Struggle of Wal-Mart Meat Dept. Workers Shows Need for EFCA (3/13/09)

On March 12, the United States Court of Appeals forced Wal-Mart to accept the decision of its employees in the meat department of a Jacksonville, Texas, store to join the UFCW. The decision forces Wal-Mart to recognize the union and bargain collectively with the employees.

The new UFCW Local 540 members at the Wal-Mart store have finally won their union voice. Unfortunately, it took eight long years for these employees to gain this voice, when legally and morally, all it should have taken was one simple election back in 2000.

"This is a clear example of the need for the Employee Free Choice Act," RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum said of the legislation introduced this week by Senator Ted Kennedy and Rep. George Miller in Congress. "Wal-Mart used all of the resources and money at its disposal to fight the legally protected rights of these workers to join a union, and if not for a court decision they would have continued this fight for many years to come. Businesses large and small use these tactics whenever they feel that they don't want a union around, which is most of the time. The system is completely broken, and the Employee Free Choice Act is the best hope for restoring it and the rights of working men and women to stand together with the power of a union."

To support the Employee Free Choice Act (H.R. 1409, S. 560) by writing your representatives and Senators, go here