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On June 27th, Canadian workers won a decade-long battle with Walmart.  Canada’s Supreme Court ruled in favor of workers who lost their jobs when Walmart closed in the middle of collective bargaining negotiations.  The store was one of the first Walmarts in Canada to unionize, so the move was clearly retaliatory.  After nine years of standing up for their rights, these workers have won a great victory.  We applaud them for their struggle. 

The court ruled that Walmart illegally closed the store in the middle of a freeze: after the union had been formed and just after it had involved an arbitrator in collective bargaining negotiations.  Since this was one of the few Walmart worker unions in the country, it is obvious that the giant company closed the store to bust the union.

As reported by the Wall Street Journal, the lawyer for the workers said "Friday's ruling would have ramifications across Canada because most provinces have measures that protect workers in the midst of trying to form a bargaining unit."

From the UFCW Canada statement, "The Supreme Court ruling sends a message that no one is above the law," says Paul Meinema, the National President of UFCW Canada. "Year after year, Walmart uses dirty tricks to stop its associates from exercising their democratic right to join a union, and that's exactly what happened with the employees at the Jonquière store. By clarifying that employers must respect the law and the rights of their employees when making business decisions, this ruling serves as a major positive landmark," Meinema adds.

The court sent the case back to the arbitrator to decide a fair compensation for the 190 workers who lost their jobs.  Today we celebrate these workers’ victory.  They stood their ground and did not allow Walmart to get away with union busting.