8
« on: August 07, 2008, 05:37:54 AM »
I suppose a more legitimate comparison would be between unionizing Walmart and what the employees at Kroger experience with their union. In the state of Kentucky, employees of Kroger, the giant grocery chain headquartered in Cincinnati, OH, are unionized both in the stores and warehouses. Unfortunately, they are affiliated with the Teamsters. The people I know personally who are employed by Kroger are disappointed with the union. But again, as I stated in my earlier post, the Teamsters are such a rotten example of what a union is or should be.
Unions are NOT the reason the auto industry is in a hole right now and anyone who says otherwise is not looking at the industry with any intellectual honesty. While I do support the right of any employee or any group of employees to stand up and demand fair treatment, I'm not sure that unionizing Wal mart will improve the quality of life for its employees nor will it eliminate a significant amount of the corporate rottenness towards the employees. If anything, it will probably increase the harshness with which the management behaves.
If they could unionize, not under any existing union because most are riddled with corruption, with a new paradigm of getting back to what unions were created for, I think it would be great for both the company and the union. Or if Walmart could just learn from Toyota who has successfully prevented unions from entering their plants by basically TREATING THEIR EMPLOYEES WITH SOME DIGNITY. I know people who work at Toyota in Georgetown, KY who swear that Toyota employs the Yakuza to bust unions, but they still make an excellent wage, have excellent benefits, and produce a high quality product. It just seems unAmerican to hate your employees as much as Walmart does.
Boy, that was all over the place...haven't had that first cup yet...sorry