This is an example of why having a Democrat in the White House matters: the NLRB actually enforces labor law.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the federal agency that protects workers’ rights to organize and demand better conditions, will announce a decision today to prosecute Walmart for violating workers’ rights by firing, disciplining, and threatening workers who went on strike or attempted to unionize, according to OUR Walmart, the group that has been helping to organize the strikes.
The group says the NLRB will prosecute the company for illegally firing and disciplining more than 117 workers, including some who went on strike last June. It also includes threats by managers and spokespeople meant to discourage workers from striking. Workers could potentially see back pay, reinstatement to their former positions, and the reversal of disciplinary actions.
Think Progress
Perhaps if Wal-Mart obeyed the law the employees would not need a Thanksgiving Day food drive.
More on this story:
OUR Walmart, the non-union labor group closely tied to the United Food & Commercial Workers union, announced on an afternoon conference call that the National Labor Relations Board, the federal agency charged with enforcing and interpreting private sector labor law, is ready to issue a complaint against the retail giant. According to OUR Walmart, the complaint – similar to an indictment – would address “threats by managers and the company’s national spokesperson for discouraging workers from striking and for taking illegal disciplinary actions against workers who were on legally protected strikes.” As I’ve reported, a top Wal-Mart spokesperson stated publicly prior to last year’s “Black Friday” strike that “depending on the circumstances, there could be consequences” if workers did not show up to work that day; in the weeks following a longer, smaller June strike, at least twenty participants were fired.
Salon
Update I: From AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, a pledge of support:
“When Wal-Mart workers stand up for their rights, for each other, Wal-Mart often responds by retaliating…” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka told reporters Monday. “The AFL-CIO has committed the full weight of the labor movement to support these brave, determined Wal-Mart workers, and to end this epidemic.”
Salon