Transcript Chapter 5 PowerPoint

Chapter Five
Wal-Mart’s Anti-Union Strategies
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OUR Wal-Mart
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Wal-Mart and Unions
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Wal-Mart insists they do not need “third
party representation” for their employees
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Nationalism and social mobility ladder do not
work for all employees
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Some employees want a union, but WalMart has kept them from having one
Managing Labor
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Very large gaps between hourly employees
and managers
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Everyday Low Cost not just in the supply
chain
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2010: Mike Duke earned $18.7 million and
Wal-Mart cut 13,000 jobs
Low-paid workers
Managers minimize costs and are
rewarded for doing so
Interests of hourly workers and managers
are fundamentally at odds
Employee Resistance
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Stealing
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Wal-Mart has aggressive “Asset
Protection” program
Quitting
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Good for Wal-Mart’s bottom line (do not
have to pay increased wages or benefits)
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Worked into Wal-Mart’s business model
Bad for other employees (morale and
productivity)
Unions
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Western culture prioritizes individual
experience; labor unions promote group
 represent the collective interests of
workers
 constitute one of the only forms of power
outside the company’s control
 the only check on management
prerogatives
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Unions exercise power through:
 Collective bargaining
 Work slowdowns
 Boycotts
 Strikes
Unions
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Contemporary union demands
include
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larger share of the company’s
profits
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lighter and more realistic
workloads
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more predictable schedules
full-time employment
overtime pay
Legislation
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National Labor Relations Act
(Wagner Act)
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Taft-Hartley Act
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Union Busting
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Anti-union vs. “pro-associate”
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Anti-union indoctrination for new employees
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Training videos
Other propaganda
“Manager’s Toolbox”
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“Open Door Policy”
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“Coaching By Walking Around”
Identifying early warning signs of union
activity
Anti-union hotline in Bentonville
“Early Warning Signs”
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increased curiosity in benefits and policies
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Associates receiving unusual attention from other associates
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Slowdown in work productivity or mistakes
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Reports of employee conflict
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Increase in complaints and confrontations with management
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“Strangers” spending an unusual amount of time in the
associates’ parking areas at the beginning or end of shifts
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Associates spending an abnormal amount of time in the
parking lot before and after work
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Frequent meetings at associates’ homes
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Associates coming back to the facility to talk to associates on
other shifts
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Associates leaving work areas on a frequent basis to talk to
other associates
“Final Stages”
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Open signs of union activity
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Literature
Membership cards
Frank discussions about unions
Union Busting
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What happens when a union effort begins in a
store?
 Wal-Mart exercises their right to demand an
election
 Near daily, quasi-mandatory store meetings
detailing negative aspects of union
organizing
 Show anti-union films
 “Wall of Shame”
 Right to replace striking workers
 Fire “troublemakers”
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Instances of union formation
 Palestine, TX
 Jonquière, Canada
Jonquière, Quebec
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New Organizing Efforts
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OUR Wal-Mart
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Leverage the stores principles
(“respect for the individual”)
against them
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Challenge company to
recommit to its principles
Warehouse Workers United
(WWU)
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Organizing workers in WalMart; contracted warehouses
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“Chain of Greed”
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Competing Visions of Labor
Rights
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People vs. a budget item
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A company full of people or a corporate person
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“Free” market and level playing field or
structured asymmetry
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The questions:
 What is the minimum level of benefits that a
working person should enjoy
 Should we collectively strive to achieve that
for all workers?
 Is believing in that minimum compatible with
shopping at Wal-Mart?
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Living Wage campaigns
Reshaping the Political and
Legal Field
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Wal-Mart’s anti-union tactics outmaneuver
legal protections for labor
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Employee Free Choice Act
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Citizens United v. Federal Election
Commission
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Is union activity back on the rise?