Union certification drive succeeds at second Wal-Mart store in Quebec
A union certification drive at a second Quebec Wal-Mart store has succeeded, according to the United Food And Commercial Workers (UFCW) union.The union said Wednesday that workers at a Wal-Mart in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec have been certified as a bargaining unit after a majority of its 200 workers signed UFCW membership cards.
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The Saint-Hyacinthe location joins the Wal-Mart in Jonquiere, Quebec as the only other unionized Wal-Marts, not just in Quebec but in all of North America. UFCW Canada said it is currently attempting to negotiate a contract covering workers at the Jonquiere store.Wal-Mart, which the UFCW calls "staunchly anti-union", is also facing certification applications at about a dozen other locations in Quebec, Saskatchewan and British Columbia ? including applications representing workers at seven Wal-Mart Tire & Lube Express departments in B.C.
If you can read it, this Globe and Mail story will describe how Wal-Mart recently unveiled a multi-million dollar PR campaign designed to convince everyone that they're not the monsters they're purported to be. I guess the workers in Saint-Hyacinthe hadn't heard.
And I suspect this will be the second of many.
pogge,
Terrific catch!
Now can you tell me what the hell is going on at the G&M? It looks like everything of significance has gone behind the subscription wall, while The Star is going The Guardian's full hang-out route.
A lot of the straight news at the Globe is still available with only a free login. While it's fresh. Once it ages to a certain point, you'll get asked to pay some ridiculous fee to access it from the archives. Meanwhile all the opinion pieces and some of the features are now unavailable unless you subscribe.
It means I now have to get through life without Ibbotson, Simpson, Wente, et al, telling me what to think. So far I seem to be managing quite nicely.
At the end of the G&M story, we learn that Wal-Mart has threatened to close the Jonquiere store (first to be unionized, negotiations for first contract now going on).
That's not good news.
skdadl:
They've made that threat before and I expect they'll continue to make it. It's all part of the negotiation. If enough Quebec stores follow the lead of these two, Wal-Mart will have to decide whether its aversion to unions is stronger than its desire to do business in the province.
A lot of the straight news at the Globe is still available with only a free login. While it's fresh. Once it ages to a certain point, you'll get asked to pay some ridiculous fee to access it from the archives.
That's where Google's caching (is that a word?) comes in handy. If you just Google the headline (which, along with the first paragraph of the article is still visible on the Globe site as a teaser), you'll be able to read it in its entirety by clicking on Cached.
Apparently, globe investors don't have to subscribe?
globeinvestor.com's copy of the same G&M story.
Okay, apparently you get the full article if you go to the page from a google search (even the original Globe and Mail article itself), but not when it's linked from pogge here.
Workopolis has the same article reprinted from the G&M
Wouldn't it be easier if people in Quebec simply decided to pay more than the listed price for everything, and donated the excess to the government for distribution to its friends? Same effect.
Paul:
I believe what you are referring to is a sales tax. I'm not sure what that could possibly have to do with negotiating contracts between employees and employers. How is the government collecting taxes and distributing it to those that need it the same effect as workers demanding fair pay and safe working conditions from their employer?