Labor Union Blog

Lede: Think of heading to Wal-Mart to pick up some holiday bargains? Think twice. Doug Cunningham explains.

By Doug Cunningham

WakeUpWalMart.com has kicked off its annual Hope For The Holidays campaign asking shoppers to think twice about the safety of the products they buy at Wal-Mart. The $1.5 milllion campaign includes radio ads and protests around the country. WakeUpWalMart.com’s Meghan Scott.

[Scott]: “We’ll have about 75 candle light vigils in cities and towns outside of Wal-Marts all over with religious and community leaders
calling on Wal-Mart to step up and take responsibility. As the world’s largest retailer they really do have a unique ability to set the bar, whether it’s wages, whether it’s health care, whether it’s product safety. And we would just ask them to take that responsibility a little more seriously.”

If you want to keep your military signing bonus – you better try harder to stay out of the line of fire. A report from KDKA in Pittsburgh found that the U.S. Military has been demanding that injured military personnel the bonuses they were offered for signing up. The reason? When they suffer injuries while in the field they can no longer fulfill their commitments.

Employees of H&M clothing stores in Manhattan have something to be thankful for this holiday weekend – union representation. More than 1,000 employees of the Sweden based company will be represented by the RWDSU. The company has an agreement with the UNI global union that says it will recognize labor rights in any country it operates. RWDSU President Stuart Applebaum said in a press release that “H&M’s management can take pride in the fact that they decided to live up to a higher standard of corporate citizenship.”

Wal-Mart has spent millions trying to convince consumers that its critics are wrong about its anti-worker actions and that it is a good company that cares about its employees and the community. But the way the company has treated Deborah Shank shows the retail giant’s true colors.

The company, which earned $2.9 billion last quarter, sued a former employee who suffered permanent brain damage in a car accident to get back $470,000 it spent on her medical bills.

The union movement played a major role in Pennsylvania’s state and local elections this year by knocking on doors and getting out the vote—and by electing other union members to public office. Union members ran for, and won, elected offices across the state.

At least 23 active and retired union members were elected or re-elected in Pennsylvania this month. Topping the ticket: newly elected state Supreme Court Justice Seamus McCaffrey, who as a Philadelphia police officer was a member of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP). McCaffrey earned more than 1.2 million votes and joins Justice Tom Saylor, a former member of the Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butchery Workmen (AMCBW), on the court.

Other union members who will serve as elected leaders around the state include 12 county commissioners, three city and borough councillors, two judges and five other elected officials.

Looks like literally nothing is sacred.

A new report by the National Labor Committee reveals that crucifixes for sale at major religious institutions such as St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Trinity Church in New York City were made in Chinese sweatshops.