Workers thinks Wal-Mart’s anti-union message is undemocratic
“I am disgusted with myself and the way in which my life has turned out since I have been employed with Wal-Mart for five years. I recently became a salaried manager because I needed the money. After four years at Wal-Mart, I had not yet worked my way up to what I had made at my previous job - a fast food franchise. You must understand, I never wanted to work for this company, but the truth is that when you are poor, you have no skills, and you have no college education, it is difficult to find a job that pays well. I expected to be poorly paid for a while. However, I had high expectation for myself and expected to move quickly through the management ranks.
Before starting with the company, I had read lots of anti-Wal-mart propaganda. I knew there were a ridiculously small number of women managers compared to males - especially when I factoring in how many more women work at Wal-Mart. I expected those challenges and I embraced them. Unfortunately, I overcame them without ever doing anything to ensure that no other deserving woman would be held back.
I also knew that Wal-Mart was anti-union. I believe that unions did great things for workers in the past and I believe it is possible for them to do great things in the future. I didn’t realize that it was only a matter of time before I would be shut into a room and made to sign a petition against the unions entering our stores. I managed to escape the room before I was forced to sign. I had to feign claustrophobia. Their argument was that if the majority of the workplace signed union cards, the rest of the establishment would be forced to also join.
‘This is not fair to those who do not want to be part of the union.’ The fact that majority rule was an accepted part of the democratic system clearly missed them. I am in the market for a new job. I just got to the point where I am making a living for myself, but I always knew I was too liberal to fit in there. I joke with my friends that I sold my soul. Indeed, I feel as though I have.”
- Anonymous
