On the January 19 broadcast of the nationally syndicated Rush Limbaugh Show, American Enterprise Institute resident scholar and director of economic policy studies Kevin A. Hassett explained the lack of unionization at Wal-Mart by falsely claiming that "workers at Wal-Mart haven't voted to be unionized." In fact, meat cutters at a Wal-Mart store in Texas voted for union representation only to see Wal-Mart eliminate their department less than two weeks later. Moreover, Hassett's claim ignores the aggressive -- and often illegal -- campaign that Wal-Mart has used to discourage unionization. According to The New York Times, from 1998 to 2002, Wal-Mart racked up 10 National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) rulings against its anti-union tactics, while NLRB attorneys filed dozens of complaints against Wal-Mart alleging anti-union practices.
It is true that Wal-Mart has successfully hindered the work of labor organizers, who have had little success unionizing Wal-Mart. In some instances, Wal-Mart employees have indeed voted to reject union representation. But Hassett's assertion that "workers at Wal-Mart haven't voted to be unionized" is false.
Click here to read the whole story from Media Matters
Posted by Laura - January 23, 2006 06:52 PM - Real Facts