i wish these guys weren't such assholes

i hate it when someone tells me how cheap something they bought at wal-mart was. does anyone know why the stuff at wal-mart is so cheap? who hasn't read enough news articles on what wal-mart does to its employees? or the poverty of the people making the stuff? or do people know, and just shrug their shoulders and think, "better them than me"?

wal-mart has recently had sit-downs with department heads and store managers to push their anti-union and anti-Democratic Party message. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121755649066303381.html wal-mart is particularly pee-in-their-pants-scared of the Employee Free Choice Act, passed in the House but stuck in the Senate and threatened with George Bush's veto, which would enable a union to be organized if and when more than 50% of a commercial entity's workers sign a card to join the union. oh the horror. wal-mart, and a few allies, are worried that if organizing a union is that easy, they won't be able to talk workers out of joining. wal-mart's current sit-down warns its viewers that if you're in a union, you'll have to- gasp - pay dues! and go on strike! and most importantly, that if labor costs go up, there could be fewer jobs! see the link.

really, there are going to be fewer jobs? i haven't been to a wal-mart for almost a decade, but something tells me that wal-mart doesn't overstaff their stores. the reality is that this is typical union-busting bullshit- that the only way wal-mart (or any business) can run a profitable store is to pay its employees crap. why do we always assume that it's the lot of the worker to be grateful for the pittance she gets? i say that if owners can combine their stakes to maximize their profits, than workers can combine their voices to do the same. after all, wages are the worker's profit. if a corporation can maximize its profits, why can't its employees?

it's this kind of myopic bullshit from wal-mart that makes me wonder if the executives who shovel this down their employees' throats have ever asked themselves why people organize unions in the first place. hint: it's not because they're bored. it's because they're dissatisfied with working for a living but not making a living. well, not dissatisfied- pissed off. they're pissed when the boss breaks the law. they're pissed at getting fired for taking care of loved ones. they're pissed about a buttload of horseshit and unions are how they fight back. so wal-mart can just suck it up.