(This is another in a series of articles in which I will discuss certain aspects of working at Walmart, which is the subject of so much hatred on the internet. I should point out that these are not attempts to debunk or disprove any claims made against the retail chain. I will simply relay my experience working with the company. Some of the things I state reflect the period of time from 2001 - 2006 and working in two locations in California. Some of what I say may no longer be true, may be different in other locations, or policies may have changed.)
Walmart is anti-union
As I discussed during the Orientation, Walmart claims that it is pro-associate, not anti-union. During the video presentation, it showed that labor unions constituted 70% of America's workforce during the 1930s. But in 2001, that number had dropped to 30%. It didn't offer any explanation why that happened, but they did indicate that the main objective for unions was to collect dues and if they could get every Walmart employee into a union, that would amount to a LOT of dues.
So, yeah, this was propaganda on Walmart's part. Personally, I didn't care one way or the other. The only thing I didn't like about unions was when they went on strike. They block the entrances and insult people who try to patronize their employer while they're on strike. But if a deal is reached and they're back at work the next day, they try to act like nothing happened. I didn't want to be part of that mentality.
When I became a Customer Service Manager in San Jose, I was serving in a supervisory position and had to go through this special training. New supervisors from all over the Bay Area were at this one location to watch videos about what was expected of us in the event that employees started talking about unionizing. The videos showed a number of scenarios, starting from mild discussions and leading up to things going to a vote as to whether to allow a union to organize the workers. They would show two versions of the same situation, one in which the supervisor takes no real action, and another one in which the supervisor states Walmart's position to the employees and ends with the supervisor thinking, "I need to report this to the Store Manager."
During the presentation, one brave woman at the training shouted, "BUT YOU'RE NOT SHOWING WHAT HAPPENS AFTER WE GO TO THE STORE MANAGER!" Yeah, she had likely heard the stories of goons descending on the store to shake some sense into the employees. One of the people in charge of the training said, "Oh, nothing happens. The Store Manager just takes it under advisement." That brave woman didn't add anything, but I knew I was thinking that was only the beginning. I was certain the Store Manager would immediately get on the phone to the corporate office and the next day, our store would be visited by the union-busters.
In fact, my brother Loyd had once heard a rumor there was an 800 number that stores could call whenever there was union talk going around. I think he was hoping I would give him that number so he could start troubles at a Walmart near him. Actually, at the time I worked at Walmart, there wouldn't have been an 800 number. We had a 700 system that connected all the stores. I'm certain that the Store Manager was the only person with access to that 700 number and there was likely a verification process that had to be endured before any action would take place.
The leadership at the training also told a few stories involving unions. One was that if a ladder was blocking an emergency exit, it couldn't be moved out of the way by just anybody. No, a union member had to move it. In other words, something was creating a safety hazard and the union didn't care if customers and employees got injured as a result. The work had to be done by a union member. AND it had to be a union member who worked in that department. Someone couldn't come from the other side of the store to move it. If anybody but a member from that department moved the ladder, even upper level management, the store would be subject to a fine.
They also showed a video of what life is like in a department store with a union. They would show a woman walking into a department and asking an employee to help with something in the next aisle. The employee says, "I can't, ma'am. That's not my department." The woman huffs off, asking, "Whatever happened to customer service?" The video also showed a supervisor asking an employee to give a hand in another department. The employee says, "I can't. The union shop steward is right over there and I'll get in trouble."
At this point, I knew this was all pretty much propaganda. I mean, the unions probably used to be like this 50 - 70 years ago. If you went into a store and an employee said that it wasn't their department, you didn't throw a fit about it. Chances were you were also in a union and you knew exactly what the employee was talking about. However, I've been in union grocery stores and I've seen employees from one department helping out in another. It looks like the unions finally got around to admitting that the customers need to come first. Otherwise, there won't be any jobs for members to pay dues on. While there are probably union shop stewards who are there primarily to keep employees from doing work they're not supposed to, I doubt they're going to stand in the way of customer safety and satisfaction.
When I was a supervisor, I would overhear conversations in the breakroom about having a union. But I didn't report these. One of the things that was made clear during the training is that supervisors would not get a vote as to whether the union could come in. The unions were not supposed to approach anyone who was a supervisor. I did have one person come up to me and ask how our benefits were. I thought he was interested in working for Walmart. I said they were pretty good. He said something to the effect that they would be better if we had a union. I told him he needed to do his research because I was a supervisor. The conversation stopped after that. He probably could have gotten into trouble.
In the end, I don't think my experience with Walmart would have improved with a union. It would have just meant more money getting pulled out of my (already low) paycheck.
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