UNIONS RUN THE TABLE IN CHINA…
First there was one, then 19 and now all 62 Wal Mart stores in China are unionized. Now unions in China are different from unions in the western world, but the announcement today will send shock waves through the Bentonvile behemoths structure.
Wal Mart employees in the United States and around the world will have have to ask: what makes the Chinese better than us?
From the International Herald Tribune:
After overcoming stiff resistance from Wal-Mart, which has long fought to bar unions from its stores and distribution centers, the official All China Federation of Trade Unions now plans to focus on other companies in China it accuses of being traditionally hostile to unions, including Foxconn Electronics, Eastman Kodak and Dell.
Guo Wencai, a senior ACFTU organizer, told a press conference in Beijing that the success in unionizing Wal-Mart stores would be a springboard to similar campaigns aimed at these companies and others in China.
“We are going to exert very high pressure on all these types of companies until unions are established there,” Guo said.
“It is an irreversible trend.”
I, for one, certainly hope so.