Reality

Terence Corcoran: Wal-Mart wins big union battle
Posted: April 08, 2009,

If the UFCW can’t get a favourable deal out of Quebec, North America’s most union-friendly jurisdiction, what hope is there elsewhere?
By Terence Corcoran

Let’s see how this news plays out: Union takes on Wal-Mart under most favourable union laws in North America, and Wal-Mart wins hands down. The union, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW), had forced its way, via Quebec’s union-friendly card-check organizing laws, into representing workers at a lone Wal-Mart store back in 2005. Yesterday, the union emerged with the first-ever North American Wal-Mart union arbitrated contract, with nothing to show for it in terms of worker benefits.After three years of negotiation and arbitration, the UFCW received the bad news yesterday from arbitrator Alain Corriveau. Union calls for wage and benefit increases were rejected, which means that all the union’s big promises — of bonuses and 5% annual wage gains worth up to $1.3-million a year — have turned to dust.
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