Comments on: WakeUpWalmart.com Plays the Jesse Jackson Card http://www.hoei.com/blog/archives/2005/12/18/139 Home of the Osborne family Fri, 09 Jan 2009 00:17:54 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: Jenn Riedy http://www.hoei.com/blog/archives/2005/12/18/139#comment-362 Jenn Riedy Thu, 22 Dec 2005 05:51:31 +0000 http://www.hoei.com/blog/?p=139#comment-362 I'm not a fan of unions. I worked for 3 years in a "union shop" (on the "management" side of the fence), and my husband worked in a warehouse for 10 years with a union and was forced to be part of it. I saw in my company fairly good union/management relations that were strained every once in a while by union agitators. My husband saw really poor union/mangement relations where the management really did seek to strong arm the individual employee so the union was instrumental in helping to protect employees. While my husband wished on one hand that there wasn't a union because he felt that there was abuse of power in the union infrastructure, he also regularly pointed out the difference in wages between companies like his who were unionized, and other very similar companies that were not--the unionized companies have much higher wages in that field. I think you have misrepresented unions a bit--mostly in your "strike" calculations. You assume a 3 month strike. How long is the average strike? Certainly no where near to 3 months long! In 10 years in a union my husband only striked once, and it was just for a few days. As for Walmart's sugar coated statement about how employees are happy and are best served by their close relationships with management...have you actually talked to a cross section of Walmart employees lately? I don't know very many who are happy with management. When I worked as a Safety Specialist for a large company that *was* genuinely concerned with employee safety, I was shocked by examples I read in the trade literature about safety problems at Walmart. But after reading them, it didn't surprise me when I started to run into people who had been injured on the job at Walmart, but were threatened with termination if they reported the injuries. A union would provide employees back up and grievance process in situations like this. Unions *aren't* just about paychecks...they really can help with overall quality of the workplace in some situations. Perhaps Walmart is one of them. I’m not a fan of unions. I worked for 3 years in a “union shop” (on the “management” side of the fence), and my husband worked in a warehouse for 10 years with a union and was forced to be part of it. I saw in my company fairly good union/management relations that were strained every once in a while by union agitators. My husband saw really poor union/mangement relations where the management really did seek to strong arm the individual employee so the union was instrumental in helping to protect employees. While my husband wished on one hand that there wasn’t a union because he felt that there was abuse of power in the union infrastructure, he also regularly pointed out the difference in wages between companies like his who were unionized, and other very similar companies that were not–the unionized companies have much higher wages in that field.

I think you have misrepresented unions a bit–mostly in your “strike” calculations.

You assume a 3 month strike. How long is the average strike? Certainly no where near to 3 months long! In 10 years in a union my husband only striked once, and it was just for a few days.

As for Walmart’s sugar coated statement about how employees are happy and are best served by their close relationships with management…have you actually talked to a cross section of Walmart employees lately? I don’t know very many who are happy with management.

When I worked as a Safety Specialist for a large company that *was* genuinely concerned with employee safety, I was shocked by examples I read in the trade literature about safety problems at Walmart. But after reading them, it didn’t surprise me when I started to run into people who had been injured on the job at Walmart, but were threatened with termination if they reported the injuries. A union would provide employees back up and grievance process in situations like this. Unions *aren’t* just about paychecks…they really can help with overall quality of the workplace in some situations. Perhaps Walmart is one of them.

]]> By: Adrienne Kleeman http://www.hoei.com/blog/archives/2005/12/18/139#comment-350 Adrienne Kleeman Mon, 19 Dec 2005 18:10:06 +0000 http://www.hoei.com/blog/?p=139#comment-350 Hello from a Walmart Associate. I am a sales associate at store 1011. I have been at this particular Walmart for a little over 3 months. I have always been treated fairly, never been asked to work off the clock, I always get my breaks and my lunch. The managers (from the head store manager down) at my store are good people. Do they always make the right decisions? No, but then agian neither do I. As for a union. I have never been apart of one myself but my husband has and they bite. In experiences that I have watched with my husband the strongest group gets what they want and everyone else gets left out. So then we will have yet another problem. Lets see the department managers would want their own, CSMs another group, sales in another, deli and bakery would probably go together, and don't forget the over night people. Don't get me wrong. Walmart isn't perfect but the only man who ever walked the face of the earth that was without fault is Jesus. Adrienne Hello from a Walmart Associate. I am a sales associate at store 1011. I have been at this particular Walmart for a little over 3 months. I have always been treated fairly, never been asked to work off the clock, I always get my breaks and my lunch.

The managers (from the head store manager down) at my store are good people. Do they always make the right decisions? No, but then agian neither do I.

As for a union. I have never been apart of one myself but my husband has and they bite. In experiences that I have watched with my husband the strongest group gets what they want and everyone else gets left out. So then we will have yet another problem. Lets see the department managers would want their own, CSMs another group, sales in another, deli and bakery would probably go together, and don’t forget the over night people.

Don’t get me wrong. Walmart isn’t perfect but the only man who ever walked the face of the earth that was without fault is Jesus.

Adrienne

]]> By: Tapscott's Copy Desk http://www.hoei.com/blog/archives/2005/12/18/139#comment-347 Tapscott's Copy Desk Mon, 19 Dec 2005 14:34:19 +0000 http://www.hoei.com/blog/?p=139#comment-347 <strong>Jackson Joines WakeUpWalMart Campaign</strong> Hank Osborne writes at The Land of Ozz but he has the reality of what is behind the labor union campaign against Wal-Mart. Jackson Joines WakeUpWalMart Campaign

Hank Osborne writes at The Land of Ozz but he has the reality of what is behind the labor union campaign against Wal-Mart.

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