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A National Labor Relations Board judge ruled that
Walmart managers in California had illegally disciplined employees for going on strike and unlawfully threatened to close a store if many of its employees joined a group demanding higher wages.
In a decision made public on Wednesday, Geoffrey Carter, an N.L.R.B. administrative law judge, also found that a Walmart manager had illegally intimidated workers by saying, "If it were up to me, I'd shoot the union." In addition, the judge said it was unlawful for Walmart managers to tell employees that co-workers returning from a one-day strike would be looking for a new job.
Our Walmart, a union-backed group of Walmart employees, filed the complaint with the labor board, asserting that officials at Walmart stores in Placerville and Richmond, Calif., had illegally intimidated workers.
Kory Lundberg, a Walmart spokesman, said in a statement: "We do not agree with some of the administrative law judge's conclusions." The company said it would appeal parts of the ruling to the full labor board in Washington.
Walmart has a long history of vigorously battling unionization efforts.
Our Walmart is not a union but is affiliated with the
United Food and Commercial Workers union and has mounted a string of protests against Walmart over the last three years. On
Black Friday, Our Walmart
sponsored protests at more than a thousand Walmart stores, calling for a $15 base wage, more full-time jobs and an end to what it says is illegal intimidation and dismissals.
Comment: Kudos to this mother for having the persistence to continue searching, even after visits to 19 other doctors. It's an unfortunate testimony to our broken health care system, that the knowledge base of many practitioners is so lean, that it takes this much searching to find real help and the correct diagnosis. And you can thank Big Pharma for much of this, due to the industry's grip on medical research and education.
Big Pharma, Bad Medicine: How Corporate Dollars Corrupt Research and Education