Napoli Bern Ripka, LLP Blog

Wal-Mart may be at fault for Violating Election Laws, Labor Unions to Question

It has been alleged that Wal-Mart was prompting its higher-level managers and supervisors that if the Democrat party wins, it would enable Wal-Mart unions it easier for workers to unionize companies. Wal-Mart told its employees that if the Democratic Party wins the election it would prompt employees to have to pay large union dues while getting nothing in return. Wal-Mart also told employees that if the Democratic Party wins if a strike occurs they will not be compensated as well as the possibility that fewer jobs could emerge as labor costs rise. “The actions by Wal-Mart, the nation's largest private employer, reflect a growing concern among big business that a reinvigorated labor movement could reverse years of declining union membership. That could lead to higher payroll and health costs for companies already being hurt by rising fuel and commodities costs and the tough economic climate.”

            Wal-Mart addresses other serious issues in relation to the election in these meetings in which the top dogs at Wal-Mart do not specifically tell its employees to vote republican, but it makes it pretty clear what will happen if the Democratic Party prevails. If Barack Obama wins the November election it will be almost that a bill will be passed that will not give employees as choice as to whether a union will be put together. Employees of Wal-Mart who attended the meeting said that Wal-Mart’s advisors made it pretty clear on which way they wanted us to vote.

            What is at the middle of this whole labor law equation is the Employee Free Choice Act. This legislation act is intended to allow unions to acquire millions of new members at a rapid pace. David Tovar, Wal-Mart spokesman said " We believe EFCA is a bad bill and we have been on record as opposing it for some time. We feel educating our associates about the bill is the right thing to do." However, it seems that Wal-Mart is not the only companies warning their employees what would happen if the Democratic Party won and the Employee Free Choice Act was passed. Laundry Co. Cintas Corporation has also been alleged with making the same types of claims as Wal-Mart. "We feel it's important that our employee partners fully understand the implications that the Employee Free Choice Act could have on their work environment and benefits," said Heather Trainer, a Cintas spokeswoman.

            Labor law issues are something that is really important to large corporations due to the effects they have on the company. These labor laws are what will either enable or disable Wal-Mart to continue to offer its consumers the low prices they are accustomed to. Wal-Mart is able to provide consumers with such low prices because there overhead and labor costs are so low. This is a whole other issue to say if this type of behavior is ethical or not. Labor law issues are something that can completely devastates employee’s earnings and leave them struggling to make a decent life for themselves and their families.

            At Napoli Bern Ripka LLP, our attorneys have the resources and the eagerness to litigate labor law cases. Our firm’s experienced attorneys have the expertise to find out what happened, how it happened, and how it could have been prevented. You may be able to prevent it from happening to someone else. Our clients know they can always rely on us to be there for them.