Wal-Mart "Encourages" Employees to Vote Republican
August 3, 2008 by Susan Gunelius
Filed under Marketing
Wal-Mart doesn’t want Barack Obama to be the next President of the United States. According to a Reuters article, Obama supports a bill that would make it easier for workers, including Wal-Mart employees, to form unions. Wal-Mart doesn’t like unions. Wal-Mart likes people who belong to unions to shop at their stores, but Wal-Mart doesn’t want to employ them. It’s a branding dichotomy.
What’s all the fuss about? It seems that Wal-Mart held meetings in at least seven states with managers where executives explained how, “unionization could force Wal-Mart to cut jobs as labor costs rise, and that employees would have to pay hefty union dues and get nothing in return.”
Apparently, Wal-Mart doesn’t tell employees how to vote in the 2008 Presidential election during the meetings, but employees are told that voting for Obama would be like asking unions to come knocking on the Wal-Mart door.
This can’t be good for Wal-Mart’s public image. What do you think?
Image: Flickr
I don’t think it will hurt their image. Walmart is known for being able to cut costs and then pass them on. All their target market cares about is low cost. Personally I can’t stand Walmart.
As far as Union’s go I’m with Walmart. Back in the day Unions were very helpful, not so today. Don’t like where you work because of bad benefits or pay, go somewhere else with better benefits. The only thing Unions do now is bully and inflate wages. Or strike which ends up hurting the customer.
It’s the age old Dems vs Reps debate. Nothing new here.
Strange comment. Is the ‘BIG Kahana’ proposing lowering *HIS OWN* wages so that the savings can be passed on to the rest of us? Are these Walmart executives? I thought not…
Yes, same old Reps jive talk, just blow’n more smoke, hold’n them mirrors to confound and confuse the masses….
I worked for Wal-Mart for 8 years. I started out as a minumum wage associate and then was promoted into management and left the company after running my own Sam’s Club, and I am a woman. The last thing Wal-Mart needs is a Union. Yes, you have manager’s who do stupid things that hurt the image of the company but the company as a whole do not support the stupid things these managers say or do. I have seen them address these managers swiftly and in a timely manner. And if you think Wal-Mart is the only company out there that has stupid mangers who do not follow break/lunch laws, promote mostly the white male, and show lack of concern for the employees you are wrong. I work for one now that is 900 stores large and is far worse then Wal-Mart and has yet to be sued for any of this.