Wal-Mart Revolution

[RWS]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/11/19/wal-mart-files-legal-complaint-o-stop-growing-worker-strikes-ahead-black-friday/

Wal-Mart is taking legal action against its organized labor opponents, filing an unfair labor practice charge over widespread protests at its stores across the country — as well as rallies planned for Black Friday, considered the biggest shopping day of the year.

The company filed a complaint on Friday against the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, claiming the labor union — one of the nation's largest — has unlawfully disrupted business by staging protests at Wal-Mart's stores and warehouses around the country over the past six months.

The retail giant, which has roughly 1.3 million U.S. workers, is asking the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for an injunction against the rallies and pickets — even flash mobs — that have sprung up at stores nationwide, according to the Wall Street Journal.

"We are taking this action now because we cannot allow the UFCW to continue to intentionally seek to create an environment that could directly and adversely impact our customers and associates," Wal-Mart spokesman David Tovar said in a statement obtained by Reuters. "If they do, they will be held accountable."

NLRB spokeswoman Nancy Cleeland said federal officials will decide quickly whether the complaint has merit and noted that, by statute, the agency must make a charge of illegal picketing a priority before all other cases.

The agency, she said, just decided two main issues: whether workers are picketing and if so, whether the picketing intended to unionize workers.

"This is a complicated case," Cleeland told The Associated Press, adding that if the labor board decides Wal-Mart's complaint has merit, the matter would then go to district court.

Wal-Mart workers protesting their employer complain of low wages, poor working conditions and inadequate health benefits, among other grievances. "Making Change," A Facebook page devoted to the protests, had more than 29,000 followers as of Monday afternoon.

Wal-Mart employees began walking off the job last week week ahead of Black Friday, when three union-backed groups expect thousands of protests nationwide.

"Wal-Mart is doing everything in its power to attempt to silence our voice," said Colby Harris, who works at a Wal-Mart store in Lancaster, Texas. "But nothing — not even this baseless unfair labor practice charge — will stop us from speaking out."

In October, a strike at a Wal-Mart store in Los Angeles spread to stores in 12 other cities, with local and national leaders holding protests at more than 200 stores for better pay, fairer schedules and more affordable health care. Since that time, workers have since walked off the job in Dallas and Richmond, Calif., and other upcoming strikes and protests are expected at stores in Chicago, Miami, Milwaukee and Washington, D.C.

Charlene Fletcher, who works with her husband, William, at a Wal-Mart in Duarte, Calif., became enraged when she learned that both were scheduled to work on Thanksgiving, missing the holiday with their children, ages 2 and 5.

“It’s heartbreaking to miss the holiday with them, and it’s just one more way that Wal-Mart is showing its disregard for our families,” Fletcher said in a statement. “But when our co-workers speak out about problems like these, Wal-Mart turns their schedules upside down, cuts their hours and even fires people. We’re going on strike for an end to Wal-Mart’s attempts to silence its workers.”

Three groups — Making Change at Walmart, OUR Walmart and watchdog group Corporate Action Network — are now calling on the nation’s largest employer to end what they claim are retaliatory tactics against employees who seek out better working conditions.

In a statement to FoxNews.com, Wal-Mart spokesman Dan Fogleman characterized the movement as "another exaggerated publicity campaign aimed at generating headlines to mislead" customers and employees.

"We have a great group of associates at Wal-Mart," Fogleman said. "We’ll have more than one million associates working throughout the holiday weekend, and they’re excited about our Black Friday plans this year. This is the Super Bowl for retailers, and we’re ready.

"We’ve been working on our Black Friday plans for almost a year now and we’re prepared to have a great event. Our associates care about providing a great customer experience on Black Friday, and we’re confident that’s what customers will have at Wal-Mart this year."

Some of the nation's other large retailers, meanwhile, have announced earlier hours on Thanksgiving to capitalize on the shopping-heavy holiday weekend.

Like Wal-Mart, Sears will open at 8 p.m. Thursday, while Target will open at 9 p.m. That’s two hours earlier than last year for Wal-Mart and three hours earlier for Target. Sears was closed last Thanksgiving, the Arizona Republic reports.

“I won’t participate in Greed Thursday’s openings,” Donna Forry posted on AZCentral.com's Facebook page. “Keep it Black Friday.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Maybe I'm just a dick, or maybe I just worked in retail too long.  If you don't like it, go work somewhere else.  But, guess what?  Alot of major retailers are going to this model of being open at some point on Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.  There is money to be made.  Low-ish pay is another thing about retail.  I understand that Wal-Mart makes a ton of profit, and that they could probably afford to give out some raises.  But they don't have to.  They have just as much right to make whatever profit that they want, just the same as the employees have every right to go somewhere else if they want.  If Wal-Mart is so out of line with their pay and practices, they should have no problem landing a high paying job somewhere else. 

[Townhallsavoy]

Exactly.

The unions and workers need to stop going after the employer and start going after the customers. 

My dad works retail.  Thanksgiving and Christmas sucks.  He wants to be done on Thursday by 4pm so he can get some rest before getting to the store at 11pm.  Christmas is just a month-long bootcamp. 

But people are there to spend money and until there aren't, he's going to have to get up and go to work at inopportune hours.  Why people want to go shopping on Black Friday at 2am, I'll never know.  Sounds miserable no matter how many cents you can save. 

[bottomfeeder]

FUCK WALMARKS! And I do go somewhere else, Target.

[Townhallsavoy]

FUCK WALMARKS! And I do go somewhere else, Target.

Target makes their employers work ridiculous hours too because crazies shop at Target just as they do Walmart or Macy's or Best Buy or Belk or Sears or etcetera. 

[bottomfeeder]

Well then, I guess it'll be more mom and pop shops from now on. I don't need anything either of them sell.

[AU_Tiger_2000]

Well then, I guess it'll be more mom and pop shops from now on. I don't need anything either of them sell.

The aluminum foil is much thicker at Wal-Mart.

[bottomfeeder]

The aluminum foil is much thicker at Wal-Mart.

No it's not, at least the Walmarks brand isn't. You can't fool me. 

[RWS]

Exactly.

The unions and workers need to stop going after the employer and start going after the customers. 

My dad works retail.  Thanksgiving and Christmas sucks.  He wants to be done on Thursday by 4pm so he can get some rest before getting to the store at 11pm.  Christmas is just a month-long bootcamp. 

But people are there to spend money and until there aren't, he's going to have to get up and go to work at inopportune hours.  Why people want to go shopping on Black Friday at 2am, I'll never know.  Sounds miserable no matter how many cents you can save.

At least most retailers are being somewhat reasonable.  For a place like Wal-Mart, opening at 8PM means the standard associate is probably reporting to work at 6 or 7.  Management is probably reporting at 4.  They could just be dicks and say "Hey, we're not even going to close.  Business as usual." 

As a single young guy in management, I always ended up working holidays.  I usually volunteered because we would get time and a half for what we worked, and there were others in management that had children and shit.  I didn't really mind, but I can see where some of these folks with families are coming from.  But then again, I'm not sure what they expected knowing how retail is. 

[JR4AU]

Exactly.

The unions and workers need to stop going after the employer and start going after the customers. 

My dad works retail.  Thanksgiving and Christmas sucks.  He wants to be done on Thursday by 4pm so he can get some rest before getting to the store at 11pm.  Christmas is just a month-long bootcamp. 

But people are there to spend money and until there aren't, he's going to have to get up and go to work at inopportune hours.  Why people want to go shopping on Black Friday at 2am, I'll never know.  Sounds miserable no matter how many cents you can save.

I don't get it either.

[GH2001]

Fuck unions. You sign up for a job, you know what comes with the territory. Bellyaching and bitching is all this is. If you work in retail, you know this Is part of it. Nothing new. Just new forms of moaning and bitching from the entitlement class here is what you see.

[AU_Tiger_2000]

Exactly.

The unions and workers need to stop going after the employer and start going after the customers. 

My dad works retail.  Thanksgiving and Christmas sucks.  He wants to be done on Thursday by 4pm so he can get some rest before getting to the store at 11pm.  Christmas is just a month-long bootcamp. 

But people are there to spend money and until there aren't, he's going to have to get up and go to work at inopportune hours.  Why people want to go shopping on Black Friday at 2am, I'll never know.  Sounds miserable no matter how many cents you can save.

I don't get it either, but my wife loves it.  I swear she gets a rush off of it.  I don't understand people who run 26 miles either, but they seem to get some enjoyment out of it.

[Snaggletiger]

I don't get it either, but my wife loves it.  I swear she gets a rush off of it.  I don't understand people who run 26 miles either, but they seem to get some enjoyment out of it.

You just stepped on GH's toes. 

[AUTiger1]

I don't get it either, but my wife loves it.  I swear she gets a rush off of it.  I don't understand people who run 26 miles either, but they seem to get some enjoyment out of it.

Same.

Although......I may fight the crowd this year.  I haven't decided.  I have to work on Friday and it's going to be hell getting into work with all the traffic so I thought I might just swing by Target on the way in, see what they have, grab something from the bakery to snack on and get to work real early, take a nap or three and then go home. 

[Snaggletiger]

The wife used to sit down with her sister and a friend with the sales ads and map out the strategy.  I volunteer to keep the kid.  I may meet em' for lunch but as for the shopping...

[GH2001]

You just stepped on GH's toes.

I get that a lot from the flabby variety.

[Snaggletiger]

I get that a lot from the flabby variety.

 

[Godfather]

Why people want to go shopping on Black Friday at 2am, I'll never know.  Sounds miserable no matter how many cents you can save.

Buzz has to, or he gets the hose again.

[AUTiger1]

Scratch that, just ordered a new TV from Newegg for $50 more than the one I was looking at and now I don't have to fight a crowd in a store.  Even better, I get to fight them in a vehicle. 

Lowes will let you shop online after Midnight tomorrow and you can pick it up in the store at your convenience.  This is how I shop for the old man. 

[GH2001]

Scratch that, just ordered a new TV from Newegg for $50 more than the one I was looking at and now I don't have to fight a crowd in a store.  Even better, I get to fight them in a vehicle. 

Lowes will let you shop online after Midnight tomorrow and you can pick it up in the store at your convenience.  This is how I shop for the old man.

I like to keep it simple too. If I want it during the year I just buy it. The commercialization of the holiday season has gone full tard. No thanks. Would rather go hunting Friday morning. Yes, yes I will.

[AUTiger1]

I like to keep it simple too. If I want it during the year I just buy it. The commercialization of the holiday season has gone full tard. No thanks. Would rather go hunting Friday morning. Yes, yes I will.

Don't get me wrong, I am a cheapass and love a good deal as much as the next person.  I have done Black Friday two times, first time this old lady (70's) ran my ass over with a buggy at Target.  I mean just plowed the shit out of me to get after something that was on sale.  Never apologized or acknowledged shit ran into me.   I actually saw one woman run other another woman that morning and it ruptured her achilles tendon.  Paramedics had to come in and get her out of the store. Fucking nuts!

The second time I went with the wife and we went to Lowes, bought some things and it wasn't bad, then we hit the Wall Marks for a Wii and it was torture.  People were fighting over the Wii and we said screw it.  Was walking out by the garden center talking about ordering one online and the cashier lady told us to wait.  Rang us up, gave us a slip of paper and told us to go to the semi trailer parked on the side and pick it up.  Got in the truck, went and ate breakfast and came back home and went back to sleep. 

Now I do the online thing.  I gave it some consideration this time b/c I have to work Friday and have to fight the traffic regardless.  Thank god of online deals.