Walmart is the biggest employer and most profitable company in America. It should be leading the way to economic recovery by setting an example for wages that support a family, health care, and equal opportunity.

Times are hard for working people, but Walmart and the Waltons are still making billions:

The company is making more than $12 billion a year in profits.
Wal-Mart makes $34,880 in profit every minute.
According to the 2008 Forbes 400 Richest Americans list, the Walton family is worth over $100 billion.[ii]
New CEO Michael Duke earns $5.3 million in base salary,[iii] while outgoing CEO Lee Scott earned a total compensation package of $31.6 million in 2007.[iv]

Wal-Mart annual income statement, accessed at Yahoo Finance, http://finance.yahoo.com/q/is?s=WMT&annual
[ii] The 400 Richest Americans,� Forbes, September 17, 2008
[iii] See http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=WMT
[iv] http://walmartwatch.com/blog/archives/wal_mart�

Q. The economy is in terrible shape. Isn�t this the wrong time to form a union and drive up costs?

The newspapers have been full of headlines for months about how Walmart is doing so well in this recession. Walmart’s Chief Financial Officer Tom Schooewe has said that “tough times are actually good times for Walmart.” [AP 10/24/07]

Even in this economic crisis, Walmart is still making profits of more than $12 billion a year.

But a union is essential for us whether times are good or times are bad. Being able to negotiate a contract ensures that we share in the good times, and have a voice in what needs to be done in bad times.

Q. Who will decide what we negotiate with our employer?

Walmart workers by democratic majority rule. You decide what your priorities are, elect your representatives, and decide what to accept in your contract. So the improvements you make depend on the decisions, involvement, and unity of the employees themselves - backed by experienced negotiators and millions of working people who already have a union.

Q. What will it cost to be a member of the union?

First of all, no one pays any dues until after the affected employees have voted to accept a contract with management. Then the dues will be $7 - $8 per week, depending on where you live or work in the country. That will be used to help win higher wages, better benefits, and other improvements worth much more than the cost of dues.

Q. But Walmart doesn�t want us to have a union. What�s our plan to win?

Walmart is not unusual – most union members in the United States today work at companies where the employer opposed a union at first. But most of those employers have learned that a workplace where employees have a voice works better. It results in a better atmosphere at work, better service for the public, and paychecks and benefits that reflect the hard work that employees do.

With President Obama in the White House, and the support of millions of workers who already have unions, including members of the United Food and Commercial Workers, we have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get a union.

Step 1 is for thousands of Walmart workers to sign cards saying we want a union. We know that we need to form unions at hundreds of stores at once, not one store at a time.

Step 2 is to join with millions of other union members to win passage of the Employee Free Choice Act which is supported by President Obama and a majority in Congress. The point of the new law is to make it easier to form unions without employer interference.

Step 3 will be to sign up a majority of our coworkers nationwide so our union will be legally recognized and then negotiate a contract with Walmart.

Q. What are our rights? Can I get in trouble for supporting the union?

You can do all the following things at work – it is guaranteed by federal law:

Talk About the Union – You can talk about the union on company property, in the store and on work time as long as it doesn’t interfere with your work. Any time you can talk about other topics like sports, movies, recipes or whatever – you can talk about the union as well.

Sign Union Cards – You can sign up other associates at work before and after work and during all breaks in all non-work areas (i.e. break rooms, smoke areas, lunch rooms). So to sign up another associate, you have to be on a break (including paid breaks) and off the floor, but you can do it at work.

Distribute Union Literature – You can distribute union literature in the same way you can sign union cards. You can do it when you are on a break (including paid breaks), before or after work and in non-work areas.

It is also important to remember all the things that management can not do during a union campaign:

Discipline or Change Conditions – Management can not threaten, suspend, reprimand or fire you for supporting a union and exercising your rights. They also can not change or reduce your hours or treat you differently in any way because you support the union.

Ask Questions About the Union – Management can not ask you your opinion of the union or ask you any information about union activities (i.e. who else is supporting it, where are the meetings, what’s going on, what do you think about it?).

Interfere with Your Rights – Management can not try to prevent you from exercising your rights. They can not tell you not to talk about the union at work or not to sign union cards at work.

Bribes – Management can not offer you any raises or other improvements in order to influence your support for the union.

Q. How will forming a union help Walmart workers?

Our hard work made Walmart the biggest and richest company in America. But right now, the Waltons and Walmart management decide by themselves how much of that wealth they get and what crumbs are left for us-we have no say. It’s time for us to “live better” too.

By being part of a union, we’ll be able to negotiate with management for fair pay and benefits and other ways to improve our company, reduce turnover, and increase opportunity for all. If we organize hundreds of stores around the nation, we will have the strength to get a fairer share of the pie. Once our union is formed, the company will be legally required to negotiate a contract with us and to abide by what it agrees to.

Walmart Workers for Change