Wal-Mart, America’s Dirty Anti-Labor Ambassador
Wal-Mart, America’s Anti-Labor Ambassador Uses “Dirty War” Military Officers To Bust Unions
Due to weak U.S. labor laws, Wal-Mart’s most impressive violations of workers’ rights take place in the United States, where Wal-Mart’s founder Sam Walton opened his first store in 1967. The mega chain’s legacy was built over decades based on providing shoppers with low prices, but at the cost of workers, who face aggressive anti-union tactics, low salaries, often no benefits, tight surveillance, and degrading working conditions. In some cases, they are even forced to work without pay and off the clock.
Human Rights Watch’s extensive report “Rights: Wal-Mart’s Violation of U.S. Workers’ Right to Freedom of Association” details how aggressive efforts to keep out labor unions have often violated federal law and infringed on workers’ rights. The report found that unions and workers had brought 292 cases against Wal-Mart for violating labor laws in the United States.
The mega-chain’s sales have hit record levels since opening stores internationally. Wal-Mart’s total revenues of $315.65 billion for the fiscal year ending Jan. 31, 2006 , would rank it as the twenty-first wealthiest country in the world. Wal-Mart operates approximately 2,700 stores internationally in Puerto Rico, Mexico, Canada, Brazil, China, Argentina, Japan, and the United Kingdom. Wal-Mart currently employs approximately 1.8 million workers, called “associates,” worldwide, 1.3 million of whom work in the United States. Workers in nations such as Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico have been able to win minimal union representation due to strict labor laws on the books in each country, but not withstanding intense opposition from Wal-Mart’s local management.
The Case in Argentina
Wal-Mart has drawn the attention of Argentine lawmakers for anti-union practices in the corporation’s stores throughout the South American nation. Earlier this year, Argentina’s national congress led an investigation into Wal-Mart’s labor practices in the corporation’s 15 Argentine retail outlets. Following reports of the firing of union delegates and abusive working conditions, Wal-Mart was called before a congressional investigative committee in July 2007.
Dark Pasts in Private Security
In addition to reports of anti-union practices, Wal-Mart has come under public scrutiny for hiring a former military officer connected with the 1976-1983 military dictatorship as head of security. Alfredo Oscar Saint Jean served during the nation’s bloody military junta in cities where clandestine detention centers operated. Outside a Wal-Mart store, human rights representatives participated in an escrache or “exposure” protest calling for an end to impunity for military officers who participated in the systematic disappearance of 30,000 people in the so-called Dirty War.
See Entire Story by Marie Trigona : journalist based in Argentina.
- Human Rights Watch’s report “Rights: Wal-Mart’s Violation of U.S. Workers’
- Right to Freedom of Association“
- Day of Action Against Big Box Retailers (November 17, 2007)
- Wal-Mart Watch
- Wal-Mart No
- Wake Up Wal-Mart
Just had to share how the world works, American Style.
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December 15th, 2007 at 1:49 pm
another not so wonderful feather in Hillary’s neo liberal cap, she sat on the Walmart board , for quite some time , as i understand it. Its still staggering to comtemplate the wealth and scope of Walmart - and downright dangerous really, to have so many food and goods distribution services in one basket it is a very precarious set up. We will pay the piper, one fine day, - as the documentaries about walmart have said, there is gonna be a very high cost for these “low prices” .
Its a very fragile system. And so utterly dangerous on so many levels.
February 16th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
To the nice people of China…..
<<<<<<>>>>>>
the above statements is on the China web page…..
do you have any idea why this company is not in South Korea and Germany now……duh!
and with the hard working farmers of Mexico and India fighting to stay afloat….do you think they gonna shop at a Chinese store…..duh!
Put you feet in the People of the World shoes……if everyone has to buy only Chinese goods what becomes of the goods of the People of the World.
Support the People of the World…..
not a World with only one company
February 16th, 2008 at 11:14 pm
oops! this is from their China site….
quote ..In China, as elsewhere, we follow the Wal-Mart tradition of building our business one store and one customer at a time. We strive to provide our customers with friendly service and a wide selection of quality products at Every Day Low Prices. With each Wal-Mart store we bring advanced retail know-how to the local market. By fostering a healthy, competitive environment, we hope to constantly improve our business operations and customer service in order to contribute to the prosperity of the local economy.
Wal-Mart firmly believes in local procurement. We recognize that by purchasing quality products, we can generate more job opportunities, support local manufacturing and boost economic development. Over 95% of the merchandise in our stores in China is sourced locally. We have established partnerships with nearly 20,000 suppliers in China. At Wal-Mart, we always work with our suppliers to grow together. In August 2007, Wal-Mart once again secured the top spot of the 2007 Supplier Satisfaction Survey conducted by Business Information of Shanghai. Additionally, Wal-Mart directly exports about US$9 billion from China every year. The export volume by third party suppliers is also estimated to be over US$9 billion….end of quote