Some people say that labor unions are outdated and unnecessary. They say in this modern day we can trust businesses to take care of employees. However, Walmart is a perfect example of just how wrong and dangerous this kind of complacent thinking can be.

A large number of Walmart's foreign supplier employees sued the company for not keeping up standards that were promised to them. Walmart said they would inspect facilities to make sure they were held to a high standard, but employees say Walmart did not deliver on the promise and even ignored mistreatment of workers. Next time you shop at Walmart, ask yourself if the low prices are really worth supporting sweatshops in foreign countries.

Last week the Ninth Circuit turned down the employees theories that Walmart was responsible for the misconduct.

Here is a blog post by Pam Smith on the website Legal Pad about the incident entitled Ninth Tackles Wal-Mart Sweatshops.

In Doe v. Wal-Mart Stores, the superstore corporation was sued by a bunch of employees at its foreign suppliers, who wanted to hold Wal-Mart liable for the conditions they worked in. Their claims were based in large part on a code of conduct Wal-Mart included in its contracts with suppliers, which said those whose working conditions don’t adhere to local laws and standards, or who don’t let Wal-Mart inspect their facilities, could have their orders canceled and their relationship with Wal-Mart cut off. At any rate, the plaintiffs accused Wal-Mart of reaping the PR benefits of this clause while being lax in its monitoring or even turning a blind eye. The Ninth Circuit turned down the plaintiffs’ four different theories of liability, affirming the Central District. (Judges Ronald Gould, Betty Fletcher and Raymond Fisher)

Click here to see the full post on the Legal Pad Blog.

While horrible, this is hardly new behavior for Walmart.
Here are some previous posts from our blog about Walmart's use of sweatshops:

Wal-Mart & Sweatshops
More Wal-Mart Sweatshop Connections
Wal-Mart's Sweatshop School Uniforms