Corporate Scum Walmart gets ordered to recognize the union

[rsnoble]

3 years ago meatcutters in a walmart store voted for the union. Walmart closed the meat dept, and transfered the butchers to such positions as cashier. Now the courts have ordered walmart to recognize the union and reopen their meat dept. Yes! Fucking assholes. Sam Walton would turn over in his fucking grave if he knew what was going on. Were currently trying to organize a warehouse here, and the project is coming along nicely.

If you'd view their quarterly profits, you will realize these motherfuckers can more than afford to pay better WITHOUT raising prices. They pay dirt, they treat their people like dirt. They need to be dealt with. I was kinda hoping the first wave of American born business/corporate suicide bombers would've made their way into corporate headquarters by now, maybe they should bargain in good faith before it happens.

Theres no reason why the greatest country in the world should have employers of this magnitude treating their employees like this. I've noticed they've been running a lot of ads on tv and such showing employees who are more than happy to work there. No-brain suckasses as ive described in other threads. I know of 3 walmarts, and the majority of people there are NOT happy.

And for those of you that disagree with this because there just runts, you my friend can eat shit and fucking die you anti-american communist fucking bastard. We will either win and drag this country off the deep end and you all can fucking sink.

 

[rsnoble]

(or drag)

 

[XBiker]

(or drag)

Did you really mean, (in drag) ?

 

[2Thick]

As long as the union does not end up screwing both the employees and the store, then it is good news.

 

[rsnoble]

As long as the union does not end up screwing both the employees and the store, then it is good news.

With walmart at the bottom of the totem pole in pay, I seriously doubt this could ever happen. Not within the next 140 years anyway.

 

[Frackal]

Walmart is pure shit

 

[big4life]

Good luck in trying to organize. I have been involved in two and both of them taught me lessons about people, and not in a good way. People who you think are your friends will rat you out, or encourage you to stick your neck out, only to disappear when it gets hot.

A piece of advice for you. If you can't get at least 75% of the people to tell you that they would vote for a union, then you really have no chance. You have to figure that a lot of those who tell you that they will vote for it, are not really going to follow through. They believe that it is enough to scare the company with a threat of the union, and the company will change.

If you do get a union in, you need to work on getting the non members to join. If it comes time to negogiate a contract and you only have half or slightly more than half on your side, the company can and will break the union.

 

[atlantabiolab]

I know of 3 walmarts, and the majority of people there are NOT happy.

Three whole WalMarts?!?!?! And I am sure you spoke with each and every employee. And their complaints were all valid too, right?

And for those of you that disagree with this because there just runts, you my friend can eat shit and fucking die you anti-american communist fucking bastard.

You are too fucking stupid to even know how ironic your insults are.

 

[Lao Tzu]

My brother has told me alot of stories (i guess he has a friend who works there) about wal-marts labor busting tactics.

2 questions.


1. how has wal-mart managed to get away with union busting in this day and age

2. has a court decision been created saying that wal-mart cannot bust unions now? Is it a universal charge that walmart can't bust unions anywhere, or does it just apply to that particular meat department in that particular store.

 

[beastboy]

Walmart is pure shit

Especially when I was done with them last weekend.

 

[javaguru]

And for those of you that disagree with this because there just runts, you my friend can eat shit and fucking die you anti-american communist fucking bastard. We will either win and drag this country off the deep end and you all can fucking sink.

Not to be a jerk but you should replace the word communist with capitalist. A communist would support unions while a capitalist would not.

 

[Lao Tzu]

Not to be a jerk but you should replace the word communist with capitalist. A communist would support unions while a capitalist would not.

not to nitpick, but thats a half truth. Unions got started in developed capitalist countries but were illegal in places like the USSR.

 

[casavant]

I read "How Wal-Mart Is Destroying America And The World And What You Can Do About It" a year ago. It was interesting. Wal-Mart does seem to treat their employees rather shittily.

With that said, I spent $8.52 at Wal-Mart just last night. Their world headquarters is 20 minutes up the road, and I did a gig at their shareholder's meeting which will be netting me about $250.

 

[louden_swain]

People just need to learn to shut the fuck up and learn to be thabkful that they have a job!!

Those who complain don't deserve a job. . .

There are tens of thousands of people who need a job.

As for Wal Mart. . . I don't care for the place.

 

[Code]

Unions are WHY work gets outsourced off-shore.
Unions are WHY we hire illegal aliens so frequently.

It was a much needed concept when it started. But times have changed and we don't have 5 year olds working mines anymore.


I don't shop at union supported stores.

 

[rsnoble]

Unions are WHY work gets outsourced off-shore.
Unions are WHY we hire illegal aliens so frequently.

It was a much needed concept when it started. But times have changed and we don't have 5 year olds working mines anymore.


I don't shop at union supported stores.

Wrong. Companies move offshore because of the breaks republicans enable them. Offshore would still be cheaper than non-uniont (I believe our minimum wage is around $6.00 or whatever? Whats Chinas'-4 cents?) so they'll still go. They'll always look for the cheaper way out, and it's not here. Same thing on your illegal alien theory. Unions support america workers, so basically you are saying you are anti-american. As far as middle and low class goes anyways.

 

[rsnoble]

Good luck in trying to organize. I have been involved in two and both of them taught me lessons about people, and not in a good way. People who you think are your friends will rat you out, or encourage you to stick your neck out, only to disappear when it gets hot.

A piece of advice for you. If you can't get at least 75% of the people to tell you that they would vote for a union, then you really have no chance. You have to figure that a lot of those who tell you that they will vote for it, are not really going to follow through. They believe that it is enough to scare the company with a threat of the union, and the company will change.

If you do get a union in, you need to work on getting the non members to join. If it comes time to negogiate a contract and you only have half or slightly more than half on your side, the company can and will break the union.

I've been in a few campaigns myself. They are not pretty. We just won over a company here lately in my area. You are correct, but you have to try. Just don't give up because it's to hard. Thousands of USA workers are joining unions every month. You don't hear about it, but it's true. Anyone from cintas laundry to doctors and lawyers. People aren't stupid (which doesnt explain Bush-oh year it doesnt matter in that case) and there going to do whats right for themselves. I got into this years ago, I was the biggest thorn in the side this company ever fucking had. If you could believe that. They were from Canada and we got them in so much fucking shit it's unreal. They were assembling units in Canada, shipping them here, dismantling them, and then putting them back together again and slapping "Made in USA" stickers on them. Hefty fines.

 

[rsnoble]

Re: Re: Corporate Scum Walmart gets ordered to recognize the union

Three whole WalMarts?!?!?! And I am sure you spoke with each and every employee. And their complaints were all valid too, right?



You are too fucking stupid to even know how ironic your insults are.

For you I have not comment, you have been taken in by the darkside and you will never return.

 

[Lao Tzu]

Unions are WHY work gets outsourced off-shore.
Unions are WHY we hire illegal aliens so frequently.

.

No its because they will work for $1 a day. Unions have nothing to do with that.

 

[rsnoble]

My brother has told me alot of stories (i guess he has a friend who works there) about wal-marts labor busting tactics.

2 questions.


1. how has wal-mart managed to get away with union busting in this day and age

2. has a court decision been created saying that wal-mart cannot bust unions now? Is it a universal charge that walmart can't bust unions anywhere, or does it just apply to that particular meat department in that particular store.

1. Lawyers. And tons of money. Getting fines for infractions is cheaper than letting the unions in because of increased wages and benefits and there happy to pay them. Happy compared to the alternative that is. And it's getting worse with Bush appointing all republican judges and an all republican controlled NLRB which side with the corporations most of the time.

2. No, there was no court order stating that. What happened was the employess voted for the union and the courts decided that they have that right and Walmart will abide by it.

This is an event just for this particular store. However, it is a MAJOR inroad. We are aggresively attacking the Walmart warehouse distribution center here where wages are at least $5.00 an hour less with worse benefits compared to the areas unionized warehouses.

 

[scott825]

International Longshoremans Assosiation Local 970 AFL-CIO here,I can tell you that the union is the only way to go if you are a laborer,craftsman etc. Its job security & looking out for the regular working man or woman.A union is only as strong as its membership.What really makes unions look bad is when so many members abuse their rights & become lousy workers cause they feel they cant be fired.Thats what pisses me off the most.

 

[spongebob]

Unions are WHY work gets outsourced off-shore.

It was a much needed concept when it started. But times have changed and we don't have 5 year olds working mines anymore.


I don't shop at union supported stores.

work usually goes overseas because of slim to non existent environmental laws, low wages, and sub-standard safety pratices.

im not sure if you ever heard of bhopal india, its the site of possibly the worlds largest chemical disaster ever. union carbide operated a chemical plant there that contained a very toxic and highly reactive chemical called methyl isocynate. in 1984 due to poor safety and maintenance standards they had a release. its estimated that it killed 4000 people(some while just sleeping in thier beds) and affected close to 400,000 people.

it was reported that carbide had dropped the safety standards well below those at an identical facility in west virginia. the worlds largest lawsuit was brought forth on bhopal and the US. carbide settled out of court for 470million. if this had happened at the west virginian plant, i highly doubt it would have settled for 470million. and possibly criminal charges would have been brought against carbide.

not only did they take advantage of low wages, relaxed environmental laws but they also took advantage of the victims.

just one example why companies go overseas.

as far as your statement of unions being an old concept no longer needed is about the same as saying pro-choice activist are no longer needed. because by using your logic, the law legalizing abortion is in place. point being, that these issues are dynamic and are constantly being fought for in systematic increments. another analogy would be the NRA vs. gun control advocates. neither side wants to give an inch.

just to prove my point take a look at the recently proposed changes to the overtime laws in this country. while i believe it does not directly affect the 40/wk blue collar hourly wage earner, it could be an incremental start.

one last point, while you may not patronize union supported stores, all you are doing is contributing to the down-sizing of the middle class. when you lose the middle class(which is exactly what is happening) you lose a large tax base. we all benefit when workers make decent wages that these companies can afford.

p.s. and no im not just being a prick because we had an arguement in the other thread i just disagree with you because im a union member.

 

[spongebob]

1. how has wal-mart managed to get away with union busting in this day and age.

union busting is a studied and evolving profession. there are professionals out there that have techniques for either discouraging unionizing from the get-go and discrediting and disrupting already formed unions. companies can hire law firms for just such activity. one simple technique is to convince people that unions are no longer needed, another one is to instigate fighting and mistrust amongst union members(especially during contract negotiations). comes from the old saying, united we stand, divided we fall. there hoping you fall.

 

[casavant]

"Sorry, I'm just doing my job."

"Yeah, but that don't make it right."

- Cool Hand Luke

 

[casavant]

I'm not trying to make a point, by the way. I just thought it was a clever way to tie in part of the thread subject with spongebob's signature quote.

Oh, how clever me is.

 

[p0ink]

it's official! rsnoble is ryanh, because both of them had an extreme hard-on for hating on walmart.

 

[Code]

work usually goes overseas because of slim to non existent environmental laws, low wages, and sub-standard safety pratices.

im not sure if you ever heard of bhopal india, its the site of possibly the worlds largest chemical disaster ever. union carbide operated a chemical plant there that contained a very toxic and highly reactive chemical called methyl isocynate. in 1984 due to poor safety and maintenance standards they had a release. its estimated that it killed 4000 people(some while just sleeping in thier beds) and affected close to 400,000 people.

it was reported that carbide had dropped the safety standards well below those at an identical facility in west virginia. the worlds largest lawsuit was brought forth on bhopal and the US. carbide settled out of court for 470million. if this had happened at the west virginian plant, i highly doubt it would have settled for 470million. and possibly criminal charges would have been brought against carbide.

not only did they take advantage of low wages, relaxed environmental laws but they also took advantage of the victims.

just one example why companies go overseas.

as far as your statement of unions being an old concept no longer needed is about the same as saying pro-choice activist are no longer needed. because by using your logic, the law legalizing abortion is in place. point being, that these issues are dynamic and are constantly being fought for in systematic increments. another analogy would be the NRA vs. gun control advocates. neither side wants to give an inch.

just to prove my point take a look at the recently proposed changes to the overtime laws in this country. while i believe it does not directly affect the 40/wk blue collar hourly wage earner, it could be an incremental start.

one last point, while you may not patronize union supported stores, all you are doing is contributing to the down-sizing of the middle class. when you lose the middle class(which is exactly what is happening) you lose a large tax base. we all benefit when workers make decent wages that these companies can afford.

p.s. and no im not just being a prick because we had an arguement in the other thread i just disagree with you because im a union member.

It's all about money and work ethic and the US union workers want more money for less work.

Jobs aren't just going offshore, they're going to illegal aliens and H1b visa workers.

All the trade and labor goes offshore because of money and America's extreme drop in work quality regarding the trades and labor.

What benefits do you get from your union? Unions basically make states that aren't "right to work" states into them. You aren't owed a job by the world, you aren't owed anything. Earn it some other way than paying dues to crooked organizations.

 

[the nature boy]

fuck wallmart and it's sweatshop labor produced goods. and fuck anyone who thinks otherwise.

GO TARGET!!

 

[Code]

Well, now that it's unionized, expect prices to go up and quality of service to plummet.

Unions are the father of the "Its not my job" syndrome that has allowed H1b visa workers and illegal aliens to steal away American jobs.

 

[spongebob]

It's all about money and work ethic and the US union workers want more money for less work.

Jobs aren't just going offshore, they're going to illegal aliens and H1b visa workers.

All the trade and labor goes offshore because of money and America's extreme drop in work quality regarding the trades and labor.

What benefits do you get from your union? Unions basically make states that aren't "right to work" states into them. You aren't owed a job by the world, you aren't owed anything. Earn it some other way than paying dues to crooked organizations.

1. it is all about money and there are union workers that take advantage of the situation, but poor work ethic is not limited to just union workers. i spent 4 years in the service, worked the next nine with non-union companies, trust me poor work ethic is not limited to union workers.

2.anytime you have a work force that will basically work for low wages ofcourse jobs will be filled by them. its usually the low skilled jobs.

3. dont blame work quality just on workers, from my experience a majority of my co-workers have pride in what they do. when a worker has pride in his craft he usually does it very well. from my experience companies have all but stripped that craftsmenship away from its workers. and im just talking about blue collar for the most part.

4. i'll be the first to agree that unions have become way to political and have lost some focus on the real issues. but as i said earlier workers rights is a dynamic issue and if corporations are not challenged, i believe you would see some workers rights slowly erode in this country. honestely i dont need a union, my work ethic carries me. but i do benefit from some of the issues in our company contract, and i only pay something like 40$ a month. really not that much considering my actual pay. and if i decided to go to a non-union plant, i would make the same but without some of the protections a union can give you.

 

[Lao Tzu]

fuck wallmart and it's sweatshop labor produced goods. and fuck anyone who thinks otherwise.

GO TARGET!!

Target has been targeted for sweatshops too.

http://www.sunmt.org/gaptrial.html

http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/47/262.html



Looks like the dream is dead

 

[spongebob]

Well, now that it's unionized, expect prices to go up and quality of service to plummet.

are you trying to tell me that because some meat cutters decided to unionize that wal-mart will suffer financially? as far as service, thats a total joke. most everything i buy on a daily basis from car insurance all the way down to a happy meal at mcdonalds, i get the crappiest service that is almost embarrassing to be an american. and theses are non-union. but hey believe what the giant corporations want you to believe while at the same time they are paying CEO's unheard of salaries and bonus and the funny part is even when they crumble like enron, they still get retention bonus'.

 

[Code]

are you trying to tell me that because some meat cutters decided to unionize that wal-mart will suffer financially? as far as service, thats a total joke. most everything i buy on a daily basis from car insurance all the way down to a happy meal at mcdonalds, i get the crappiest service that is almost embarrassing to be an american. and theses are non-union. but hey believe what the giant corporations want you to believe while at the same time they are paying CEO's unheard of salaries and bonus and the funny part is even when they crumble like enron, they still get retention bonus'.

Are you telling me that Wal-Mart won't pass on the cost to the consumer.

As the saying goes, Corporations don't pay taxes, they simply pass them on to the consumer. Same goes for the cost of being forced to collude on wages for unskilled labor.

 

[spongebob]

Are you telling me that Wal-Mart won't pass on the cost to the consumer.

As the saying goes, Corporations don't pay taxes, they simply pass them on to the consumer. Same goes for the cost of being forced to collude on wages for unskilled labor.

they wont pass it on if target super center down the street has lower meat prices.

ofcourse, thats what they want you to believe that they have to pass it on in order to pay that CEO his salary.

have you ever worked for a union? do you have real world experience regarding unions?

 

[rsnoble]

You know I think I could probably come up with far more unskilled workers who are nonunion that give shity service.

A lot of people think we just stand around with our thumbs up our asses because of a few bad apples.

Here is my background: I went to college for almost 3 years, seen my freinds who finished earlier getting nowhere, and I quit and served a 5 year apprenticeship. I now make more money than the 2 friends I had that finished. Im sure thousands that do finish end up doing a lot better than me, but im happy with it. I hate working for someone else, but if im going to I my as well get paid well for it. Eventually I look to get something of my own going but that's another story.

What did I do today? Im working on an 8 story building. The windows are in, no air. Extremely high humidty. I am installing the ductwork that runs from the top of the building to the 1st floor, nearly 100' in a vertical riser. These pieces of metal are 10footx5foot and weigh a few hundred pounds each. I have to read blue prints, decide locations, make connections, rig mulitiple hoists, and a bunch of other shit. No ones holding my fucking hand, I am trained to do work with a group of professionals and we all know what were doing. And guess what? In my union, if you are a dumbass or lazy, you dont work most of the time. I ran to the top of the building on a set of temp. stairs outside the building, during a lightning storm mind you, at least 6 times today all the way to the damn top. I was so sweaty my jeans were soaked wet.

I get off at 330pm, right in the middle of getting a piece weighing over 2000lbs ready to lift at a height of about 70' the assholes in the office send out an unscheduled delivery-a full size deisel trailor. It's not raining hard yet, and we try backing him in. But the fuckhead general contractor has a lift parked right in the way. The lift has a 60 foot boom on it and they could have move ways away from our dock and still reached the location. This general is an asshole and I politely asked him if he could move over and he just laughed and walked off. So we had to wait. Then he moved, the truck backed in and we litterally RAN moving this material off the truck before the rain comes as the whole lot is dirt. Huge pieces of metal, several dozen 70+ pound boxes, etc. Right when we got a done a tremendous downpour started. The fucking truck got stuck. My partner and I were out in the fucking mud hooking up log chains to a bulldozer and backing the semitruck out in the hard rain for 1/2 hour.

Then we came back in and finished the day out hoisting material that just came in to the top floor, because the took the damn crane down already.

At the end of the day I am drenched in rain and sweet, completely covered in mud, and have to walk the distance of a walmart parking lot in mud to get to my work truck. If anyone would've approached me at this point and told me union workers dont do shit I would've killed them.

Don't be fooled by this myth, many get in thinking there gonna make the big bucks like me and find they can't handle it and never come back. I work my fucking ass off, every damn day.

 

[MattTheSkywalker]

Unions are WHY work gets outsourced off-shore.
Unions are WHY we hire illegal aliens so frequently.

It was a much needed concept when it started. But times have changed and we don't have 5 year olds working mines anymore.


I don't shop at union supported stores.

They're also why we don't have oligarchy....or child labor.

They're outdated, not obsolete.

 

[rsnoble]

Also, many people don't understand how bad it would get without them. Company A is union. Company B is not but pays a descent wage that is just enough to keep them from bitching to much. And probably in most cases not as good as benefits.

No one stops to think that Company B is tryng to be "half" fair because if there not they will end up like Company A and there CEO will have to give up one of his luxury vacation homes and .0005% of his stock options to support the extra wages and benefits.

 

[Code]

They're also why we don't have oligarchy....or child labor.

They're outdated, not obsolete.

Actually we don't have child labor due to federal statutes.

They're outdated. So is the pro-union rhetoric though.

 

[gotmilk]

I'm a Kmart kinda guy.

-= nav =-

Kmart employees tried to join a Union...and were subsequently fired. Thank god Mark Schwartz and Charles Conaway intentionally shorted KM into the ground....because bankruptcy courts nix Union requests.

Walmart has a shit load of money....because they use slave labor. When you start paying cashiers $12 an hour with benefits...Walmart will be shopping for a bankruptcy lawyer.

 

[gotmilk]

and by the way noble....WalMart is up "next" for the SEC's investigation into illegal book keeping.

Rumor has it that Walmart books inventory as actual revenue...thereby inflating their annual revenues...

There's a good chance that Walmart does not make as much money as they claim....


It's the same scam Charles Conaway tried to use at Kmart

 

[Code]

Kmart employees tried to join a Union...and were subsequently fired. Thank god Mark Schwartz and Charles Conaway intentionally shorted KM into the ground....because bankruptcy courts nix Union requests.

Walmart has a shit load of money....because they use slave labor. When you start paying cashiers $12 an hour with benefits...Walmart will be shopping for a bankruptcy lawyer.

Wal-Mart consists of 2.5% of the US GDP. Thats how freaking huge they are.

 

[Hengst]

Wal-Mart is responsible for the destruction of small town America's Main street.

Wal-Mart is a disease.

 

[MattTheSkywalker]

Actually we don't have child labor due to federal statutes.

They're outdated. So is the pro-union rhetoric though.

Well, that's the thing....much of what unions fought for is now legislation.

Modern unions often do more harm than good. It;s just important to keep them in perspective.

 

[Code]

Wal-Mart is responsible for the destruction of small town America's Main street.

Wal-Mart is a disease.

Aren't you from Amsterdam?

 

[spongebob]

Also, many people don't understand how bad it would get without them. Company A is union. Company B is not but pays a descent wage that is just enough to keep them from bitching to much. And probably in most cases not as good as benefits.

No one stops to think that Company B is tryng to be "half" fair because if there not they will end up like Company A and there CEO will have to give up one of his luxury vacation homes and .0005% of his stock options to support the extra wages and benefits.

actually in the industry i work in under your scenario, company B will pay slightly more per hour just to keep the union out. so actually in some instances, non-union workers benefit from the union.

no entity, group, company, corporation or any other institution of any kind should be left completely unchallenged.

 

[rsnoble]

Well, that's the thing....much of what unions fought for is now legislation.

Modern unions often do more harm than good. It;s just important to keep them in perspective.

I think your forgetting something here. Legislation can be overturned. Overturned at large rates as seen in the Bush administration. Therefore, unions have to still enforce our rights before their taken away at the stoke of some assholes gold engraved pen.

 

[Hengst]

Aren't you from Amsterdam?

American expat. Originally from Iowa. Grew up on the east coast. I only base my opinion of Walmart on what I have seen. Go to middle america, to any small/mid size town. If there is a Walmart, it is outside of town, next to the highway interchange. Then you can be 100% sure that what ever Main Street that town had is now boarded up.

The small town shop keeper can not compete with the pricing, inventory and "convienence" (read as parking) that walmart provides.

In the short term, the consumer loves it, but in the end, the community as a whole loses when the down town disappears.

Of course there are exceptions to this but my observations stand true. This is a phenomena of all the "box" stores. It's just that Walmart is the most ravenous and chews up the community faster.

 

[Code]

American expat. Originally from Iowa. Grew up on the east coast. I only base my opinion of Walmart on what I have seen. Go to middle america, to any small/mid size town. If there is a Walmart, it is outside of town, next to the highway interchange. Then you can be 100% sure that what ever Main Street that town had is now boarded up.

The small town shop keeper can not compete with the pricing, inventory and "convienence" (read as parking) that walmart provides.

In the short term, the consumer loves it, but in the end, the community as a whole loses when the down town disappears.

Of course there are exceptions to this but my observations stand true. This is a phenomena of all the "box" stores. It's just that Walmart is the most ravenous and chews up the community faster.

Just got fed up with America or wanted hash legally.

 

[rsnoble]

and by the way noble....WalMart is up "next" for the SEC's investigation into illegal book keeping.

Rumor has it that Walmart books inventory as actual revenue...thereby inflating their annual revenues...

There's a good chance that Walmart does not make as much money as they claim....


It's the same scam Charles Conaway tried to use at Kmart

Cool! I am so fuckins sick of seeing these megadestroyers portray themselves as the best thing since big boobs. I hope they get there asses fried. And fuck Martha Stewart, we need to bust Bush for his insider trading and Harken energy corp when he sold nearly 1 million in stock right before the plunge!