Wal-Mart to close unionized auto shop in Quebec

MONTREAL – Wal-Mart Canada is closing an automobile centre in Gatineau, Que., where employees had formed a union and recently secured their first collective agreement.

The retailer said Thursday it closed the shop because it couldn’t accept salary increases for the store’s five mechanics. Wal-Mart said the higher wages would force it to increase prices by 30 per cent.

The unionized workers and the Tire and Lube Express centre manager won’t necessarily lose their jobs because they can be transferred to another department at the store or to another of Wal-Mart’s auto centres.

The United Food and Commercial Workers Union president called Wal-Mart’s decision an attack on its workers and a “blatant disregard” for Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

“Wal-Mart thinks a cheap oil change is more important than the Canadian Constitution,” Wayne Hanley said in a news release.

The closure marks the second time Wal-Mart has closed a Quebec outlet after workers decided to form a union.

In April 2005, the retailer closed an entire store in Saguenay affecting more than 200 workers just as binding arbitration for a first contract was set to begin. The retailers said the store wasn’t profitable.

The Supreme Court of Canada agreed in August to hear appeals from a number of workers who lost their jobs.

I’m absolutely interested in truth. I think the truth is Walmart put their best foot forward for the visiting bloggers. I think the truth is there are bad store managers out there. I think the truth is there are some very good Walmarts out there as well.

I think the truth is there are a lot of people who hate Walmart, and will never like it, even if they totally changed the way they ran their business. I think the truth is, there are people who look up to Walmart as a great example of how a little guy can build a corporation.

I think the truth is, no, I KNOW the truth is, from experience, that other big box stores can be just as mean to the little man as the examples that have been posted here. I know, because I’ve watched a family member live it. Walmart is not alone in those stories.

I think the truth about Walmart is somewhere between the extremist groups who look to find fault in everything Walmart does, and the other extreme that finds nothing wrong with the company.

A good friend of mine recently said, “It just that so many people, I think, see everything in black and white, good and evil only. And refuse to even acknowledge your own personal experience because it doesn’t fit with the good and evil model. Walmart, and any company is made of of people. People who make mistakes, who are sometimes good, sometimes evil.

Is there no middle ground anymore? ”

And the fact is, I think the truth is in that middle ground.

Smart move or dishonest move? Your words are more like spin.
This site is truely not interested in truth.

Take care.

However, I must say, I do completely agree with you about RVing across America. That was not a smart move.

The mom & pop businesses that were well run survived. The ones that weren’t doing well to begin with did not. (My husband knew which ones survived & which didn’t as he was in advertising sales, and he covered the whole town).

The store that was hit the worst was the KMart down the street. But the KMart was really run down, so of course everyone wanted to go to the shiny new Walmart.

In the end, KMart survived, but they really cleaned up their store to compete, which was great for the customers.

I know that’s not the story everywhere, but I think Marci is right that Walmart can be really good for recessed communities where for whatever reason, people can’t find work at all. In Roseburg, it was because the timber industry took a big hit.

And I kind of miss the days when everyone was in the same boat. I learned a lot about being frugal there, and even though I still practice frugality here, there’s a lot more pressure to keep up!

And don’t say they will drive out the Mom and Pops… the Freddies already did that :( No more sears, or monkey wards, or penneys, etc…. they’re already gone, so there’s no damage to be done.

And don’t say anything about low wages as people in this economically depressed area would be grateful for ANY wages at all !! We don’t need much here to get by on.

It’s easy to be frugal here – and keeping up with the Joneses is also easy as everyone is in the same boat. We all make do, and we all pretty much do ok :)

I’ve worked at big box stores, and I have family members who have worked in big box stores (none of them Walmart). A lot of the criticism leveled at Walmart happens just as frequently in other big box stores, yet Walmart seems to take most of the flack, because they are the largest.

I’m a person who believes that there are benefits to shopping Walmart, as well as benefits to shopping locally, and I do a lot of both. For me it’s not either or.

However, I also feel that if you’re (and that’s a general you…not directed specifically at Alex) going to paint Walmart as the evil empire, you’d best take a good look at other big box stores, because if that’s the way you feel, you probably shouldn’t be shopping at any of them.

Lynnae you are a person Wal-mart is using for pr.
You must start to do some real research about this company. If Wal-mart really wanted to do what is right their actions would represent their statements. Why are they fighting all the way to the supreme court? Because they don’t really care.
Don’t let yourself be used by Wal-mart Lynnae.
Take care