Wal-Mart is profoundly anti-union. So the latest news out of China has to be setting off firecrackers in Bentonville. According to Associated Press reports, China’s official trade union is threatening to sue Wal-Mart if they don’t allow unions to form in their Chinese outlets. The Communist Party All China Federation of Trade Unions (AFCTU) is a major force to contend with, with its 123 million members. The union move would give the Communist Party a say in the running of Wal-Mart’s China businesses. The AFCTU is the only labor organizer in China, and has threatened this week to force Wal-Mart to unionize, or face a lawsuit. Wal-Mart apparently has responded to the AFCTU threat by repeating its non-union company policy — even as the company is busy fighting off union votes at its Canadian stores. “Companies in China are not required to have trade unions, and therefore this position is fully consistent with the law,” Wal-Mart said. But the AFCTU says that foreign companies must have union branches according to a law adopted three years ago, which says that unions “shall be set up” in all companies. The sanctions against companies that do not comply is unclear, stating only that offenders must “make rectification.”
This push to unionize companies like Wal-Mart has both a union dimension, and a Communist Party dimension — both controlling factors that must be stirring up Wal-Mart’s wok. China is one of Wal-Mart’s most promising new frontiers, not only for Chinese take out (imported goods) but for new store locations. Litigation over union requirements could end up costing Wal-Mart a significant amount of time and money to forestall. And if Chinese stores become unionized, can the U.S. be far behind?
