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Vol. 79/No. 43 November 30, 2015
Walmart workers press for union rights in China
Workers at a Walmart in Shenzhen, China, are pressing to elect union
officers without interference from the company or officials of the
government-sponsored All-China Federation of Trade Unions, and they’re
denouncing the company for sabotaging their efforts. Walmart has nearly
400 stores in 147 cities throughout China, and employs more than 100,000
workers.
Zhang Liya, a veteran worker at store no. 1059, announced in September
he would run for union president against the slate selected by the
incumbents. Zhang and his supporters criticize current officials for not
fighting recent layoffs and store closures and for settling for wage
increases far lower than before the state-backed union was organized at
Walmart in 2006.
Workers in China confront abuses similar to those the retail giant’s
employees are combating in the U.S. — low wages, sex discrimination,
unpaid overtime, part-time jobs, retaliatory firing of those who
organize or complain, as well as elimination of a small housing subsidy
the company had provided in the past.
— MAGGIE TROWE
Related articles:
Workers nationwide march for $15 and a union
Over 1,000 striking unionists picket Kohler in Wisconsin
Quebec: Framed-up rail workers plead ‘not guilty’
On the Picket Line
Wives of Steel rally backs locked-out ATI workers
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