Foreign Ventures Come to Terms with China’s Labor Unions

An article from The New Republic on Wal-Mart's co-operation with labor unions at its Chinese stores. From the introduction:

"Listen to Joe Hatfield, the president of Wal-Mart’s Asian operations, talk about the company’s new stores in China and you’ll hear him say something extraordinary: “I fully anticipate working collaboratively with…union organizations at all levels to create a model working relationship.”

Can this really be a Wal-Mart executive speaking? After all, the retailing colossus has famously resisted union organization in its U.S. stores, going so far as to shutter operations when employees seemed close to successfully forming a union. In response, U.S. unions have been waging an all-out political assault on the company for what they see as its low pay, poor working conditions and failure to provide workers with adequate healthcare.

So what is a Wal-Mart executive doing talking nice about unions in China? The answer is a tale that provides an important lesson for any company hoping toset up shop in the Middle Kingdom."

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