Case Study : Walmart Shut 5 Stores Over Labor Activism

In 1947 it was revised to help better protect employees as well as employers. The revision stated that employees and managers must bargain “in good faith” with each other, and illegalized wild cat strikes, (refusing to work under a valid contract). These rights help employees as well as employers to be treated fairly. Forcing employees and employers to work together as a team can increase their understanding of where each side is coming from, as well as making it easier to compromise. The act also prevented businesses from becoming “closed shops,” (places where only union members were hired.) and prevented members from forcing others to join a union. Employees were also given the option to hold elections to certify and decertify unions. Employers were given the freedom to voice any concerns they had over unions so long as they did not interfere with the organization of unions. The revised act also gives the president the power to call off strikes in the event that it becomes a national emergency. A board may be hired to examine the situation of the strike so that the president may better understand why the situation has not been resolved. The president can then put an injunction on the strike; if a decision is not reached, the injunction can be extended.

In “Labouring the Wal-Mart Way”, Deenu Parmar discusses Wal-Mart’s poor business practices and mistreating of their employees. Parmar is biased in that she focuses primarily on the negative aspects of Wal-Mart and discusses mostly from the employees’ point of view. The essay attempts to sway people to stop shopping at Wal-Mart because the author portrays it as unethical by focusing on the poor wages, anti-unionization, and paying off charges instead of properly addressing the laws being broken. Parmar does point out that people will continue to shop at Wal-Mart, seemingly guilt-tripping those who do shop there. The whole article relies heavily on an emotional appeal, which forces the reader to sympathize for the employees of the company without

Walmart has the right to describe about the current benefits and job security they offer to their employees. They can also explain employees about how they are better than other unionised stores. They can also explain about the negative effects of unionising the store like strikes and job hour losses. They can inform them about the union fee employees has to pay if they join the unions. They can inform about the negative motives of people who run these unions. They can also explain them that the employees are treated as “associates” rather than just “employees” so it is duty of them to protect the best interests of the company.

Wal-Mart had been criticized for its record in employee relations. Wal-Mart had no unions, despite

Belton, R. (2004). Employment discrimination law: cases and materials on equality in the workplace. Thomson/West

As stated on the corporate website (2017), “Walmart is the largest retailer in the world, where 2.3 million associates meet the needs of more than 260 million customers every week.” These numbers are huge, and with so many locations around the globe, they have had allegations been made by employees regarding their dissatisfaction about poor work conditions, gender discrimination, low wages, poor benefits, and inadequate health care. Walmart has been criticized for its policies against labor unions and this issue has prompted public outrage, (Johansson, 2005) which is of great concern for the market. The company has also faced criticism for being anti-union, but it has claimed that it is rather pro-associate, whereby employees

The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), also known as the Wagner Act, was enacted in Congress in 1935 and became one of the most important legacies of the New Deal. Prior to the passage of the NLRA, employers had been free to spy on, interrogate, discipline, discharge, and blacklist union members. Reversing years of federal opposition, the statute guaranteed the right of employees to organize labor unions, to engage in collective bargaining, and to take part in strikes. The act also created a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to arbitrate deadlocked labor-management disputes, guarantee democratic union elections, and penalize unfair labor practices by employers. The law applied to all employees involved in the interstate

They are able to take out valuable facts and information from their own knowledge and from research they were able to accumulate. “families who shop carefully at Wal-mart can actually budget more for investing on children funds or entertainment. And unlike other giant corporations , Wal-mart stores around the country make an attempt to provide a friendly atmosphere by spending money to hire greeters, who are often people who would have difficulty finding any other job.This is a partial solution to shoplifting problems; the solution Kmart applied (“Hey, what's in the bag?”) didn't work as well”(Brad Edmonds and Karen de Coster) This displays logos by staggering us with a factual paragraph stating that if someone really wanted to save money by shopping at Wal-mart they would have to do it carefully and then they would be able to invest on a childs fund for college or be able to save that money by investing it on something else. And Unlike other mom and pop shops Wal-Mart draws you back each time because they hire people that have a more difficult to time finding an ordinary job either because of their criminal records or because of a disability, unlike other stores they have greeters that make Walmart a more hostile environment to shop at. This strengthens her claim because it shows fact about how Wal-mart has a plan to be outgoing and be able to make it.

See, e.g., Marion Crain & Ken Matheny, Beyond Unions, Notwithstanding Labor Law, 4 U.C. IRVINE L. REV. 561, 562–53 (2014). “Unions served as a vehicle for worker voice and political influence . . . .”

The National Labor Relations Act seeks to promote collective bargaining to resolve employer and employee concerns. Because many agreements between labor and management sometimes affect and/or restrain competition under the context of the Sherman Act of 1890, a

To help bring about congressional change, the National Labor Union was created in 1866 “to pressure Congress to make labor law reforms” (Library of Congress). It was composed of “national associations of unions” with “trade-printers, machinists, stone cutters” and others (American Federationist).

Much of what we know about the improvements in the workforce came from 20th century advancements with the workforce that we know today. Important developments came in the form of methodology and data collection efforts. The 20th century was a remarkable period for the American workers. Despite the initial stages of labor management, working conditions, wages and benefits improved over the last century with the workforce increasing six fold over the period (Gould, 1986). This research will focus on impacts of National Relations Labor Act (NLRA) and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) enacted in the 20th century, including major circumstances that led to the intent of the legislation. In

Dorris, Daniel V. "Fair Labor Standards Act Preemption of State Wage-and-Hour Law Claims." The University of Chicago Law Review 76.3 (2009):

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is the world 's largest retail enterprise, with total revenue of $421.8 billion and a net income of $16.4 billion in 2011. 1 It is also the world 's largest employer, with 2.1 million employees worldwide in 2010 2, not including workers hired by its providers. In my opinion, Wal-Mart provides a clear illustration through which to look at how many multinational companies (MNCs) take part in an illegal and unethical behavior. They use their bargaining power and market control to pressure countries to overlook environmental degradation and violation of national labor laws. They dictate expected pricing for products, particularly through imports from overseas countries. Labor is fulfilled mostly by underage and underpaid employees. In the United States, since 2005, Wal-Mart has paid about $1 billion in damages to U.S. employees in six different cases related to unpaid work. 3 Furthermore, Wal-Mart opposes any form of collective action, even when employees are not seeking unionization, but simply more respect. 4 The fact that Wal-Mart opposes unions exist. The company has a long history of fighting them, to the point of closing stores after employees organize. Managers have been instructed to talk to their teams about why unions are so unwanted in their business. Overseas, the company was involved in a series of scandals, including multiple cases of bribery. In April 2012, The New York Times published a story that

The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) started in July 1935 to protect the rights of employees, rather, they be union or nor-union employees (Pozgar, 2012). The employees are protected under the Act or may employ in bubble-like, rigorous goings-on in situations other than the customary union organizations and cooperative bargaining. The National Labor Relations Board regulates the employers from interfering with the rights of the employees to implement or organize and join with a groups that offers assists with collective bargaining purposes like organization union or joining one (Pozgar, 2012). The employer may not restrain, coerce or stop employees