Twenty brave souls are going to try to go against the grain today and try to vote in a union at the Beast from Bentonville. What’s interesting about the article below is its mentioning of what happened to the other people who tried to get a union at Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart acts like an organized crime family–you cross us and we take you out.

Wal-Mart Tire Workers Get
Set for Union Vote in Colorado

By ANN ZIMMERMAN
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
February 25, 2005; Page A8

A group of 20 Wal-Mart Stores Inc. tire-department workers in Colorado will vote today on whether to unionize, providing a possible foot in the door for the United Food and Commercial Workers International, which has tried unsuccessfully to organize the world’s largest retailer for more than a decade.

Wal-Mart, of Bentonville, Ark., has 1.2 million U.S. workers, making it the country’s biggest private employer. Organizing even a tiny piece of Wal-Mart would be a huge coup for the labor movement, which sees the retailer as emblematic of labor’s declining fortunes in the U.S.

In Loveland, Colo., nine of the original 17 employees of the Wal-Mart Tire & Lube signed cards in November asking for an election on whether the UFCW should represent them.

Wal-Mart objected, saying the Tire & Lube Express is only a department of its 480-employee Loveland store, not a stand-alone unit eligible for its own union.

Two weeks ago, B. Allan Benson, the National Labor Relations Board Denver-region director, sided with the union, agreeing with the workers’ contention that they are given specialized training, work in a separate area and perform jobs that are distinct from others.

At least four other Tire & Lube Express departments have petitioned to hold union votes in the past several years. In several instances, the elections were canceled or never held. On Feb. 10, tire workers at a New Castle, Pa., Wal-Mart voted to unionize, but they failed to get a majority of votes.

In this case, the workers initially had filed a petition to hold an election 5½ years earlier. Wal-Mart objected, and by the time the election was held, none of the original employees still worked there.

In Loveland, three workers already have left since the November card signing. Wal-Mart replaced them and hired three additional employees, increasing the size of the department to 20.

“It is a typical Wal-Mart tactic,” said Dave Minshall, spokesman for the UFCW Local 7 in Denver, which represents 23,000 workers statewide. “They want to increase the size of the bargaining unit, because we’ll need more votes to ratify the union. The new workers will be less likely to want to stir the pot.”

Christi Gallagher, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman, said any hiring of additional employees “has been part of the normal course of business,” adding that “It is no secret that the union has a longstanding campaign against Wal-Mart, and it’s no surprise they’re targeting us there, but time and time again, our employees have rejected the union.”

If the workers succeed in unionizing, it would mark only the second time that a union has gained a foothold in a U.S. outlet. In the only other such instance, meat cutters at a Texas Wal-Mart voted in 2000 to be represented by a union. Weeks later, Wal-Mart eliminated that job category companywide, a move the retailer said was unrelated to the vote.

Labor officials have certified union status for workers at two Wal-Mart stores in Canada in recent months. Two weeks ago, Wal-Mart announced it was closing one of the stores, in Jonquiere, Quebec, after contract negotiations broke down and the union filed for arbitration. Wal-Mart said it was closing the store because it is losing money and demands from the union would make it impossible for the location to become profitable.

Two nights ago, 150 community activists and workers from across Colorado held a demonstration in front of the Loveland Wal-Mart. After a 10-minute press conference, the demonstrators left, carrying Wal-Mart worker Josh Nobel on their shoulders.

Mr. Nobel, 21 years old, started the union drive. A three-year employee of Wal-Mart, he said he was unhappy with the working environment. “I was a bagger at a grocery store for a year and a half and got $2 in raises,” he said. “After three years here, I’ve gotten $1.07 in raises. And the health benefits are 10 times worse.” Mr. Nobel makes $9.57 an hour. Mr. Nobel said the vote will be close.”