Report Slams Wal-Mart’s Tactics

A human rights organization asserted that Wal-Mart’s efforts to keep out labor unions often violated federal law and infringed on its workers’ rights.

Human Rights Watch (New York) said that when Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart stores faced unionization drives, the company often broke the law by, for example, eavesdropping on workers, training surveillance cameras on them and firing those who favored unions.

“While many American companies use weak U.S. laws to stop workers from organizing, the retail giant stands out for the sheer magnitude and aggressiveness of its anti-union apparatus,” the group wrote.

Wal-Mart Stores has more than 1.3 million workers at its nearly 4,000 stores in the United States, and none of its workers belong to a union.

Wal-Mart, in response, vigorously defended its labor practices. David Tovar, a Wal-Mart spokesman, told The New York Times that the retailer provided an environment for open communications and gave its employees “every opportunity to express their ideas, comments and concerns.”

“It is because of our efforts to foster such an environment that our associates have repeatedly rejected unionization attempts,” he said.