What Happened In Canada? (Reason 2,436 Why We Need EFCA)

An odd story in the Wall Street Journal today. Apparently Wal-Mart workers in St. Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec just received a union contract imposed by an arbitrator - making them the only Wal-Mart in North American to have such a contract. Great news, right?

Unfortunately, the entire story was written in a Wal-Mart perspective, so it’s hard to get a real handle on what actually happened. There are no quotes from workers or union representatives, and no mention of any of the non-wage components of the contract.

We can be glad that there is actually a signed contract at a North American Wal-Mart. But if it’s true that that the contract keeps wages at the “status quo,” there’s a lot to be disappointed in.

Even in Canada, where labor laws are more favorable to workers than they are in the U.S., Wal-Mart retains an outrageously unfair amount of power over the situation. It’s evidence enough that even after Wal-Mart workers form a union and get a signed contract, Wal-Mart gets a one-sided story in the Wall Street Journal where it:

a) gloats that it won’t have to give any raises
b) leaves open the possible threat of store closure, and
c) says publicly that the company “doubts employees in Saint-Hyacinthe will feel better off given they’ve lost the company’s ‘open-door process’ and have to pay dues.”

Publicly chastising its hard-working associates for trying to improve their own lives? How would Sam Walton feel about that? 

We know how it makes us feel: that we need to pass the Employee Free Choice Act. Now.

UPDATE: The National Post has a lot more to say about the story here. Apparently UFCW is claiming victory as well—which is encouraging news.

Wal-Mart Says Contract Keeps Status Quo At Quebec Store [Wall Street Journal]:

An arbitrator has imposed a contract on a Wal-Mart Canada Corp. store in Quebec that the company says preserves the status quo for wages and benefits.

The store in Saint-Hyacinthe, about an hour east of Montreal, was certified by the United Food and Commercial Workers union in January 2005 without a vote. Binding arbitration began in late 2006.

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