It’s a typical refrain when it comes to health care or labor rights…"If we only live in Canada…" And there is a lot of truth to that–we would have a single-payer type health care system and it would be easier to organize unions. But, when it comes to the behavior of The Beast of Bentonville, even Canada is a tough neighborhood.

   The good news is workers will have a union in another Wal-Mart store location:

Workers at a Wal Mart Stores Inc. outlet in Canada will be represented by a union after more than four years of legal challenges by the retailer, the United Food and Commercial Workers said.

The Saskatchewan Labour Relations Board granted union status yesterday to workers at a store in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, the group said in a statement today. The application was submitted in April 2004.

Employees at three of the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer’s locations in Quebec are already represented by the union. Applications for unionization of two others in Saskatchewan are before the labor board.

   But, I bolded the part above to underscore the stunning point that those bastards in Bentonville continued to drag this fight out for four years in court over the rights of 85 workers. Do the math: 85 workers out of a company that is one of the largest employers in the world–and it takes four years.

   It tells you a lot about how difficult it is in the 21st Century for workers to get basic democratic rights and how corporations like Wal-Mart will pull out all stops to obstruct democracy.