Worker Strikes Against Wal-Mart In 2013 Were Lawful, NLRB Judge Says
January 21 2016 - 7:58PM
Dow Jones News
By Melanie Trottman
WASHINGTON-- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. violated federal law for
disciplining or firing several employees who participated in
strikes against the retailer, a judge for the National Labor
Relations Board said in a ruling issued Thursday.
The strikes in May and June of 2013 were protected under the
National Labor Relations Act, Judge Geoffrey Carter said in his
decision. The Bentonville, Ark., retailer has said it was within
its rights to discipline the workers for actions that it has called
illegal, intermittent work stoppages. Wal-Mart didn't immediately
respond to a request for comment.
The judge's decision may not be the final one at the NLRB.
Wal-Mart could appeal to the agency's board. The NLRB resolves
workplace disputes and oversees union-organizing elections in the
private sector.
The strikes at Wal-Mart--along with similar walkouts at other
companies--were guided by advocacy groups that organize over the
Internet and specialize in sporadic, short-term protests and
social-media campaigns to make their points.
Labor lawyers have said it was unclear whether those actions are
covered by the 1935 National Labor Relations Act. The outcome of
the case has been viewed as having potentially broad implications
for companies confronting the new wave of nonunion protesters
employing the shorter strikes.
Write to Melanie Trottman at melanie.trottman@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 21, 2016 19:43 ET (00:43 GMT)
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