Wal-Mart loses bid to undermine union at St. Hyacinthe

Quebec Superior Court dismisses application as premature

Montreal - Wal-Mart has been rebuffed in an attempt to reverse a decision by Quebec Labour Relations Board allowing employees to form a legal union at the company's store in St. Hyacinthe, east of Montreal.

In an effort to overturn the certification, Wal-Mart went to Quebec's Superior Court, complaining that too few employees had been allowed to participate in the vote. If more employees had been included, the union would not have been legally certified, the company said.

The court rejected the application, arguing that Wal-Mart's request for a judicial review was premature.

The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) has signed a formal protocol with the United Food and Commercial Workers Canada, which is currently conducting a nation-wide campaign to organize Wal-Mart employees.

The Arkansas-based retail giant shut down a store in Jonquiere, north of Quebec City, last spring to avoid being forced to negotiate a legal contract with its unionized workers. The closure leaves the St. Hyacinthe store as the only unionized Wal-Mart location in North America. NUPGE

Web posted by NUPGE: 26 August 2005

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