When Wal-Mart employees stand up for themselves and try to form a union, they face threats, propaganda, discrimination, intimidation, and even firings in retaliation. As the word’s largest employer, the company’s abysmal labor standards and aggressive interference with its employees’ democratic right to form unions has a hand in legitimizing the widespread use of this behavior.
Erin Johansson examines the labor standards at Wal-Mart, including the poor compensation, difficult working conditions, and most importantly, the company’s ability to remain union-free, which is primarily the result of a companywide strategy to prevent and quash union efforts. Checking Out illustrates the devastating toll on workers and their communities as wages and benefits are slashed and once secure jobs are lost; the retail giant threatens to wipe out middle-class jobs and the American dream as we know it.
According to Garth Brooks, "it’s
great to work for Wal-Mart." But what would happen if Garth found out what it’s
really like to work for the retail giant? What
would he have to say about Wal-Mart’s ruthless campaign against
workers’ rights?