Feb. 10, 2005 - 18:43 MST

THE WONDERING JEW

Typical

Somewhat reminiscent of the little boy who, out of spite, takes the ball home and stops the game. An article in the Rocky Mountain News today by Adam Geller of the Associated Press Quoted in full:

Unionized Wal-Mart to close

"New York -- "Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Wednesday it will close a Canadian store whose workers are on the verge of becoming the first ever to win a union contract from the world's biggest retailer."

"Wal-Mart said it was shuttering the store in Jonquiere, Quebec, in response to unreasonable demands from union negotiators that would make it impossible for the store to sustain its business. The United Food & Commercial Workers Canada last week asked Quebec labor officials to appoint a mediator, saying that negotiations had reached an impasse."

"We were hoping it wouldn't come to this," said Andrew Pelletier, a spokesman for Wal-Mart Canada. "Despite nine days of meetings over three months, we've been unable to reach an agreement with the union that in our view will allow the store to operate efficiently and profitably." Peletier said the store will close in May. The retailer had first discussed closing the Joquiere store last October, saying that the store was losing money."

"A spokesman for the UFCW said Wednesday the union had not yet seen the retailer's statement, and that leaders were travelilng and not immediately available for comment."

"Some employees at the store said they believed the store was closing because of their agreement to join the union, and several cried as they left the store."

"They told Radio-Canada TV that an announcement had been made and they were not allowed to ask questions."

"The store in Jonquiere, about 240 miles northeast of Montreal, became the first unionized Wal-Mart store in North America last September, after the bargaining unit was certified by provincial officials.""Since then, workers at a second Quebec store also have been granted union status. Neither had reached a contract."

"The union efforts at both at both stores are part of a larger chess game labor organizers are waging with Wal-Mart at stores across Canada."

"The campaign financed by UFCW money from Canada and the United States, also is geared to capture the attention of workers in Wal-Mart's home country."

"Wal-Mart spokesman Pelletier said the company was closing Jonquiere because of unreasonable union demands over scheduling and staffing, and the UFCW's refusal to detail its pay requirements."

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Doesn't surprise me a bit, at all atall ! ! ! ! My opinion of the way Wal-Mart practises its works of art ? more or less indicates to me that, "No damn union will ever be in our Wall-Store company."

Over the many years of our country's existence the power of money over the working person's rights has seemed to be paramount. And the first cry of the businesses is similar to what Wal-Mart is saying now. They are shuttering the store, "in response to unreasonable demands from union negotiators that would make it impossible for the store to sustain its business."

Noting this, "The retailer had first discussed closing the Jonquiere store last October, saying, "that the store was losing money." And yet the union did not have a contract then nor even to this day, so how was the store losing money ? Corporate propaganda perhaps ?

There is a paragraph in the item, quote: "The union efforts at both stores are part of a larger chess game labor organizers are waging with Wal-Mart stores across Canada." "The campaign, financed by UFCW money from Canada and the United States, also is geared to capture the attention of workers in Wal-Mart's home country."

One thing many people fail to realize is that the money that the unions have to do things like this comes from the DUES THEIR MEMBERS PAY. The unions do not have the gigantic slush funds available to corporate organizations.

The last quoted statement of Mr. Pelletier in the column, "Wal-Mart spokesman Pelletier said the company was closing in Jonquiere because of,unreasonable union demands over scheduling and staffing, and the UFCW's refusal to detail its pay requirements." Refusal to detail its pay requirements ? Now ain't that a crock ? Guess that means the union would not agree to the pay that Wal-Mart is willing to pay. Staffing and scheduling, yep part of the problem existing that the company resists. Too few staff and too many hours worked it appears and perhaps the company wants to go back to the old split shift schedule our telephone operators used to have to work ? Scheduling, evasion of overtime pay ?

In our country the supermarkets who provide service with a capital S, who treat their employees fairly under union contract, who have parking lots, bag boys, grocery carts and helpful people staffing the whole store are being done in by Giants like Wal-Mart. Used to be that supers bought enough land to provide off the street parking for customers, provided grocery carts and courtesy clerks to help customers load their stuff in their cars. Now Wal-Mart has cubic miles of parking lots, courtesy clerks on request, grocery carts and all those things, but is selling stuff for much less than the supermarkets are. Pay for the workers for one thing is an answer and the tremendous pressure Wal-Mart exerts on their suppliers probably adds to the problem. And bargain crazy Americans keep patronizing them. Some of us of course have no choice but to eke out an existence one way or another. I just think giants ought to play a fair game all the way around.

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Another little item alongside the one just mentioned.

In Colorado

Loveland workers to vote on union

"Workers in the auto service department at the Loveland Wal-Mart will vote Feb. 25 on whether they want to be represented by a union, The United Food & Commercial Workers Local 7."

"About 20 workers in the Wal-Mart Tire and Lube Express part of the store will be elegible to vote. The election covers only that department."

"The closest a U.S. union has come to winning a battle with Wal-Mart was in 2000, at a store in Jacksonville, Texas. In that store, 11 workers -- all members of the store's meatpacking department -- voted to join and be represented by the UFCW. That effort failed when Wal-Mart eliminated the job of meat cutter companywide."

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I wonder, who does the meatcutting for Wal-Mart now ? It illustrates just what Wal-Mart's philosophy toward working folks is. Procedures like that for them seems to be Typical . . . . . . . . . . .

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