Attention WalMart shoppers! The place you shop- is now in Human Rights violations.

Wal-Mart Denies Workers Basic Rights

Source: Human Rights Watch

(Washington, DC, May 1, 2007) – Wal-Mart’s relentless exploitation of weak US labor laws thwarts union formation and violates the rights of its US workers, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today.

Wal-Mart workers have virtually no chance to organize because they’re up against unfair US labor laws and a giant company that will do just about anything to keep unions out. That one-two punch devastates workers’ right to form and join unions.
Carol Pier, senior researcher on labor rights and trade at Human Rights Watch



In the 210-page report, “Discounting Rights: Wal-Mart’s Violation of US Workers’ Right to Freedom of Association,” Human Rights Watch found that while many American companies use weak US laws to stop workers from organizing, the retail giant stands out for the sheer magnitude and aggressiveness of its anti-union apparatus. Many of its anti-union tactics are lawful in the United States, though they combine to undermine workers’ rights. Others run afoul of soft US laws.

“Wal-Mart workers have virtually no chance to organize because they’re up against unfair US labor laws and a giant company that will do just about anything to keep unions out,” said Carol Pier, senior researcher on labor rights and trade for Human Rights Watch. “That one-two punch devastates workers’ right to form and join unions.”

http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/05/01/usdom15797.htm
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:(

35+ miles to any alternative to chinamart

Sorry to hear that.


Human Rights Watch is more conservative than other watch dogs.
This report needs to be posted around Walmart.

I mean if its stuff you get regularly, office supplies and stuff like that, you might consider it, it might be easier and cheaper for you and you don't have to stop going to chinamart altogether to take SOME of your biz elsewhere...

What unfair US labor laws are they referring to?

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/05/01/1410240
>>>snip
AMY GOODMAN: Wal-Mart declined our request for an interview today, but did issue a statement in response to Human Rights Watch. Wal-Mart says, "This pro-union report uses incomplete interviews and unsubstantiated allegations from as much as 6-7 years ago to support a union-backed bill before congress that eliminates workers' rights to a private ballot vote on unionization. Contrary to the allegations in this report, Wal-Mart respects our associates’ right to a free and fair unionization vote through a private, government supervised process and we remain committed to compliance with U.S. laws regarding workers' right to unionize."

The Wal-Mart statement goes on to say, "The fact is, less than 5% of all retail workers in the United States are part of a union so the current trend is not unique to Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart provides an environment of open communications and gives our associates every opportunity to express their ideas, comments and concerns. It is because of our efforts to foster such an environment that our associates have repeatedly rejected unionization attempts." Carol Pier, your response?

CAROL PIER: There’s so many things I’d like to respond to. I’ll start first with the accusation that the report is incomplete and contains unsubstantiated claims. The report is 210 pages long and contains 932 footnotes, and we spent over two and a half years researching it. It is a very thorough and objective documentation of Wal-Mart's response to union activity at its stores across the country.>>>>>snip

Second, I would like to say that this is not a union-backed report. This is not a pro-union report. This is a report that is pro-freedom of association. We are a human rights organization that believes that workers should have the right to choose whether or not to form a union. If they choose not to, that’s fine; if they choose to, that is fine. But we believe, because it is a fundamental human right that is protected in the key instruments of the United Nations that workers have the right to freedom of association, and that is what is denied to Wal-Mart workers.

Wal-Mart says that workers have an opportunity at their stores to freely choose whether or not to organize and that they would be allowed to have a vote within the NLRB process, the National Labor Relations Board. That’s what they were referring to in their response. That is a very disingenuous response to our report, >>>>>snip