Protestors Tell Wal-Mart to "FUHGEDDABOUD" Coming to NYC

[Omaha Steve]

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2010/06/protestors_tell.php

By Annie Werner, Wednesday, Jun. 23 2010 @ 2:32PM

Protesters of all kinds gathered at City Hall today against the prospect of Wal-Mart parking its corporate, labor-discriminating ass in the city. A Wal-Mart in New York City? "Fuhgeddaboudit!" they proclaimed.



"What does Wal-Mart not understand about, 'New York City doesn't want you'?" asked Stuart Applebaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union. He added that the RWDSU would work aggressively to prevent any Wal-Mart attempt at circumventing city representatives.



Other organizations at the protest included UFCW Local 1500, the New York City Central Labor Council, New York Communities for Change, and various local and city-wide elected officials.

Brooklyn resident Christopher Spellman joined the protest with New York Communities for Change and brought his son along with him.



"We don't want Wal-Mart in Brooklyn if they're not going to live up to our standards," Spellman said. "We need equal opportunity for everybody."

It's no secret that Wal-Mart is notorious for violating labor laws, discriminating against women, and damaging the well-being of small local businesses.

"Brooklyn doesn't want you," Stuart Applebaum said, "And for that matter, Queens doesn't want you. The Bronx doesn't want you. Staten Island doesn't want you. Manhattan doesn't want you."

Well, Manhattan doesn't really want anybody, but you know you're unpopular when not even Staten Island wants you on their water-locked wasteland. Fuhgeddaboudit, Wal-Mart.

[jmowreader]

1. Walmart would last about a month in NYC

Pro-union sentiment is strong in NYC. So...I'd say they should let 'em build a Walmart in NYC. It would take the UFCW about a week to organize it, and (if Jonquiere, Quebec, is any indication of Walmart's reaction to unions) Walmart will close it as soon as they can sell through their initial set.

Exactly how much money does it take to build a whole store so it can run a month?

[loudsue]

3. That would be good for Walmart employees all over the country, I would guess.

Get a labor union into a NY Walmart and get all the stores organized.

[jmowreader]

4. Let me tell you about Jonquiere, Quebec

Jonquiere is a small, picturesque industrial town in Quebec--their factories include an aluminum smelter and a paper mill. They had a Walmart there, and the employees were treated much the same as Walmart employees everywhere. Some of the workers contacted the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, an organizing drive was held, and the union was voted in. A short time later, Walmart claimed the store was in financial difficulty and closed it.

The labor court in Quebec went through their records as part of a class-action suit and determined the store was in fact profitable; they just didn't want to deal with the union.

The other case where unionization reared its ugly head: a store in Pasadena, Texas, saw its meat cutters unionize. Walmart responded by closing the meat department in that store, finding a company to pack meat into case-ready trays before delivering it to Walmart, and finally firing every butcher in the entire company. (Now they build Walmarts that don't even HAVE butcher workspaces--they are equipped simply to open boxes and set the packaged meat into the display case.)

[Yuugal]

2. K&R

[Scurrilous]

5. K & R

:thumbsup: