Top Canadian court to hear union appeal over Wal-Mart closure

Two separate complaints are being pursued by employees of Wal-Mart who maintain that the company closed stores after employees tried to form unions. So far the complaints have been thrown out of Provincial courts, so the Supreme Court decision gives the employees another whack at the mole, so to speak. Wal-Mart cites a law that a company has the right to close a location for any reason.

Wal-Mart’s socially and economically destructive forays into Canada began with the absorption of the Canadian-owned Woolco in 1994, about 5 seconds after NAFTA went into effect. Wal-Mart’s ravaging of the fabric of North American society has been documented at newrules.org.

The Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to hear appeals from a number of workers who lost their jobs when Wal-Mart Canada closed its unionized store in Saguenay, Que., three years ago.

The decision to consider two related cases was announced Thursday. As usual, the court gave no reasons. No date has been set for the hearing.

The United Food and Commercial Workers union won certification at the Wal-Mart outlet in September, 2004, but could not reach a contract with the company.

The union sought arbitration, but Wal-Mart announced it was closing the store.

The workers went to a Quebec labour tribunal and argued that the closure was designed to intimidate other workers who might want to unionize. They said they were losing their jobs because of union activities.

Wal-Mart said the store closed because it wasn’t profitable. Its lawyers argued that Canadian law recognizes a company’s right to close a location regardless of its motives.

In one case, the tribunal dismissed the workers’ complaint but allowed a second, separate complaint. That second decision was later thrown out by the Quebec Court of Appeal.

Posted by stevenmartin
writer, astronomer, day laborer.

RELATED ITEMS

• Wal-Mart warns managers against Democrats
  Posted by deaner on Friday, August 1st 2008
• Labor News Roundup
  Posted by ShiftShapers on Sunday, June 1st 2008
• A Health Plan for Wal-Mart: Less Stinginess
  Posted by Watson on Tuesday, November 13th 2007
• Hall of Shame Inductees: ExxonMobil, Halliburton & Walmart
  Posted by antiguanoctane on Monday, July 2nd 2007