Wal-Mart trains its managers to tell employees that unions are “a waste of money” and “want to hurt Walmart,” according to documents leaked by the online hacker group Anonymous and obtained by Occupy Wall Street.
The documents are part of a PowerPoint slideshow used to train store managers. Wal-Mart spokesman Kory Lundberg confirmed to Business Insider that the company uses the slideshow.
The slides discourage employees from joining union-backed groups like OUR Walmart, which fights for higher wages and more opportunities for advancement for Wal-Mart’s employees.
“By signing an OUR Walmart card you’re guaranteed to pay a $5 per month, $60 per year membership fee,” one slide says. “OURWalmart cannot guarantee you anything; except, you’ll pay.”
As we’ve reported in the past, OUR Walmart is partly funded by — and shares a mailing address with — the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. It was launched more than two years ago following a series of unsuccessful attempts to unionize Wal-Mart’s employees.
The slideshow also contains a “Duty of Loyalty” slide mandating that managers report union activity to a labor relations hotline “immediately.”
Another slide provides managers with suggested responses for potential employee inquiries regarding unions.
One response is: “For a Walmart associate, I think unions are a waste of money. You can speak for yourself.”
Several slides discourage managers from illegal anti-union activities, such as threatening or interrogating employees about union activity.
Additionally, the slideshow provides “early warning signs” that employees are trying to unionize.
Lundberg, the Wal-Mart spokesman, told Business Insider that the documents are used “to ensure that associates are getting accurate information” about the unions.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/wal-marts-anti-union-slideshow-2014-1#ixzz2rMEXRHZH