One could say that the beast from Bentonville has once again shown it's true face. Not the wholsome, patriotic, benevolent coporate citizen but the face that mouths in the words of one union official that "it is above the law and that the only rules that count are it's rules."
Wal-Mart Canada shut down its unionized Jonquiere store a week ahead of schedule in an attempt to escape a growing wave of criticism directed at its anti-labor policies. Rather than allow workers to unionize, the big bully closed the store.
Although the original store closing date had been announced as May 6, Wal Mart decided to close tthe store on April 30, claiming merchandise had run low on the shelves.
The early closure of the Jonquiere store comes only days after the Quebec Labor Commission agreed to consider an application by UFCW Canada that, if approved, would have obligated Wal-Mart to remain open until a series of unfair labor practice charges against the company had been processed.
It could be said that the decision to close the Jonquière store is about much more than an anti-unionism. Wal-Mart has built its successful empire on competitive social dumping and on brutal squeezing of its suppliers. It views unions as a threat because they can help workers secure decent wages and working conditions.
The Jonquière store closing shows Wal-Mart's true self.
This is not the first time Wal-Mart has closed a store rather than accept the unionization of it's workers. In 2000, meat cutters in a Wal-Mart store in Jacksonville, Texas, voted for union representation through UFCW. Shoirtly thereafter Wal Mart decided to give up its meat cutting entirely and began selling only pre-packaged meat.
The latest store closing, in our view, takes away the last remnants of any credibility Wal-Mart may have had. Wal-Mart would rather spend millions on burnishing it's wholesome TV image, rather than on providing decent wages and healthcare for it's workers.
Speaking of which, they better haul out the PR staff and start working overtime. Public relations chief Mona Williams has said that part of the company's goal is to "try to clear your mind of everything you've heard or read about Wal-Mart" and view the company with "a clear slate. This latest incident will surely clear the air, right?. Yeah, right. What should be realized is that this latest incident only defines ever more clearly Wal-Mart's unfair business tactics, harassment, intimidation, and rough handling of suppliers, employees, and comsumers. That it can easily be seen that despite all it's public relations campaigning, Wal-Mart's tales are built on pure disinformation.
It seems clear that the message Wal-Mart is sending to it's workers worldwide: Try to join a union and we will close your store
Wal-Mart's decision to close the store is a message from the world's largest and wealthiest corporation to consumers, communities and workers worldwide: it would rather close stores, eliminate worker's jobs and make the entire community suffer, rather than reach an agreement with workers for fair wages and benefits.
"The company is accused of discriminating against women," added one union official. "It cheats workers out of pay, illegally spies on, coerces, and bribes workers who want to form a union". To that list can now be added the closing of a store because it was facing a decision by the Quebec Labor Ministry to subject the company to a fair and impartial settlement with workers at the Jonquière store.
Says Michael Fraser, national director of UFCW Canada, “Every bully is a coward and Wal-Mart was afraid that if they waited until May 6, the media and outraged local citizens would be there for the closing. They were also scared that the labor commission might order them to keep Jonquiere open. Once again Wal-Mart has demonstrated that the only rulebook it plays by is its own.”
We could not agree more.
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