This is despicable.

[meltdown75]

Originally posted by: FoBoT

Originally posted by: meltdown75

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: meltdown75
WTF, why the hell would the average Joe care whether Wal-Mart was unionized or not? Would it change the shopping experience? Does it really make a difference to all those who are rejoicing in this thread? Clue me in on this, I don't understand the celebration. "Yay, someone's worker rights will be trampled on."

I know it isn't your typical unionized environment but come on. Would it really affect you if Wal-Marts were unionized?

I'd have to pay more as a consumer.

Now to mix it up some - india outsourcing!

I don't think it's that simple. Union presence = higher prices?

Originally posted by: FoBoT
i would get another job if my employer decided i was invaluable enough to screw over like that, not go on "strike"

If you would leave a job on a whim like that, you must be loaded.

whim?

unless you are working under a contract , the employee/employer relationship is termed "at will"

http://employment.findlaw.com/employmen...ment-employee-overview-dictionary.html

At-will employment. A type of employment relationship in which there is no contractual agreement and either party may end the employment relationship at any time, for any reason or for no reason at all, without incurring a penalty.

so if the employer changes the compensation in a way that the employee doesn't like , the employee can end the employment relationship. i don't see how you interpret that as a "whim"

As we're bound to this medium of communication, so are our intonations. I misinterpreted your comment - it does really make it sound like you would leave a job on a whim if you weren't happy. You're right though - if you don't like a job, you can leave. No one's disputing that.

 

[imported_mitch2891]

Not a great fan of unions mainly because I think strike action is the wrong way to go about things.

They hold to much over the buisness and can be damaging.

As for the loosing a job because of not joining a union it has happened to me. While studying for my masters I used to work for an electronics company doing some C programing for things like EPOS tills and when the staff cuts were announced I was told I would loose my job. Upon asking why I was told it was easier for them to make the cuts from non-union labour than from the employees who had joined.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: drnickriviera
Better article
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u...20050209/ap_on_bi_ge/wal_mart_canada_8

At the bottom
Wal-Mart spokesman Pelletier said the company was closing in Jonquiere because of unreasonable union demands over scheduling and staffing, and the UFCW's refusal to detail its pay requirements.

The union's demands would have forced the retailer to add 30 people to the existing payroll of 190, and guarantee many workers additional hours, he said.

I rest my case. Labor is the biggest cost and they demanded it be pushed over the edge. If the store CANNOT be profitable then there is no store.

that's BS. I guarantee you that store could be profitable, just not as much so as Wal-Mart would like. Wal-Mart is "teh devil".

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: drnickriviera
Better article
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u...20050209/ap_on_bi_ge/wal_mart_canada_8

At the bottom
Wal-Mart spokesman Pelletier said the company was closing in Jonquiere because of unreasonable union demands over scheduling and staffing, and the UFCW's refusal to detail its pay requirements.

The union's demands would have forced the retailer to add 30 people to the existing payroll of 190, and guarantee many workers additional hours, he said.

I rest my case. Labor is the biggest cost and they demanded it be pushed over the edge. If the store CANNOT be profitable then there is no store.

that's BS. I guarantee you that store could be profitable, just not as much so as Wal-Mart would like. Wal-Mart is "teh devil".

go back to business school and learn about SG&A.

next.

 

[FoBoT]

i am also trying to point out that both parties don't have an obligation to the other. so walmart closing the store and putting the employees out of work isn't "despicable" in the context of the "at will" employer/employee relationship

 

[shilala]

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: drnickriviera
Better article
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u...20050209/ap_on_bi_ge/wal_mart_canada_8

At the bottom
Wal-Mart spokesman Pelletier said the company was closing in Jonquiere because of unreasonable union demands over scheduling and staffing, and the UFCW's refusal to detail its pay requirements.

The union's demands would have forced the retailer to add 30 people to the existing payroll of 190, and guarantee many workers additional hours, he said.

I rest my case. Labor is the biggest cost and they demanded it be pushed over the edge. If the store CANNOT be profitable then there is no store.

that's BS. I guarantee you that store could be profitable, just not as much so as Wal-Mart would like. Wal-Mart is "teh devil".

Walmart can not offer a decent living wage, benefits, health care, etc... and continue to offer the prices they do. They have sucked every ounce of marrow from the bones of every business they deal with in order to bring traffic to their stores.
They require a huge amount of cheap labor in order to deliver low prices. Raise their labor costs 100% and the whole deal goes out the window. Hell, if you raised their labor costs 10% it's probably a death blow.
I can't imagine what Walmart's profit margin is, but it's got to be near zip point sh1t.

 

[meltdown75]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
i am also trying to point out that both parties don't have an obligation to the other. so walmart closing the store and putting the employees out of work isn't "despicable" in the context of the "at will" employer/employee relationship

agreed
i do however think there are employers who make it a goal to be (or seem to be) obligated to their employees. we should all be so lucky to work for such an employer!

I'm not pro-Walmart or pro-union per se, but I have been helped out a couple times by unions so my personal experiences definitey weigh into my judgment. I just think there is a place for unions in society... the good outweighs the bad imho.

 

[notfred]

How can we get them to close the rest of thier stores?

 

[Megatomic]

Originally posted by: notfred
How can we get them to close the rest of thier stores?

You'd have to convince the majority of american consumers to spend more money in other stores for the same products. Good luck with that.

 

[flxnimprtmscl]

Awesome. I can't stand most unions and I hate Walmart so I love this story Now we just need people to go smooth talk the employees of every other walmart and convince them to try unionizing too.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

Originally posted by: acid45
Unions are bad. In quebec we have lost lots of jobs due to Unions making the shops/bizs pay there employees too much $$$ therefor making them close and go over seas.


We do not need Unions anymore this day in age, work conditions are much better then before.

And from what ive read walmart has a pretty good plan for its workers...



FVCK UNIONS.


-Chris

Then apparently you can't fvcking read, because Wal-Mart treats it's employees like sh!t

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

Originally posted by: shilala

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: drnickriviera
Better article
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u...20050209/ap_on_bi_ge/wal_mart_canada_8

At the bottom
Wal-Mart spokesman Pelletier said the company was closing in Jonquiere because of unreasonable union demands over scheduling and staffing, and the UFCW's refusal to detail its pay requirements.

The union's demands would have forced the retailer to add 30 people to the existing payroll of 190, and guarantee many workers additional hours, he said.

I rest my case. Labor is the biggest cost and they demanded it be pushed over the edge. If the store CANNOT be profitable then there is no store.

that's BS. I guarantee you that store could be profitable, just not as much so as Wal-Mart would like. Wal-Mart is "teh devil".

Walmart can not offer a decent living wage, benefits, health care, etc... and continue to offer the prices they do. They have sucked every ounce of marrow from the bones of every business they deal with in order to bring traffic to their stores.
They require a huge amount of cheap labor in order to deliver low prices. Raise their labor costs 100% and the whole deal goes out the window. Hell, if you raised their labor costs 10% it's probably a death blow.
I can't imagine what Walmart's profit margin is, but it's got to be near zip point sh1t.

Wal-Mart's 2004 profits were $9 BILLION. McDonald's profits were $2.28 BILLION. Hardly near zip point sh!t.

 

Then apparently you can't fvcking read, because Wal-Mart treats it's employees like sh!t

No one is forced to work at walmart.

In this particular situation I side with walmart. I don't know the details of the union demands except from what is in the two articles posted here, but I know they can easily get unreasonable. The bit about walmart being forced to hire more workers and guarantee workers more hours is not something I would agree with. If the store is staffed appropriately and most times, forcing a store to overstaff would just create a glut of useless workers.

Overall I don't hate unions, I don't like them a lot either. They serve no real great purpose in my life and probably never will. There are pros and there are cons, in this situation they seem to be a con.

 

[z0mb13]

those union workers are PWNED!!

them: we want more workers, more salary, better hours, blah blah blah

walmart: sorry we will just close the store then

them: PWNZORED!!

 

[Kelemvor]

WHy do you think most people don't like Unions? They make the employees get paid more which means the businesses have to raise prices which drives customer to their competitors. My mom is in a uion and she hates it. Just a bunch of beaurocracy that gest nothing done and makes job worse.

You want to be in a union, then you risk being fired. Plenty of other people willing to do your job without being in a union.

 

[mwtgg]

Originally posted by: lobadobadingdong

Originally posted by: mwtgg

Originally posted by: lobadobadingdong

Originally posted by: mwtgg

Originally posted by: spidey07
good for them.

unions = teh devil

Yep, I don't see their purpose in this day and age.

they have thier place, but not in retail.

What about in education? Healthcare?

definatly, retail and small businesses (<10 employees) are about the only exceptions to the rule as far as I'm concerned. unions are most necissary in work environments where safety can be a big concern, like manufacturing, drilling/excavation, etc.

But strikes cripple more than the employer. When nurses [for example] go on strike, they're endangering the welfare of the patients.

 

[Orsorum]

I applaud the workers in their attempts to unionize. People have the right to wield their assets in a legitimate and fair manner, and if Wal-Mart's business model depends on having superior bargaining power w.r.t. labor decisions, then Wal-Mart may just eventually go out of business.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

does everyone assume unions strike every day? In my 10 years experience, there has been one strike locally. One. And it lasted a couple of days.

 

Originally posted by: Orsorum
I applaud the workers in their attempts to unionize. People have the right to wield their assets in a legitimate and fair manner, and if Wal-Mart's business model depends on having superior bargaining power w.r.t. labor decisions, then Wal-Mart may just eventually go out of business.

Then many will lose their jobs, and cheap product won't be as readily available to the market. Sounds like a great deal!

 

[Orsorum]

Originally posted by: SampSon

Originally posted by: Orsorum
I applaud the workers in their attempts to unionize. People have the right to wield their assets in a legitimate and fair manner, and if Wal-Mart's business model depends on having superior bargaining power w.r.t. labor decisions, then Wal-Mart may just eventually go out of business.

Then many will lose their jobs, and cheap product won't be as readily available to the market. Sounds like a great deal!

Cheap products are readily available to the market at stores like Costco, and they're not just cheap but high-quality. And, as most economists will attest, people will always find jobs elsewhere. Good for them.

 

[z0mb13]

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats
does everyone assume unions strike every day? In my 10 years experience, there has been one strike locally. One. And it lasted a couple of days.

The recent strike for the grocery workers in CA is pretty embarassing..

 

[Pr0d1gy]

Go WalMart!!! Thanks for my cheap Xbox!!!! lol

Keep those women good & oppressed!!! :roll:

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

Originally posted by: z0mb13

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats
does everyone assume unions strike every day? In my 10 years experience, there has been one strike locally. One. And it lasted a couple of days.

The recent strike for the grocery workers in CA is pretty embarassing..

so there's that pne, the noted garbage strike in NYC a few years back, the air traffic controllers in the 80s. There's 3. I bet Wal-Mart had caused 3 small businesses to close THIS WEEK.

 

Originally posted by: Orsorum

Originally posted by: SampSon

Originally posted by: Orsorum
I applaud the workers in their attempts to unionize. People have the right to wield their assets in a legitimate and fair manner, and if Wal-Mart's business model depends on having superior bargaining power w.r.t. labor decisions, then Wal-Mart may just eventually go out of business.

Then many will lose their jobs, and cheap product won't be as readily available to the market. Sounds like a great deal!

Cheap products are readily available to the market at stores like Costco, and they're not just cheap but high-quality. And, as most economists will attest, people will always find jobs elsewhere. Good for them.

No costcos around here. We have sam's club and bj's. I think that is what a costco is right? A membership warehouse where you buy in quantity usually?
If so then that requires a membership as well as buying most small items in mass quantity. Bit different than walmart.

Of course people will always find work, I'm not worried about that much.

so there's that pne, the noted garbage strike in NYC a few years back, the air traffic controllers in the 80s. There's 3. I bet Wal-Mart had caused 3 small businesses to close THIS WEEK.

Bell atlantic, the recent pilot sitout over the holidays, cwa nurses in many MANY hospitals, a couple recent police strikes, probably a few more with limited press coverage.
I'm not saying it's wrong, but it's not like the union and business relations are peachy keen.
I'm sure costco runs a similar business model to walmart.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: 91TTZ
People usually hate unions until they're about to lose their job and they realize that a single voice has no weight.

I worked at a grogery store one summer several years ago. The store was taken over by another chain that used the same union. The other chain was not closing any stores to take over this other store.

The union fired all the store's old employees and the new store brought in a bunch of new people. The Union didn't do jack for anyone.

The only thing that unions do is steal money from people's paycheques. The idea of a union shop is completely insane too and I've never understood how it managed to become legal.

I will never belong to a union again. Never.

ZV