working poor & life chances
United Food and Commercial Workers is leading a union organizing campaign against Wal-Mart, the largest employer in the nation. Steven Gault from the local 408 of the United Food and Commercial Workers is in charge of the unionizing effort. Gault says his task is formidable since Wal-Mart is known to be anti-union and Texas is regarded as an anti-union state.
“We just want a voice on the job,” said Gault.
Gault says Wal-Mart has 13,000 workers in Harris County alone. Wages start at 5.50 per hour for cashier. According to the AFL-CIO, the average pay per hour for a male is $7.50. Females, who compose 75 percent of the Wal-Mart workforce, are paid $6.80 per hour.
“Wal-Mart is certainly not against unions, we just believe that our associates do not see them adding anything to the working environment. I think the associates realize that unions have nothing to offer them,” said Wal-Mart spokesperson Christine Ghalliger.
Gault has a different opinion. He says when a store is attempting to become unionized, Wal-Mart’s first action is to send a legal team from corporate headquarters to advise management. While this may seem like common sense, Gault says, the arrival of the legal team is usually followed with accusations of harassment, increased security and arbitrary firings.
Ghallinger said Wall-Mart regards unions as third party interference. Locally, no one from Wal-Mart’s management team wants to say anything about the AFL-CIO presence.
On the other hand, several Wal-Mart employees say off the record that the departure of the founder, Sam Walton, has left the company in the hands of those who want to profit from his name and reputation. They say that Walton’s death made the unions necessary for dealing with the corporation.
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