Unions Stage Protests Against Wal-Mart Stores

Organized labor launched an offensive Thursday against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. -- the nation’s largest retailer and an emphatically nonunion employer -- by staging protests outside 400 stores across the country.

The protests, which drew support from feminists, students and religious leaders, were an attempt by labor to stir debate about the giant discounter and to build allies in its long-running campaign to organize Wal-Mart employees.

At the Wal-Mart in Panorama City, about 250 people from local unions and religious groups rallied against the chain. The Rev. Pat Thompson, associate pastor at Immaculate Mary Church in Pacoima, said parishioners complain to him about the difficulties of living on Wal-Mart wages, and about the poor treatment they receive at the store.

“They’ve got the money to expand all over,” he said of the retailer. “Why can’t they give their workers a living wage, and in this day and time, medical benefits?”

The United Food and Commercial Workers union in particular has poured considerable resources into attempting to block or organize Wal-Mart, so far with limited success. Other unions, including those representing garment workers, janitors and others, have said their members’ jobs and wages are threatened by Wal-Mart’s growth. But labor as a whole has been unable to develop an effective strategy to counter Wal-Mart’s rapid expansion.

“This is a very, very tough company -- it’s a very tough nut,” said AFL-CIO organizing director Stewart Acuff, speaking from a Wal-Mart in Alexandria, Va.

The Bentonville, Ark.-based chain argued that the protests had more to do with union organizing than Wal-Mart employment practices. “The union is a business, and it’s a declining business,” said Wal-Mart spokeswoman Mona Williams. “Despite years of trying, they have been unable to recruit Wal-Mart associates and now, out of frustration, they have changed their tactic and are simply trying to hurt us and damage our reputation.”

The protesters claim Wal-Mart’s emphasis on low prices comes at the expense of employees’ wages and benefits, and also drives down labor standards in global manufacturing. In addition, the National Organization for Women claims the corporation discriminates against female employees, saying they comprise a majority of low-paid salesclerks but are rarely placed in management positions. The company denies that allegation.

The labor offensive comes as Wal-Mart, which employs more than 1 million workers in about 3,300 U.S. stores, aggressively branches out into the highly unionized supermarket business. Next year, the company plans to open at least 180 “super centers,” which combine sales of discount merchandise with groceries. It’s set to open at least 40 such stores in California.

Williams, the Wal-Mart spokeswoman, said the company pays competitive wages and that doing anything less would risk its success. She said that nearly half of Wal-Mart’s employees opt to buy company-subsidized health insurance.

In a poll last spring and summer, Wal-Mart asked customers and employees about their attitudes toward the company and found that the union complaints did not register, Williams said.

However, union researchers said employee turnover as high as 50% a year indicates that Wal-Mart workers are unhappy. The union asserts that hourly wages average $8 and that nearly two-thirds of Wal-Mart workers lack company-paid health insurance -- a shortfall that is said to burden public health systems.

To stay in business, Wal-Mart’s competitors must hold down wages and benefits, which sets a low standard for retailers across the nation, the unions claim. “We’re trying to create an awareness that as Wal-Mart goes, so goes the country,” said Greg Denier, communications director for the United Food and Commercial Workers union.

The UFCW has tried unsuccessfully to organize Wal-Mart workers for years, and continues to lead labor’s efforts against the chain.

The union blames aggressive, and possibly illegal, anti-labor tactics by the company for its failures. Denier said the National Labor Relations Board has filed charges against Wal-Mart in 25 states.

The company, on the other hand, said employees simply aren’t interested in joining a union. It also disputed protesters’ claims that Wal-Mart stores hurt local economies.

“We bring low-price, affordable goods to communities,” Williams said. “We bring sales tax revenue, property tax revenue and we add vitality just about anywhere we go. We need to do a better job of marshaling those folks who realize the value that Wal-Mart brings to individuals, to our associates and to our community.”