Wal-Mart: Low Pay, but Open Communications

The United Food and Commercial Workers Union is trying to unionize employees at seven Canadian Wal-Mart stores. In response, the completely union-free giant retailer "is targeting current employees with an internal communication program that seeks to discredit common criticisms." The program, called "Setting the Record Straight," uses "statistics and independent studies to dispute assertions made by critics, such as 'Wal-Mart will provide "dead-end," poor quality jobs' and 'Wal-Mart is an American company that does nothing to support Canada.'" Wal-Mart's official position on unions is that they are unnecessary, "because we believe in maintaining an environment of open communications."