The world’s largest retailer is facing business woes and a workers’ insurgency as it looks towards an uncertain future, reports US union organiser Michael T Bride
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2010 picket outside Connolly’s Shoes
Dispute at Connolly’s Shoes still not resolved
Workers stage protest at Walmart’s global HQ in Bentonville, Arkansas, in June 2011
WALMART needs no introduction. The behemoth from Bentonville, a small town in Arkansas, has grown into not just the globe’s largest retailer, but perhaps the most powerful corporation the world has ever seen. It is the third largest global employer in terms of the number of people who work directly for it, behind only the Chinese and US militaries. It boasts global annual revenue of more than $400bn, dwarfing the GDP of the vast majority of countries. In the retail sector, it is four times bigger than the number two player in the market, and bigger than the next five global retailers combined. All of this would simply be fascinating if it were not for the manner in which Walmart uses its vast power. It is well known for being the most anti-union company in the US, and is widely viewed as impacting adversely on workers’ conditions both in the retail sector and the supply chain. The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) of North America – representing 1.3 million workers in the retail and food processing industries in the US and Canada – has long grappled with the rise of Walmart. Not only does Walmart’s growth threaten union supermarket jobs, but the downward pressure that Walmart brings on retail sector wages has a direct impact on the ability of the union to drive standards up at the bargaining table. The UFCW is engaging Walmart on a number of levels, directly challenging the ability of the company to grow in the cities and around the world, while supporting mobilisation efforts by Walmart’s staff.
Resistance in the cities…
Despite reporting a good quarter recently, the company had before then suffered a decline in same store sales for nine consequtive quarters.
March 2012
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Our bid to outsmart Walmart Walmart, having saturated rural markets in US, must now expand both into American cities and countries outside its US base. The UFCW has joined with community organisations in cities such as New York, Washington DC, San Francisco and Los Angeles to highlight Walmart’s track record and hold it accountable to higher standards if it wants to access these markets. The company’s refusal to compromise means that its successful entry into these markets is far from certain. And even if the company does access these markets, consumers will not easily forget the intransience demonstrated in the face of the community concerns.
…and around the globe
The UFCW has also partnered with unions across the world that have had to deal with Walmart. At the invitation of local retail workers’ union SACCAWU – the UFCW travelled to South Africa and played a pivotal role in a merger approval process there as Walmart tried to gain access to the market. The UFCW did this by submitting affidavits, arranging expert testimony as well as speaking to the press. Also, the UFCW, along with UNI Global Union, briefed the govern-
ment in Delhi on the possibility of Walmart entering the Indian market in the wake of a proposal to deregulate the retail sector there. Latin America is another forum where the UFCW is working with unions – specifically in Chile, Brazil and Argentina – to share relevant information about the firm’s plans and policies.
Walmart workers rise up Walmart’s reputation as an antiunion retailer is highly deserved. The company employs psychometric testing, in part, it is claimed, to root out pro-union workers. In 2005, when one of its stores in Jonqiere, Canada, voted for UFCW representation, Walmart infamously closed it down, pitching 300 workers into unemployment and sending out an unmistakably clear message to its workers elsewhere in North America. The closure of the store at Jonqiere followed the disbandment of an entire worker classification about five years earlier when Walmart eradicated butcher positions across the US following a vote by butchers in Texas to join the union. All of this would be bad enough – but added to the dearth of workers’ rights protection in the US and coupled with the state of the economy – it means that Walmart workers would be forgiven
for keeping their heads down and being grateful for having any job. They, however, have refused to do so. Walmart workers have instead banded together and formed the Organisation United for Respect at Walmart, or OURWalmart for short. They are creating a nationwide network of workers who come together to take direct action on issues such as pay, scheduling and workloads. The underlying theme of the workers is that they demand respect, encapsulated by the name of their website – forrespect.org. The workers have taken their message directly to company bosses on two separate occasions, visiting Walmart’s Bentonville headquarters in June and October last year. They have spoken out at rallies and events across the nation, causing ally groups to band with them in the struggle. With a US workforce of 1.4 million employees, OURWalmart is using online tools such as Facebook, Twitter and its forrespect.org website to stay in touch with each other and build towards the next event. OURWalmart means that, not only can workers stand together and speak with one voice, but also that the company must now take account of what they are saying. Following the firm’s decision to change its healthcare coverage – which many workers think was to their disadvantage – an OURWalmart member recently appeared on the CBS nationwide news highlighting the move. Walmart workers should be commended for standing up to the largest company on earth. Of course, they will tell you that they don’t want commendation – they want respect. History demonstrates that workers coming together with a united voice is by far the most effective way to achieve this. It is high time for Walmart to heed their voices. Michael t Bride is uFCW’s Deputy organising Director for Global Strategies
THE LONG-RUNNING dispute at Connollys Shoes is no nearer resolution and has now been in progress for nearly two years. The dispute arose following the dismissal of two members of staff at the Dun Laoghaire retailer on April 6, 2010. A few weeks later two other members of staff were dismissed for striking in support of their colleagues. The four employees had a combined total of 110 years service at the store. All attempts by people and groups as diverse as the Labour Relations Commission, Dun Laoghaire Chamber of Commerce and some local TDs failed to get shop owner Matthew Connolly to sit down and negotiate with staff. Mr Connolly – who refused to recognise Mandate’s right to represent its members at the shop – also refused to talk directly to his own employees. All four staff have been awarded compensation for illegal deduction from wages before their dismissal. And an Employment Appeals Tribunal found all four to have been unfairly dismissed. They were awarded compensation totalling thousands of euro. Divisional organiser Joe Donnelly said: “So far the employer has not paid one cent of these awards. Mandate is now instigating legal proceedings for the recovery of these monies.” Time has moved on for those members involved in the strike. One of the strikers opened his own store – Keegan Shoes – in the nearby Dun Laoghaire Shopping Centre and employed one of his former co-workers. Mandate would encourage all members to try and support this new enterprise. A third striker has since moved to Co Wexford and can no longer participate in the ongoing strike action. The remaining striker – John Mulpetre – continues to picket the shop which has now been rebranded Shoe Exclusive by Mr Connolly. Despite the change of image, the picket is still in place and many locals have continued to show their support by refusing to shop there. 15