Why not in the U.S.?

All of us here at Marietta know what WalMart is, what great prices they have for college kids, and what a fun place it can be to hang out at if you are really bored. Another thing WalMart is known for is bringing hundreds of jobs to a community. Many people accuse WalMart of running the "little person" out of business and this may be true, but overall most Walmart’s increase employment in a community. This is well in good, but how well does WalMart treat its employees? Well, that is the first mistake I have made, there are no "employees" at WalMart. WalMart prefers to call them "associates". One writer from the Washington post called Walmart’s "associate"; "a term that connotes higher status and collegiality and that actually means lower pay and workplace autocracy."

Since Walmart’s existence it has always called it employee’s "associates", and it has always opposed every effort of its "associates" to form unions. In the U.S. if WalMart employees, sorry "associates," formed a union, WalMart would not deal with them because WalMart does not recognize unions. But, this is no longer the case for Walmart’s all across… China.

In the last week of November of 2004 WalMart of China, now called China WalMart, decided to let Walmart’s across China to form unions. Independent trade unions in China are illegal, so any unions formed at any one of the 40 Walmart’s in China would have all associate belonging to the "Communist Party controlled umbrella body All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU)." Under this new system China WalMart must only allow their "associates" to form unions if they ask for a union. Currently no store has asked for a union.

Why will WalMart allow unions to be formed in China and not in the U.S.? Some economists believe WalMart opposed unions in the U.S. because it allowed them to keep wages low and benefits to a minimum. Unions in the U.S. fight for their members by demanding fair wages and benefits, and speak out when these are not achieved. Why would WalMart feel China would be any different? Unions affiliated with the All-China Federation seldom push for wage increases or safer machinery. There are few union uprisings in China and those persons who seldom speak out about workplace abuses and pay are dismissed, organizers of labor protests face imprisonment. In the United States WalMart itself has fired at least 5 percent of workers involved in unionization campaigns. This is illegal in the U.S.

I am not trying to make WalMart look like an evil empire. I just feel it is a unique situation that one of the largest cooperation’s in the United States is willing to allow its branches in a foreign country establish unions ran by a Communist Government, but will not allow unions associated with the AFL-CIO to be established. Is WalMart really looking out for the best interest of their "associates" or trying to keep boosting profits by keeping wages low and not having to worry about anyone complaining?