Another reason Walmart is an instrument of evil

[bigredspecial]

Did anyone on here hear about the walmart in Quebec that voted to bring in a union?

THEY'RE SHUTTING IT DOWN.

it was on the news today, the store will be closed in march or may - I can't remember which.

I worked at Walmart at the time the union was voted in; Immediately, Walmart corporate sent out a 6 page report to every employee of every walmart in canada, the entire report was 100% pure propaganda, an attempt to convince people that unions are bad and undesirable.

I thought that was bad enough; I never imagined they'd go as far as close a store because of it!

their official response to it was that the store suffered from poor sales.

When has anyone heard of a walmart closing due to sales? I havn't..... hell, there are stores in towns in rural Newfoundland with a population under 10,000.

Because of their narrow minded childishness, 190 people will soon be out of work.... In my opinion, they'll be better off for it.

 

[JeLeAk]

meh, whats 190 people to wal-mart, i would do the same thing if i were them, i would rather close a store than to deal with hundreds of thousands of grumpy union people who want more money for doing less work

so uhm yeah unions=The Devil!

 

[Avalon]

Wal-Mart = the devil. Unions may well be the savior of the middle class worker. Corporations are disposing of people and their salaries, dehumanizing it all with one simple word: labor. That's about as nicely as I can put it. Study up on why labor unions were created in the first place. While they've not been necessary during the past few years because of the laws they got enacted, they've gotten a bad wrap. I like to think of them as a checks & balances system--the AARP of the working person so to speak. Unions can be a major political lobbying group, giving a voice to someone who lacks one.

 

[Orion]

A co-worker was telling me about that this morning. It does not surprise me in the least.

Walmart has always been anti-union. They try to keep there workers happy while still keeping close eyes on the botom line. Unions would screw it all up for them.

We did a large project in my economics class about this. That was 6 years ago, no way I can recall any of that stuff. lol

 

[jediinthedark]

I don't blame Walmart. I think that some Unions still serve a purpose, but more often then not they are outdated. It seems like many unions are so megalomaniacle (hee hee big word) that they think they're running the business.

 

[bigredspecial]

the point of the post isn't wether or not unions are beneficial; but rather that walmart couldn't have their way, sothey closed an entire store.... think about that.

If A company fired someone for trying to join a union, they'd get hell over it - court, etc. Yet they close the entire store, eliminating multiple threats and avoiding the backlash, everyone applauds them.

Personally, it makes me sick.

 

[cbock]

well, if walmart allowed the union, it would set a precedent. that precedent would ultimately spell BIG trouble for walmart and their VERY successful business model.

 

[JeLeAk]

yeah exaclty, what would you have done if you were the president of wal-mart(even tho there really isnt but lets just say you are for an ex) now really think about this, whats the best interest to your multi billion dollar business

personally i would shut it down in a half a heart beat

 

[Lotus]

Sure, Wal-Mart makes money because it imports cheap junk from Third World countries with underpaid workers, then uses underpaid workers with no benefits here to sell the junk at vastly inflated prices. Of course it's going to make a profit.

It kind of makes sense that it treats fish badly, too.

 

[JeLeAk]

its not like all the workers at wal-mart get together every day and say

"Hey guys good work on not cleaning the tanks today!" they hire who they can when they can, if you have such a big problem with wal-marts fish section why not go work there part time and fix things, you will not only be helping the fish tanks but more importantly the people who go to buy the fish

P.S. i dont work wal-mart or anything

 

[ashleigh]

Not to speak for Lotus, but I'm betting she doesn't becasue an intellegent, successful editor more than likely doesn't see a multi billion dollar business as an opportunity ofr charity work. Just guessing. They have no business selling livestock. If you're going to do something that badly, why freaking bother?

 

[jediinthedark]

Not to speak for Lotus, but I'm betting she doesn't becasue an intellegent, successful editor more than likely doesn't see a multi billion dollar business as an opportunity ofr charity work. Just guessing. They have no business selling livestock. If you're going to do something that badly, why freaking bother?

I totally agree.

(funny. I tried to reply with just the word "agree" and the forum yelled at me saying the message was too short.).

 

[colesea]

Unions are definately bad new for big business.

But then again, you have to understand, big business does try to exploit its labor pool.

I worked in retail for ten years. It ain't no picnic.

Forced overtime, shortened breaks or no breaks at all, and certainly no paid breaks, crappy management at all levels, no benefits, or crappy ones at that, on top of having to deal with a cranky public.

But some places aren't all that bad. Between all the large and small corporate companies I've worked for, I'd go back to work for Target in a heartbeat. Sure, I only did stock-room work on the overnight (which was a $1.50/hr differential), but when done correctly, a company such as them doesn't really need unions because they are already supporting their work force. No, I certainly didn't expect to get paid the same ammount as a doctor or lawer (I made $7.50/hr, that's $2.35/hr over the US minimum of $5.15/hr), but I figured it was pretty darn decent for the non-skilled task of taking boxes off a shelf, or putting them on the shelf again. Heck, we didn't even have to use our brains, the bar-code scanners told us exactly where everything was or should go.

The health benefits were great, even for part-timers. I never got hassaled by anybody for requesting a day off, and if I couldn't make it to work that night due to a blizzard or illness, it was always "no problem." Management would actually get really angry at you if you didn't take your paid break time (although they could get in trouble with the law if they didn't allow the break time, but really, who would've squeeled?), and nobody hasseled about breaks at all. When my brother went through his chemo treatments, everyone, from our stock manager on down, were really supportive. He was employed there during the time, and nobody ever hasseled him if he simply needed an extra break because he felt ill, or if he couldn't come in that day due to the side-effects of the chemo. Heck, we even had a back-room "cultural night" where somebody would bring in an ethinic food for everyone else to try. Perhaps it was just because the coworkers I had were really great folks. Or because Target might be onto something by treating their employees well, I dunno, but it was the best retail employment experience I ever had. Sure, working with a bunch of high-school boys during the shift overchange was a bit annoying (and I appologize to any of you high-school guys out there if I offend you, but trust me, you're gonna turn 30 and look back at your hight-school self and say 'Darn, was I ever such the dork back then'), but if you ignored them, the place was okay.

Certainly it wasn't a wage that you could make a living off of, but how could anybody expect to make a living wage off of putting boxes on a shelf? I worked two jobs while I was employed at Target, and that was how I paid my way though school.

So, in essence, if a company treated its employees well, even if they didn't pay great, there certainly wouldn't be a necessity for a union to form. Unions for when workers feel stepped-on, petty, belittled, and jilted by their employers. There are employees who honestly need unions to stand up for them, or else they'd be treated as little more than slave labor. But I doubt people form unions just so they can work less and get paid more. Most people want to form unions because they feel a need to earn some sort of respect, and money is the only thing that ever gets people to listening.
~~Colesea

 

[ashleigh]

I've never heard anything but good things from Target workers or ex- target workers.

 

[punkrockfish]

didnt you guys hear? the new social security plan is too actually just make the elderly work at wal-mart

 

[jonny sqee]

argh destroy walmart eviiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiil!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[AndyL]

Rant

Have any of you guys worked a union job?

Unions served a purpose up until about the 1940s. These days they're nothing more than big buisness themselves. Where do you think all those dues paid by union workers go - it sure doesn't go back into their own pockets... It gets used to try to recruit more members; basically one big MLM.

I've worked union jobs, and I can tell you, I have yet to work a union job where the employees are happy. Everyone's got a beef about everyone; god forbid you should find a way to do the same work with LESS staff. Anyone who doesn't "Tow the line" gets absolutely beat on (sometimes litterally) until they do.

You failed to mention, after announcing the closure of the store, someone (hmmm I wonder who it might have been) called in bomb threats to two seperate walmart stores in Gatineau. Typical union tactic - remember when buzz hargrove was the president of the CAW - during the runup to the last Air canada strike he was advocating "Dropping a handful of rivets into an engine". And we're somehow supposed to take the sides of the unions with tactics and methods like that?

Unions are nothing but legalized mafia and MLM organizations... They had their time and place - as did the mafia... Their time has long since passed.

/Rant

Andy

 

[ashleigh]

I can certainly see your point- I think in general unions have gotten pretty greedy- earlier this year one of my bar regulars who runs a small company was complaining because his workers wanted their birthdays off in their union contracts, their birthdays. not a single one of them is under thirty five. I mean let's face it, that's quite a long way from Chavez pleading for bathroom breaks. I think if they got back to their roots (and of course I know they won't) they could have a place. but I think like someone said earlier, this isn't about he union issue, it's about the evil empire doing (as usual) whatever they want.

 

[bigredspecial]

Colesea: I agree 100% with ewhat you're saying, what people really want is respect.

I did work at Walmart, on the sales floor, on cash, in the stockroom/unloading trucks, and on nights; and one thing I will say, is walmart will NOT give employees respect. maybe it was just the store I worled at, but everything you mentioned, was the complete opposite.
-Breaks were enforced with an iron fist( 15mins for break, afterwards the manager would check the computer to see if anyone took 16 minutes)
-sick days were strongly discouraged, and I was told off for not coming in durring snowstorms(I had to drive 25km's each way, a blizzard here usually means 30-40cm's of snow plus 130+km/h winds)
-there was no recognition for a good job, but screw up once... you'll hear about it.


I can go on and on, but this is making me angry.... just my rant.



and I agree, unions aren't all they're cracked up to be, but still... a company can't fire someone for wanting to join one(because that's basically what this is.)

 

[Lotus]

I think unions are perfect for a lot of low-paying companies (like WalMart), if they can bargain for things like healthcare, reasonable use of sick time, etc. My brother worked as a security guard for quite a long time in a union job, and it allowed him to provide health cover for his wife and kids as well as get him through his masters degree. I don't think that just because you're in a low-paying job that you should have to suffer.

I think one of the worst things about WalMart is that it doesn't provide healthcare (in the US). I see no reason that a company that large shouldn't give its workers even the most basic healthcare coverage. Of course, companies shouldn't give you trouble for taking your legal right in terms of breaks and sick leave.

Of course, there's the string of problems at WalMart with the illegal immigrant scandal and the class-action lawsuit for discrimination against females.