Announcement

**Imran Siddiqui** · December 25, 2008, 01:30

You need to protest them

**Thoth** · December 25, 2008, 03:18

When I saw the thread title I thought it was about WalMart going union-busting again.

Wal-Mart to fight ruling that lets Gatineau store unionize
Last Updated: Friday, December 19, 2008 | 3:09 PM ET Comments163Recommend57
CBC News

Wal-Mart Canada says it will try to appeal a Quebec Labour Board ruling that granted union certification at a store in Gatineau.

Wal-Mart's Quebec spokesman Yanik Deschênes said Friday the company is disappointed by the board's decision earlier this week and is consulting its lawyers to find out if it can challenge the ruling.

The decision allows 150 employees at the store on Du Plateau Boulevard in Gatineau's Hull district to be represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers of Canada.

Deschênes said the union had originally promised Wal-Mart it would hold a secret-ballot vote before applying for certification, but it broke that promise.

"We want to respect the willingness of our people to get unionized or not, and that's why we're really disappointed our associates were not given the chance to vote," he said.

Such a vote is not required by Quebec labour laws to get union certification.
Union not worried about store closing

Wal-Mart has closed two other Quebec locations that have unionized in the past:

* One in Jonquière in May 2005.
* A tire and lube garage in Gatineau in October 2008.

However, union spokesman Mathieu Allard said he isn't worried.

"The Wal-Mart in Hull is very profitable, so I don't think there's any questions of closing the store at the moment," he said.

The union is preparing to begin negotiations for a collective agreement and estimates that could take two or three years. Allard said he isn't concerned about negotiating during an economic downturn.

"I think now more than ever the workers want to be in a position where they can improve their working conditions and improve their wages in the following years."

Deschênes wouldn't speculate what higher wages at the Hull store would mean for its future. But when the company closed the Gatineau tire shop in October, Deschênes told CBC News the higher wages there were "unworkable" under Wal-Mart's business plan.

Wal-Mart bills itself as the largest retailer in the world, with 4,100 facilities in the U.S. and 309 stores across Canada. Its stores and associated garden centres, pharmacies and tire-and-lube centres sell products ranging from clothes to groceries, electronics and hardware.

Sorry - we can't find that page

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2008/12/19/ot-081219-wal-mart.html?ref=rss

**Q Classic** · December 25, 2008, 03:48

It's let you down so many times, why do you even bother with Wal-Mart anymore?

**DinoDoc** · December 25, 2008, 10:33

Such a vote is not required by Quebec labour laws to get union certification.

Out of interest, why not?

**DaShi** · December 25, 2008, 11:10

Re: Walmart Again

Originally posted by SlowwHand
You may remember the shotgun incident during a Walwart excursion. The shotgun that was right over there, but we don't carry them?

Now, Walmart strikes again.

I did a Google search on Canon Color Ink and Paper Set, KP-108IP, and Walmart was near the top of the results page.

So I clicked on the Walmart link.

Robot or human?

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3913838

You can buy that over the internet. You need a license to carry that kind of ink in your printer.

**SlowwHand** · December 25, 2008, 11:40

That figures.

**Dis** · December 26, 2008, 11:14

**** walmart.

that is all.

**Zkribbler** · December 26, 2008, 12:14

"The Wal-Mart in Hull is very profitable, so I don't think there's any questions of closing the store at the moment," he said.

This might be a little naive. My understanding of Wal-Mart is that it's more interested in breaking unions than in making profits. I wouldn't be surprised if it close this store even if it is profitable.

**Thoth** · December 26, 2008, 15:24

Originally posted by DinoDoc

Such a vote is not required by Quebec labour laws to get union certification.

Out of interest, why not?

I don't know.

Quebec has some odd laws.

Originally posted by Zkribbler
This might be a little naive. My understanding of Wal-Mart is that it's more interested in breaking unions than in making profits. I wouldn't be surprised if it close this store even if it is profitable.

That would fit with their history. They've already closed two stores in Quebec after those stores got union certification. It won't surprise me if this becomes store number three.

**Zkribbler** · December 27, 2008, 19:06

Originally posted by DinoDoc

Such a vote is not required by Quebec labour laws to get union certification.

Out of interest, why not?

It's a matter of mathematics. In the U.S., to trigger an election, the union has to gather signature cards from the majority of workers. Because the majority of workers has then gone on record as wanting a union, what is the purpose of an election?

**Imran Siddiqui** · December 27, 2008, 19:09

Originally posted by Zkribbler
It's a matter of mathematics. In the U.S., to trigger an election, the union has to gather signature cards from the majority of workers. Because the majority of workers has then gone on record as wanting a union, what is the purpose of an election?

To make sure peer pressure wasn't a factor in "[going] on the record" wanting a union.

**Chemical Ollie** · December 27, 2008, 20:04

This is a big scandal! You should call Michael Moore and ask him to make a documentary. I'm sure Walmart will crumble after that.