Did you catch “Undercover Boss” after the Super Bowl? It’s a new reality show on CBS where executives go undercover at their own companies and work entry level jobs to see what it’s like. In the first episode, Waste Management’s President and Chief Operating Officer Larry O’Donnell works several different jobs over a week and discovers how tough life can be for his employees. He also discovers how his policies have affected workers.

It’s nice to see a show that uncovers these kinds of problems in the American workplace. Of course, most of us already know how tough work can be, but most of us don’t have a reality show. That’s why American Rights At Work started Fix Our Jobs which is pushing for real, systematic reform in our workplace, not just feel good TV moments. They’re asking folks to sign a petition to congress: “America’s workers need a voice on the job so they can fight for fair pay, real benefits, reasonable hours, and better working conditions. We need to fix our labor laws now!”

They’re also asking for stories about your job, good or bad. We’re sure you all have some stories to share, so go check out the site. You can also watch a video they put together just to the right.

We also want to hear from Walmart workers. Tell us your stories from work. What would Mike Duke find if he came to work as a greeter at your store for a day or two? Would he make the cut as an overnight stocker?

Would Mike Duke ever take on this kind of undercover assignment? We don’t think so, but if he did, we’re sure he’d find some pretty disturbing stories, just like Larry O’Donnell did.

So were back to this? And we thought worker intimidation was soooooooo last year.

In 2007, Human Rights Watch released a report detailing Wal-Mart’s unionbusting policies and practices in the United States. According to the report, “while many American companies use weak U.S. laws to stop workers from organizing, the retail giant stands out for the sheer magnitude and aggressiveness of its anti-union apparatus.”

That aggressiveness is back in the news, courtesy of a unionizing push in St. Paul, Minnesota:

United Food and Commercial Workers Local 789 filed unfair labor practices complaints this week with the National Labor Relations Board. The union contends that during meetings with employees at its Midway store in St. Paul, Wal-Mart managers said people who sign union authorization cards would be fired. The union also charges that store managers interrogated employees regarding their union support and whether they had signed cards in favor of the union.

Of course this shouldn’t be very surprising, though it does seem pretty interesting that management staff came right out and told people that they’d no longer be a Wal-Mart employee if they supported unionization. You’d think they would hew closer to the Godfather-esque, vague threat route - we can’t be held responsible if, say, a supporter “had an accident” type thing. They should know that threatening workers’ employment status is illegal, right? Or do they just not care? One thing we do know is that they’ve certainly had problems with labor issues in Minnesota before.

Anyway, we’re attempting to get a copy of the NLRB complaint. In the meantime, feel free to check out video of the Local 789 worker rally after the jump.

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Nine months ago, on a warm afternoon in mid-August, the following words were written by a very conscientious and wise organization...namely, us:

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.

What followed included a copy of a Wall Street Journal article detailing efforts by the company to intimidate workers and discourage support of a labor-friendly administration, and text of the complaint we sent off to the FEC letting them know what we thought of Wal-Mart’s actions. And then we waited, nervously checking our mailbox for the FEC’s response...would they investigate? Would Wal-Mart be brought to task for their actions?

Well, needless to say enough time passed to make us only vaguely remember that the FEC even exists, which made it all the more surprising when 9 months after our initial inquiry, an answer was given to us. And the answer was not what we hoped. The good news is that the case warranted enough merit to be assigned to an attorney in the enforcement division. The bad news is that after taking his/her case back to the commission, the commission was divided on whether there was enough merit to proceed. The commissioners make the final decision by voting for or against a “reason to believe” recommendation (four affirmative votes are required to go forward with any enforcement action)...we obviously did not get the four votes. IF we decide to appeal, we do have the option to file a petition in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

You can read the entire letter here, while we decide what to do next.

With Democratic Rep. George Miller looking to officially roll out the Employee Free Choice Act today in Congress, America’s workers are physically bringing their message of the need for better wages, health care, and overall treatment to the heart of the Washington establishment. Yesterday under warm breezes and a sunny sky, hundreds of SEIU members rallied in front of some of EFCA’s most notorious opponents: the Retail Industry Lobbying Association, the American Chamber of Commerce, and a banking association meeting. Then, they marched to Lafayette Square—just a few yards from the White House—where SEIU President Andy Stern made it clear that workers and all Americans who look to Employee Free Choice as a way to restore America’s middle class will not desist in their struggle. Let the festivities begin.

The original Politico article reporting on the rally is below: 

You’ve probably seen the ads and heard the rhetoric on the House and Senate floor, but now the protests over the Employee Free Choice Act are under way.

A spokeswoman for the Service Employees International Union says the organization has dispatched 300 labor union members to protest outside the offices of the Chamber of Commerce, a leading business group that has been leading the fight against the bill, which opponents call the card check legislation.

“It’s startling how huge a lobbying machine corporations have deployed against change that would help workers gain a greater voice at a time when our country and our economy so desperately need it,” said Jeffrey Cappella, an SEIU spokesman.

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The recent front-page story in the Wall Street Journal revealed a startling practice at Wal-Mart. Employees at the company spoke out about mandatory staff meetings Wal-Mart has been holding to urge its employees not to vote for pro-worker candidates in November. Not only is Wal-Mart’s behavior in this case morally reprehensible, it’s potentially illegal—and now you can help hold Wal-Mart accountable.

American Rights at Work has created a petition asking the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) to investigate Wal-Mart’s potential voter intimidation of its workers. We want to get as many people as possible to sign on so we can hand deliver the petition on your behalf to the FEC office later this week.

Show Wal-Mart that the American people won’t let it tell its workers how to vote—add your name to the petition:

http://action.walmartwatch.com/fec

Wal-Mart has a long history of anti-worker practices, and the company has been fined again and again for violations of many different worker protection laws.

But so far the retail giant has refused to change its ways. These latest allegations of possible electioneering by urging hourly employees not to vote for Democratic candidates show that Wal-Mart will continue to abuse workers’ rights unless someone steps up to stop it.

That’s exactly what our petition to the FEC will do. Wal-Mart may be a big, influential company, but even the world’s largest retailer can’t hide from the FEC. Help us make sure there is a full investigation into Wal-Mart’s actions—sign the petition today:

http://action.walmartwatch.com/fec