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TechnoratiWill Wal-Mart Cash In Support For Health Care Reform To Crush EFCA?
One of the biggest developments on the health care front this week was Wal-Mart's decision to back an employer mandate as a major provision of reform legislation. The move rankled the Chamber of Commerce, which accused the retail giant of using the government to build competitive advantage against its competitors--all despite the fact that Wal-Mart is the Chamber's largest member. But liberals were by and large pretty happy with the development.
At least as far as health reform goes.
But Wal-Mart is a major stakeholder on a number of key issues, and some wonder whether the Arkansas-based behemoth will try to cash in their support for health reform with the White House when the focus in Washington eventually turns to employee free choice.
Labor sources, well-acquainted with Wal-Mart's anti-EFCA tactics, have suggested or acknowledged this concern to me in the days since the administration announced the deal--and as hard as it is to imagine Wal-Mart fighting that legislation harder than they already do, the sources say both sides may turn up the temperature in the fight over employee rights in the weeks and months ahead.
It's unclear where the basis of this concern lies--whether it comes from internal knowledge of Wal-Mart's negotiations with key health care players in Washington; or from an understanding of the company's incentives; or whether some in the labor movement are using this moment to launch a pre-emptive strike against their main EFCA opponent.
But either way, it's clear that the uneasy alliance between labor and Wal-Mart on the question of health reform does not translate into rapprochement on the issue of unionization. If anything, it makes the fight over that issue bloodier.
8 Comments so far
Show Allpjd412 ex member and steward. if you look at recent developments
between ups and the teamsters you will see that hoffa jr.
is trying to destroy the teamsters. he has given a lot of
givebacks to ups along with virtually no enforcement on
the national level. all this for a company that had a bad
quarter that left them
with ONLY a 400 mil. profit. times sure are tough! again
the french and italians are the only countries left
that have a true democracy!
Most Americans do not know of the struggles unions have undergone to win things like: 8 hour work day, pensions, overtime pay, weekends off, sick leave, safety in the work place, a middle class, etc. As long as corporate bullies intimidate workers ala Walmart and no grass roots leadership (men and women) emerge to fight like our brothers and sisters before us, we will continue to see the agonizing demise of unionism. Protest/picketing in the workplace will be soon considered terrorism and a threat to "our national security". Those who wear tasseled shoes will call the struggle class warfare....myself from the steel toe safety shoe crowd call it the fight for justice and....
Peace
I think there're few comments on here because there's no piece here. THis is TPM filler. Seriously, how smart do you have to be to figure out that Wal Mart has an interest in having health care provided by government expenditure but at the same time militantly anti-union? Both positions help their profit margins.
Fusion
Very interesting question...
Family members are union; I'm an engineer, deeply involved with and dependent on union techs...
The lack of a single comment on this article tells me a lot about the Commondreams readership.
I'm a dues-paying union man; anyone else here?
The fact that employer mandate is part of the "health care reform" discussion demonstrates how far off track Obama's "health care reform" is. It is therefore no surprise that there are few comments.
By continuing the world's only private insurance / employer-based medical insurance system, the US will be criminalizing the uninsured and adding 50 million customers to a failed system.
Single-payer is health care reform, all else is health care deformed...more than it already is.
pjd412 July 4th, 2009 12:21 am.......I'm here and as a former member of the CWA in Florida, I have always supported unions and always will..just keep out the corruption. Wal-Mart is greedy and power hungry and does not give a crap about their employees. They will do whatever is necessary to to keep their bottom line. Biggest retailer in the world and cannot even offer PAPER BAGS.
I certainly agree that we do have our share of elitists on CD.
There's plenty of non-elite, pjd412 & cynical.
One can be both non-union and pro-union