The Saskatchewan Labor Relations Board has just ruled that workers at a Wal-Mart store will be allowed to be represented by a union, specifically the United Food and Commercial Workers union. This comes after years of legal battles between Wal-Mart and the union.
Wal-Mart has a history of shutting down stores that unionize, will they shut down this time? Poll below the fold.
The Mayor of Weyburn, where the store is located, is worried that the Wal-Mart store will close down. It's understandable. A lot of communities don't have a whole lot of options for shopping, and there's a decent chance the town offered Wal-Mart tax waivers or building incentives to move in. And of course Wal-Mart has a historyof shutting down stores when their workers unionize. Wal-Mart would much rather shut down, abandoning a community and their employees, than negotiate and listen to input from their workers.
Wal-Mart has pledged to appeal the ruling of the Labor Relations Board on the grounds that new labor laws have come in to effect and that most of the workers who voted for a union are now gone. Of course, Wal-Mart was the one who dragged the whole process out for 4 years, so those reasons seem pretty bogus.
We're taking bets on the likelihood the store closes down. Leave your bet in the comments.
Here's an excerpt from the article from CBA:
Sask. mayor worried Wal-Mart will close unionized store
The mayor of a southeastern Saskatchewan community is worried the area's biggest retailer could close, following a decision by the province’s labour board allowing employees to unionize.
In a 71-page decision dated Dec. 4, the Saskatchewan Labour Relations Board approved a request to certify the Wal-Mart in Weyburn. All employees, except pharmacy, office staff and department managers, are affected.
Wal-Mart was criticized after it closed a store shortly after employees unionized in Jonquière, Que., in 2005, a move the company continues to blame on poor performance by the store.
Now, concerns are being raised about the future of the outlet in Weyburn, a city with a population of about 9,400.
"We're very concerned about losing a major retailer in our community," Weyburn Mayor Debra Button said. "We worked too hard to get the Wal-Mart here ... If the decision by Wal-Mart is to close the store, we'll certainly be feeling that."