Labor unions scored a
significant but largely symbolic victory Aug. 3, when a
Wal-Mart (WMT
) store in Canada became the first in North America to win
the right to unionize. Company founder Sam Walton likely
wouldn't have been pleased. Then again, he may not have
known that his original discount store in Rogers, Ark.,
would grow into a 4,800-store global behemoth that sets an
entire industry's standards for wages and worker treatment.
What happened in Canada "shows that when workers' rights are
protected, Wal-Mart workers will exercise those rights for a
voice at work," says Joseph Hansen, president of United Food
& Commercial Workers International (UFCW), which secured the
right to represent Wal-Mart workers at the store.
On Wall Street, the view is quite different. Analysts are
already keeping close watch over a variety of labor-related
Wal-Mart issues -- including alleged immigrant workers, sex
discrimination, health-care coverage, and low wages. Federal
investigators are looking into whether it knowingly
encouraged the hiring of illegal immigrants through a
cleaning contractor. The megachain also is the subject of a
class-action suit filed by current and former female
Wal-Mart workers, who accuse it of denying them access to
promotions. In early August, the University of California at
Berkeley released a study that concluded Wal-Mart's wage and
health-care practices cost the state of California millions
of dollars in hidden costs
