Letter: Response to criticism of letter

• Published: Sep 16, 2008 - Page: 6B - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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RE: “Pro-union letter draws criticism,” letter, Sept. 4

Mr. Kyle Johnston should read my Sept. 1 letter, “Union pipe fitter defends bill,” again. Mr. Johnston seems to be confused about the Employee Free Choice Act, among other things. Cards for union recognition by law can be handed out and signed by interested workers now.

The company the employees are working for doesn’t have to recognize the will of the majority of employees.

The Employee Free Choice Act empowers the majority of employees to decide on whether to have representation or not.

EFCA has oversight. The bill is a fast, fair, and seamless way to join a union or not. EFCA only takes away a private ballot from an intimidating employer.

I never wrote that all corporations were thugs. I stand by my words as far as Wal-Mart being corporate thugs. Wal-Mart has produced a manual outlining tactics for store managers to use to stop their employees from joining a union.

The manual and current labor law have served Wal-Mart well. If current labor laws are so fair, how can Wal-Mart just close a store because the employees voted for union representation? Why doesn’t one Wal-Mart out of the thousands of Wal-Marts in the United States have a union contract?

Answer, because of current labor laws that are open to employer intimidation and lawsuits that go on for years after an overwhelming vote for a union shop by the employees.

Mr. Johnston ignores the fact that Wal-Mart has been found violating multitudes of federal labor laws. The company has worked employees “off the clock” and denied them breaks and could face over $2 billion in fines. Wal-Mart has paid fines for working teens in unsafe conditions, violating family leave laws and hiring undocumented workers.

It was also uncovered that Wal-Mart has negotiated with the Bush Department of Labor for weak enforcement and got what it wanted. How many times must Wal-Mart thumb its nose at labor laws before it’s OK to call Wal-Mart what it is: a corporate thug.

As long as there are corporations like Wal-Mart, there is a need for unions, one collective voice of employees to speak to the world’s largest retailer.

The Employee Free Choice Act makes that voice easier to gain.

It seems for Mr. Johnston as long as he can go to Wal-Mart and buy his high-quality goods at a low price he’ll be happy, and silly me for thinking Wal-Mart was the place to buy Christmas gifts for family members I’m not getting along with.