Waves emanating from a failed union drive in Jonquiere could overrun the corporate breakwater of the world's largest retailer today as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. holds its annual meeting in Arkansas.
Shareholder proposals include a call for Wal-Mart to deliver a "sustainability" report, a measure widely, but not wholly, linked to Wal-Mart's abrupt closing of its Jonquiere outlet after union accreditation was obtained
Canada's largest pension fund manager, the Caisse de depot et de placement du Quebec, is a supporter of the proposal.
"We encourage businesses to increase their transparency so shareholders can evaluate their risk," fund spokesperson Lucie Freniere said yesterday.
That stance is aligned with the fund's social investment policy, said Freniere, and not necessarily a consequence of the April 29 closing of the Jonquiere store.
As of Dec. 31, 2004, the fund held just over 2.8 million Wal-Mart shares worth about $177 million, she said.
Citing poor financial performance, Wal-Mart shut the Jonquiere outlet, cutting about 190 employees, four months after it became the first Wal-Mart in North America to gain union accreditation.
That was clearly anti-union and "Quebecers can't ignore what (Wal-Mart) did in Quebec," said Sister Esther Champagne of the Regroupement pour la responsabilitie sociale des entreprises.
She is co-chair of an umbrella group of Quebec religious communities whose members include small stakeholders who will support the resolution.
"We have to ask of Wal-Mart if it has other visions or definitions of workplace or employee relations other than one," Champagne said. "In Quebec, the right to unionize is a fundamental right and we ask that it permit that in its business."
The lead filer for the resolution calling for the sustainability report is the United Methodist Board of Pension & Health Benefits, said Peter Chapman of Vancouver-based Shareholder Association for Research and Education, a non-profit organization sponsored by Canadian labour organizations.
In addition to fallout triggered by closing the Jonquiere store, Wal-Mart faces suits and a U.S. federal investigation for violating various labour and employment laws, Chapman said.
Those incidents engender valid investors' concern, particularly as they have been linked to Wal-Mart's recent financial performance, Chapman said.
Wal-Mart did not respond to a request yesterday for comments on the issue.
The shareholders' proposal asks Wal-Mart to asses its policies and practices in light of its "social, environmental and economic sustainability."
Employees at a third Wal-Mart in Quebec recently won union accreditation with United Food and Commercial Workers Canada. About 180 employees at the Hull Wal-Mart are to vote on union membership in a secret ballot June 9.
The UFCW also represents unionized employees at the closed Jonquiere outlet and at the Wal-Mart in St. Hyacinthe, where the union is in negotiations for a first collective agreement.
Posted by UFCW 227 at June 4, 2005 12:41 PM