The prospect of unionized Wal-Mart stores throughout China prompted little enthusiasm Thursday among labor activists who have been fighting the company for decades.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, agreed this week to work with the Chinese government to establish unions at each of its 60 Chinese stores, which employ a total of about 30,000 workers.
But the company was quick to note that efforts to work with the state-mandated All-China Federation of Trade Unions did not mean that Wal-Mart was softening its opposition to organized labor at home.
"This does not signal a change in our strategy in the U.S.," Wal-Mart spokeswoman Amy Wyatt said. "China's labor laws and its only union are much different than what you find in the U.S. and most other countries.
"Our policy is to comply with the laws of every country in which we operate, and in China it is required by law that if even one associate asks to join a union, then you have to install the union in the store."
The company's announcement was not encouraging to many Chinese labor experts, who said that the officially sanctioned union was more an arm of the state than a workers' rights group.
"They're not interested in improving the lives of their workers," said Chris Kofinis, of WakeUpWalMart.com, a Washington, D.C., group sponsored by the United Food and Commercial Workers union. "What happened in China was more about Wal-Mart's politics, meaning they wanted to protect their No. 1 trading partner."
But former U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young disagreed. He was in Los Angeles on Thursday to announce the formation of a California chapter of Working Families for Wal-Mart, which receives the bulk of its funding from the retail giant. He said the company's position in China showed its willingness to listen.
"It is recognizing the right of people to come together to have something to say about their employment," said Young, the head of the pro-Wal-Mart group's national organization.
That's not to say that Young would advocate unionizing the stores in the U.S.
"At Wal-Mart, labor and management all run together because 70% of what we call management started out as labor," he said. "It's a very healthy workplace."
Although Wal-Mart has said that it would not thwart unionization in China, the company has not actively worked to bring workers' organizations into its stores and facilities.
