By Adam Bitely – A new website has popped up in the last week that seeks to organize the workers of Walmart. In a covert effort launched by the United Food and Commercial Works (UFCW), the union has launched a website called OurWalmart.org which seeks to sign up Walmart employees to be part of an effort to organize inside of the giant retail chain.
OurWalmart.org is running a deceptive operation in the fact that they attempt to hide their affiliation with the UFCW. According to the website, “Organization United for Respect at Walmart, an independent, not-for-profit organization for hourly Associates. Our organization is not affiliated with Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.” But the site does not mention that it is paid for by the UFCW.
Further, when one does a domain “who is” search, the domain is registered out of the UFCW’s Washington, DC operation at 1775 K Street NW.
The New York Times ran a story last week on this covert operation, and cited that UFCW is not disclosing how much they are paying for the website, writing that “the union will not say how much” they are spending on this effort.
According to Nathan Mehrens who helped oversee labor union financial reporting at the U.S. Department of Labor, “The union would have to disclose any disbursement of money in excess of $5,000, as well as the purpose the money went towards, on their form LM-2. In this case, if they paid a web developer for the construction of a website, the purpose may never come to light.”
Before the public can find out what the UFCW is doing to destroy one of the largest employers in the country, it will all come down to the amount of money that they are spending on this effort.
OurWalmart.org charges a membership fee of $5 a month. The website states that they have 50 members already in some stores.
This website and the organizing efforts that come along with it, are the latest attempts for Big Labor to get their hands on the profits of Walmart. Why the UFCW feels the need to keep its relationship with OurWalmart.org fairly quiet is strange, and reveals just how shady the labor union is.
Hopefully this effort fails like all the ones that have come before it. Walmart has led to the increased prosperity that Americans have enjoyed over the past half century through massive job creation and providing cheap goods that Americans enjoy.
Someone needs to let the UFCW know that no one is working at Walmart against his or her will. If the business was truly operating a poor working environment, no one would seek employment there, and most certainly, consumers would choose to go elsewhere. After all, employees and consumers can freely enter and exit the retailer.
For a group that attacks Walmart routinely for their labor practices, they should look in the mirror and be honest with the public about their motives and how much money they are spending to torpedo one of America’s largest employers.
Editor’s Note: Labor union membership has declined significantly over the past twenty years with the Bureau of Labor Statistics reporting that in 2010 alone, union membership declined by 612,000. Only 11.9 percent of Americans belonged to a union in 2011, down from 12.3 percent in the previous year.
Adam Bitely is the Editor-in-Chief of NetRightDaily.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @AdamBitely.
