought all of Seiyu’s remaining shares. Wal-Mart has pumped over $1 billion into the Seiyu chain, but discerning Japanese shoppers (who view “low prices” as a sign of low quality, and can afford to shop elsewhere) have never taken to the store. Will Japan join the ranks of countries where Wal-Mart has failed?

Wal-Mart Japan unit to close 20 stores, cut staff [Reuters]

Wal-Mart Stores Inc’s Japan unit Seiyu Ltd said it will close about 20 unprofitable stores and cut 6 percent of its workforce as it struggles to gain traction in the world’s second-largest economy.

But Seiyu, which became a fully-owned subsidiary of the world’s largest retailer earlier this year, said it would also look to open stores in new regions and consider acquisitions to help it expand.

Seiyu Senior Vice President Ryo Kanayama said targets may include supermarket chains with a nationwide network.

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20 pairs of socks for $11.98. Is it worth it?

From MarketWatch: (emphasis added)

Seeking to lower costs in an increasingly competitive landscape and answering to the demands of retailers such as No. 1 discounter Wal-Mart Stores Inc., U.S. apparel companies from denim maker Levi Strauss & Co. to VF Corp., maker of Wrangler jeans, have moved their production in the past decade overseas to Asia and Latin America, analysts said.

From the Gaston Gazette in North Carolina, where Hanes is laying of 1,400 workers:

Gastonia resident Patrice Fredell showed up for the first shift at the Hanesbrands Inc. plant Wednesday morning like she has for 19 years, but this time she found the plant closed..."We were going full blast for a long time and then all of the sudden,” Fredell said as she walked into the plant’s main office to get unemployment paperwork Wednesday. “One of my friends just started crying ... It’s going to hurt a lot of people.”

From Al Norman:

The sudden announcement caught Eden City Manager Brad Corcoran by surprise. “I have no idea what’s going on” Corcoran told the Winston-Salem Journal. “There was no courtesy call, no e-mail, no nothing. Obviously that wasn’t a concern for them.”...Despite all these closings, Hanesbrands will not have ‘migrated’ completely. The company will still have close to 10,000 jobs left in America, scattered across 11 plants. So there is some work still left for Wal-Mart to do.

Paris Hilton: hotel heiress...reality TV star...President?

Despite having not yet announced her campaign, Hilton was recently placed in a John McCain ad (along with Britney Spears) alongside Senator Barack Obama, most likely in an attempt to make her appear ultra-liberal and quite unpresidential. (Some would argue the advertisement was really an attempt to make Obama look like a self-important celebrity, but I doubt the McCain camp would go there.)

Anyway, Hilton, shown here on what is no doubt an excruciatingly important call with a foreign dignitary (and looking fabulous in a Diane von Furstenberg dress), has fought back, announcing her candidacy and her intent to run against a certain ”wrinkly white-haired guy.” And with that, we can be left to ponder what would become of us under President Hilton, as Sean Leviashvili at TheStreet.com has:

ECONOMIC POLICY:
What about universal healthcare? And what about universal shopping sprees? According to a recent CNN poll, 48% of Americans are most concerned about the economy and the troubled job market. And with big name-companies such as Wal-Mart missing their earnings expectations recently, the U.S. might need someone who actually knows what Wal-Mart sells. Paris once asked what Wal-Mart (WMT) was on national TV ("What’s Wal-Mart? Do they sell, like wall stuff?"), let’s hope she’s done some research.

Research schmesearch...I hope once she’s President, Hilton will finally find her way to Wal-Mart to fill all of her wall-related needs.

Potential Policies if Paris Hilton Becomes President [TheStreet.com]

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This article originally appeared on the Huffington Post.

Civil Rights Group Gives Wal-Mart A C+
More than 1,300 delegates to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Convention were warmed up by Barak Obama and John McCain speeches---but the real heat in Cincinnati came during a debate over Wal-Mart.

During 5 days of conventioneering, the delegates took up 45 resolutions---one of the most contentious being the business practices of the World’s Largest Retailer.

On the Convention floor, NAACP Resolution #14 read:
“Oppose Wal-mart and Other Retailers Unfair Labor Practices Resolved: That the NAACP will challenge Wal-Mart and other retailers to overcome any of their practices that are inconsistent with the highest standards of Labor and Civil Rights, to ensure equal opportunity and equal pay for Women, people of color and other minorities, and work with local communities to effectively address Wal-Mart’s and other retailers negative impact on issues like the environment and local businesses, and establish a ‘Buy American’ program that annually increases the percentage of ‘Made in America’ goods purchased by Wal-Mart and Other retailers to help protect American Jobs.”

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Wal-Mart’s Global Purchasing Center has cut another 180 employees from the payroll - this after previously firing 110 employees last November and essentially closing their Shanghai office last week, firing 50 employees.  Is this a sign that operations in China are doing poorly?  Or is this payback for the successful negotiation of higher wages by the local Shenyang labor union?

According to Wal-Mart, the layoffs are in part due to Wal-Mart’s hiring of Intertek, which will be partly responsible for purchasing. 

Wal-Mart China’s spokesperson, Dong YuGuo (Jonathan Dong) on July 16 told reporters that “Wal-Mart had selected the Tian Xiang group (Intertek) to handle Wal-Mart China’s purchasing services.  In the wake of passing on this business to Intertek, Wal-Mart would end working relations with 180 employees.”

However, there are certainly more factors at play than Wal-Mart’s PR spin would have one realize. Wal-Mart’s purchasing from China has held steady at $18 billion over the past few years (the Economic Policy Institute, however, calculates that Wal-Mart’s China purchasing is closer to $27 billion). But factoring in inflation and the rising costs of raw materials and labor, Wal-Mart’s total sourcing in China has actually decreased, a fact which would would certainly warrant some layoffs from the purchasing center.

Wal-Mart’s PR spokesperson denies the recent layoffs are a result of a plan to move sourcing to other, cheaper countries. But several Wal-Mart China employees have cited a sourcing shift as the reason behind the layoffs. All of this while Wal-Mart’s Chinese competitors are trying (and partly succeeding) to eat them alive might mean Wal-Mart’s internationally is hitting a roadblock.

This article originally appeared on the Huffington Post.

Wal-Mart is raising wages for its employees—in China, that is. Yes, the labor union representing Wal-Mart’s Chinese workforce won yet another fight against Wal-Mart, successfully negotiating for an 8 percent raise for 2008 and 2009 as well as setting terms for paid vacation, social security, and overtime. This comes at a time when China’s economy is booming, and demands for higher wages and better benefits are being pushed by none other than the Chinese government. Meanwhile, as the U.S. economy falters and Wal-Mart benefits, Wal-Mart’s U.S. hourly workers are experiencing nothing short of a wage “rollback.”

Sadly, wages for the average hourly U.S. Wal-Mart employee have actually fallen when adjusted for inflation. In 2004, Wal-Mart reported an average (Wal-Mart refuses to disclose a median wage which would provide a more accurate picture of wages at the company) hourly wage of $9.68. In 2008, the reported wage is $10.86. But in 2004 dollars, the average hourly wage is $9.55, which means workers are worse off today than they were four years ago. So, while the price of gas, food and health care are rising, Wal-Mart employees’ wages are falling.

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