Hostile interrogation. Secret surveillance. And if all else fails? Firing.
Why does a typical day at Wal-Mart sound like a spy movie?
We all know that when Wal-Mart employees try to form a union, they face threats, intimidation, and even firing. And a shocking new report reveals they’re being followed, too – by the store’s own security cameras!
These revelations come just as Wal-Mart appoints Pat Curran as its new “Executive Vice President of People” (that’s Wal-Mart whitewash-speak for Human Resources). Let’s congratulate Curran on her promotion – and demand that she put an end to these tactics.
It’s time Wal-Mart’s dirty tricks stop – write your note to Curran now!
A new report from our friends at Human Rights Watch details just how far Wal-Mart will go to stop its employees from forming unions. The report features incredible stories from employees like Terry Daly, whose job at a Wal-Mart in Arizona was to supposedly prevent shoplifting. Instead, he was asked to turn security cameras on workers like Brad Jones, an employee with a spotless record whose only ‘crime’ was trying to form a union:
“We were to monitor any activity that we thought might be organized... and place cameras in certain areas... and report back what we saw. We needed to find a reason to fire Brad.”
Apparently, Wal-Mart is more interested in busting unions than preventing shoplifting. Tell Wal-Mart to stop the spy games!
Imagine the fear of trying to form a union under these conditions. According to a South Carolina Wal-Mart employee interviewed in the report:
“I think the union failed because a lot of [workers] were scared to come forward, scared for their jobs. That’s exactly the reason I didn’t sign up... other associates would say that if Wal-Mart would get wind of [my involvement with] the union, I’d be fired.”
That quote comes from one of the stores Pat Curran used to oversee. Which means Wal-Mart’s new “Executive VP of People” knows all about unionbusting.
Tell Pat Curran congrats on her new corner office. Then tell her to earn her new title – and stop treating her own people like the enemy.
http://action.americanrightsatwork.org/campaign/wm_curran
Thanks for all that you do to support workers’ rights!
American Rights at Work
www.americanrightsatwork.org
p.s. Click here to check out Human Rights Watch’s new report, “Discounting Rights: Wal-Mart’s Violation of US Workers’ Right to Freedom of Association.”
