It would seem that I spoke too soon last week when I (very reluctantly) gave Walmart credit for turning over a new leaf on the environmental front. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) Walmart continues to slot themselves into the ‘Evil Corporate Giant' category.
The United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) is claiming that Walmart shut down a store in Jonquière, Quebec because of workers attempts to unionize. The store closed the same day the workers rejected a contract during labour negotiations in February 2005.
Under Canadian constitutional law, workers have a right to ‘bargain collectively’ which means unionize, strike, demand fair working conditions, etc. Walmart is claiming that they shut down the store because it was unprofitable for it to remain open, which is why the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Walmart on Friday. Wayne Hanley, the National President of UFCW Canada, said in their press release, “the workers at the Jonquiere store know in their hearts why Walmart shut their store. So do most Canadians. So does Walmart.”
We can only hope that Walmart’s labour relations department will take a page from their sustainability projects and shape the hell up. To anyone who was feeling confused about having to rethink all of their anti-Walmart values: No worries, unfortunately, it looks like we've got years of anti-Walmart sentiment ahead of us. It's basically like a back-handed "I-told-you-so" where everybody loses. Great.
UFCW: "Walmart escapes Supreme Court Decision on a Technicality"
CBC: "Walmart wins at Supreme Court"
Showing posts with label labour. Show all posts
Showing posts with label labour. Show all posts
Unfortunately, a lot of the stuff that gets talked about on BrandAware is about negative things corporations are doing, so it brings me great pleasure to be able to post about some good news on the social justice front.
The Good News
An agreement was reached between Honduran workers and Russel Athletics (who makes Fruit of the Loom products) to rehire the factory workers that were fired in an attempt to avoid the forming of a union. Initially, Russel Athletics planned to just close the factory where workers were trying to organize and start a new one. With the help of multiple organizations like Labour Behind the Label, People and Planet and United Students Against Sweatshops, one of the largest anti-sweatshop campaigns in history was launched. Much of the pressure came from students at universities who convinced the administration to drop their contract with Fruit of the Loom unless changes were made for Honduran workers.
The Really Good News?
We can only hope that this victory will 1) inspire more people to get involved in this issue, and 2) set a precedent that will ensure companies take responsibility for their poor labour practices.
More on the Honduran Workers/Russel Athletics Victory
Labour Behind the Label - HONDURAS: Workers celebrate historic victory
Labour Notes - Reining in Russel
The Good News
An agreement was reached between Honduran workers and Russel Athletics (who makes Fruit of the Loom products) to rehire the factory workers that were fired in an attempt to avoid the forming of a union. Initially, Russel Athletics planned to just close the factory where workers were trying to organize and start a new one. With the help of multiple organizations like Labour Behind the Label, People and Planet and United Students Against Sweatshops, one of the largest anti-sweatshop campaigns in history was launched. Much of the pressure came from students at universities who convinced the administration to drop their contract with Fruit of the Loom unless changes were made for Honduran workers.
The Really Good News?
We can only hope that this victory will 1) inspire more people to get involved in this issue, and 2) set a precedent that will ensure companies take responsibility for their poor labour practices.
More on the Honduran Workers/Russel Athletics Victory
Labour Behind the Label - HONDURAS: Workers celebrate historic victory
Labour Notes - Reining in Russel
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