Canada Ruling Opens Door for a Unionized Wal-Mart

A Wal-Mart store in Canada is set to become the first-ever unionized outlet for the world’s largest retailer.

The Ontario Labor Relations Board decided late Tuesday to certify the retail/wholesale division of the United Steelworkers of America at the store in Windsor, Ontario, across the U.S.-Canada border from Detroit.

The ruling came despite a May 10, 1996, vote by Windsor store employees rejecting a union drive by 151-43.

The tribunal, which administers labor laws in Canada’s most populous province, ruled that Wal-Mart executives used unfair labor practices by refusing to tell employees whether they would shut the store if it became unionized.

The steelworkers union said the board rejected a second vote at the store because it felt workers would still be reluctant to vote freely because of a perceived threat to their jobs or benefits.

Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which has 136 stores in Canada and more than 3,000 worldwide, has defeated every drive to unionize its stores since its founding in 1962.

Wal-Mart came to Canada in 1994 and is now the country’s biggest discount retail chain.

United Steelworkers representative Pat Van Horne said the board’s decision could pave the way for more unionized Wal-Marts in Canada.

But Wal-Mart Canada spokesman Ed Gould disagreed, saying: “Many people will take a look at the process by which the expressed will of individuals can be denied and think twice” about unions.

Gould said the company might appeal the ruling.