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MONTREAL—Wal-Mart
will close, on May 6, its store in Jonquiere, Quebec, about 300 miles
northeast of Montreal, one of only two unionized Wal-Mart stores in
North America. One hundred and ninety employees will lose their jobs.
According
to Wal-Mart, the store is being closed because it is not profitable.
However, many workers in Quebec have reason to believe that the store
is being closed as a warning to its employees everywhere not to
unionize.
On
Aug. 2, 2004, the Jonquiere store became the first unionized Wal-Mart
in North America. Since then another, in Sainte-Hyacinthe (Quebec), has
also unionized. Management at
neither store has reached a collective agreement with the union. Local
503 of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) is still seeking a
contract, and exploring its options for recourse.
The
provincial government has recently named a labour arbitrator. The
Federation des Travailleurs du Quebec (FTQ), has opted not to call for
a boycott of Wal-Mart because there is currently a campaign to unionize
a dozen more locations across Quebec. Currently, there is no plan of
action against the closure save for activity in the courts.
The
announcement of this closure has sparked a wave of controversy across
Quebec and beyond. The newspapers have been filled with letters and
op-eds condemning Wal-Mart for its "economic terrorism". Many
have made the case that Wal-Mart represents at its core an attack on
workers.
Wal-Mart
has also come under fire from the Quebec Commission des Normes du
Travail (Labor Standards Commission) for intimidation of workers at its
location in Sainte-Foy, Quebec. Wal-Mart has been ordered to post signs
about this decision in the workplace in question.
Wal-Mart
has a long history of being anti-union. Shortly after the butchers in Texas Wal-Marts unionized,
their jobs were cut. Wal-Mart is facing legal action for breaking
child-labor laws, forcing workers to work off the clock, and
intimidating workers seeking unionization.
Wal-Mart
has also been charged with discrimination against women by three public
interest groups—Equal Rights Advocates, the Impact Fund, and the Public
Justice Center—in what has the potential to become the largest
class-action lawsuit of its kind in the U.S.
Plans
to build a new Wal-Mart in Queens, N.Y., were recently cancelled by the
promoter of the project because of pressure from residents and unions.
Union leaders opposed the project because of Wal-Mart's labor
violations and because of the closing of the store in Jonquiere.
The
future of Wal-Mart in Quebec will be determined by its ability to
adjust to a unionized workforce. The announcement of the closure of the
Jonquiere store has left the owners with very little room to manoeuvre.
If the store continues to try to block all union activity, it will
undoubtedly find itself the subject of a popular resistance.
Already
the provincial sovereigntist Parti Québécois has come out in favor of a
boycott against Wal-Mart if the unions launch one. The Quebec working
class is proud of its union-friendly environment. It will not sit idly
and watch this multi-national attack its interests.
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