CANADIAN LABOUR GATINEAU QUÉBEC:

SECOND ORGANIZED WAL-MART IN NORTH AMERICA:

A recent Labour Board decision has certified a Wal-Mart in Gatineau Québec as the second unionized Wal-Mart on the North American continent. The only other location now represented by a union is also in Québec in St. Hyacinthe. Previous attempts to unionize Wal-Mart in Québec and in locations as far afield as Texas and Weyburn Saskatchewan have been beaten back either legally or by the expedient of simply closing the outlet affected.

The latter is both a favoured threat and a favoured action on the part of Wal-Mart management. The largest example of this was when Wal-Mart decided to withdraw from the whole German market rather than tolerate unions in its stores in that country. The only country where Wal-Mart is happy to coexist with a unionized workforce is...China. In China's case the "union" is, of course, the official government controlled federation which takes its marching orders from the Communist Party. Nothing could be plainer in pointing out the ideological affinity of neo-conservative managerialism and it communist counterpart. Two sides of one coin.

This Board decision may benefit the workers involved only marginally as the wage increases stipulated were only minimal, and the biggest issue, the use and abuse of the part time system, remained outside the Board's decision. Still it shows that even the Wal-Mart colossus is not invulnerable. It is a shame that the unions involved in Wal-Mart organizing are not imbued with at least a minimum of the internationalism and industrial unionism of the anarcho-syndicalist unions or revolutionary syndicalist unions such as the IWW. Things would go much better then.

Be that as it may if you want to follow the misdeeds of Wal-Mart in more detail Molly can suggest the following sites: Wake Up Wal-Mart and Wal-Mart Watch. It`s almost a classic 'Perils of Pauline' series complete with evil top-hatted capitalist. A refreshing old fashioned morality play in an age when the corporate rulers more often than not adopt fuzzy "progressive" and "new age" public personae. Here`s the story from the CBC.

WMWMWMWMWM
Quebec Wal-Mart workers get rare union deal
Only one other North American Wal-Mart has a collective agreement

CBC News
The contract covers more than 150 employees at the store on Boulevard du Plateau in Gatineau. (CBC) Workers at a Wal-Mart store in Gatineau, Que., have won a new collective agreement, only the second at any Wal-Mart store in North America — but not everyone is celebrating.

A government arbitrator imposed the agreement, after negotiations between the union and retailer were judged to be going nowhere.

The contract covers more than 150 employees at the store on Boulevard du Plateau. It took three years for the United Food and Commercial Workers to unionize the store, and another two years to get the contract.

"We had a first assembly last night to present the first collective agreement that was imposed by the Labour Board of Quebec," said union member Matthieu Allard.

He said the collective agreement gives employees a grievance process, recognizes statutory holidays and considers seniority in determining working hours.

Wages will go up 30 cents an hour this year, and another 30 cents next year. None of the employees, however, would say how much an hour they make now.

The arbitrator modeled it on the contract at the Wal-Mart in St-Hyacinthe, Que., the only other store with such an agreement.

"It might not have been as much as we could have gained in a normal negotiation process, but it's a definite step forward," Allard said.

Some employees at the store think otherwise.

In the parking lot outside the store, Denise Barre said she and her coworkers are disappointed with a 30-cent-an-hour raise, especially when it means paying union dues.

She said only 13 of the 150 employees went to Wednesday night's meeting with the union, which she says shows employees aren't interested.

Barre said she doesn't need this contract.

She said Wal-Mart treats her well and gives her benefits.

In a statement, the company also pointed out that the arbitrator found its wages competitive with other retailers, and adopted the wage scale Wal-Mart proposed.

The union said employees at the store were concerned by Wal-Mart's previous actions at unionized stores, but the Gatineau location is busy, and they hope Wal-Mart will not close it

In 2005, Wal-Mart closed a store in Jonquiere, Que., days before an arbitrator imposed a contract for its employees. The employees took Wal-Mart to court over the closure but lost their case.

In 2008, Wal-Mart also closed a tire shop on Maloney Boulevard in Gatineau after its employees received union certification.

The new agreement has a start date back in 2008, which means the union will be back to negotiating next year.


Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2010/10/08/ottawa-wal-mart-deal.html#ixzz11vWkUx1U

CANADIAN LABOUR-GATINEAU QUÉBEC:

WALMART CLOSES SECOND OUTLET RATHER THAN ACCEPT UNION:

For the second time the transnational giant WalMart has closed an outlet rather than accept unionization. A Walmart Tire and Lube outlet in Gatineau Québec was forced to accept unionization last August. WalMart, true to form, has decided to close the outlet rather than accept unionization in any of its stores. This is the second time that WalMart has pulled this trick in Québec. The following from the United Food and Commercial Union Canada (UFCW) tells the story.

No doubt organizing unions at a place like WalMart is a difficult struggle, but it is an important one. There are more people affected than those who are forced to accept minimum wages and atrocious working conditions at the stores. Whole communities are pillaged by Walmart's corporate piracy, and sweatshop conditions exist for workers in countries such as China who supply the stores. many have campaigned against this empire for years. Some notable websites to keep up with the news on this issue include Wake Up Wal Mart and Wal Mart Watch. The poster above, by the way, is for a new movie due to be released this Halloween. See Wal Mart Watch for further details. As for general coverage of the press reaction to this move by the Walton Empire see the Blog section of Wake Up Walmart. Many references there. Here's the story from the UFCW...

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Wal-Mart's closure of unionized store in Gatineau is another attack on workers:

The closure of a unionized Wal-Mart Tire and Lube Express in Gatineau, Quebec "is another attack on its workers, on the community, and one more example of its blatant disregard for Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms," says Wayne Hanley, the National President of UFCW Canada.

"Wal-Mart thinks a cheap oil change is more important than the Canadian constitution."

Wal-Mart Canada announced Thursday that it was shutting the Gatineau outlet because a union contract, which came into force in August, didn't fit with its business model. It is the second time Wal-Mart has shut a Quebec outlet after its workers decided to form a union.

In April 2005 Wal-Mart shut its store in Jonquiere, Quebec and terminated more than 200 workers just as binding arbitration for a first-contract was set to begin. Later this year the Supreme Court will hear arguments that the shutting of the Jonquiere store was a violation of those workers' rights.

In June 2007 the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that under the Charter's Freedom of Association protections, workers in Canada are guaranteed the right to organize for the purposes of collective bargaining, "but once again Wal-Mart has proven the only rules it respects are its own, " said Hanley.

"For Wal-Mart to say its employees are free to unionize, but then declare that a contract produced through mediation just doesn't work for their business model, means as far as Wal-Mart is concerned, the rights of its American shareholders are more important than the human rights of its workers in Canada."

"Now it is up to the Supreme Court to tell Wal-Mart that it is not above the law and that it must respect the rights of workers to organize and bargain collectively."

CANADIAN LABOUR:
FIRST UNIONIZATION AT A WAL-MART:
Seems that Canada has scored a first- the first successful unionization of a Wal-Mart in Gatineau, Quebec. It may be possible that two others will follow soon. Considering the difficulty involved this may be better than an Olympic gold medal.Here's the item below from the website of the United Food and Commercial Workers Canada. (UFCW).
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Gatineau Wal-Mart goes union as UFCW Canada wins first contract

GATINEAU, QC - August 15,2008 - UFCW Canada members at a Wal-Mart location in Gatineau, Quebec have made history by becoming the only Wal-Mart workers in North America to have a union contract, after a Quebec arbitrator imposed a collective agreement on Friday.

The contract raises average wages of the Gatineau Wal-Mart members by more than 30%. Improved vacation provisions are also part of the three-year agreement. The terms of the collective agreement are effective immediately.

"Wal-Mart should now act as a good Canadian corporate citizen," said UFCW Canada National President Wayne Hanley," and live up to the terms of the contract."

The UFCW Canada Local 486 bargaining unit at the Wal-Mart Tire and Lube Express was certified in 2005. The collective agreement was the result of binding arbitration, following almost three years of legal delays and stalled negotiations with the company.

"We believe the arbitrator did a good job and that it is a fair contract, in line with similar workplaces in Quebec," said Hanley.

"It shows that even after three years, workers at Wal-Mart, like all Canadian workers, can exercise their Freedom of Association rights and get a decent collective agreement."

Two more Wal-Mart collective agreements are expected in Quebec before the end of the year, when binding arbitration is complete for bargaining units at a Wal-Mart in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec.