The advocacy group Human Rights Watch has unleashed a fierce broadside against Wal-Mart's union-busting tactics and the lax U.S. labor laws that allow this climate of fear to flourish. "Discounting Rights: Wal-Mart's Violation of U.S. Workers' Right to Freedom of Association," was released on May 1 by Human Rights Watch, one of many groups calling on Congress and the administration to help remedy anti-worker abuses by enacting the Employee Free Choice Act. The 210-page report helps connect the dots between look-the-other-way labor laws in the United States and Wal-Mart's outrageous attacks—”whether lawful or illegal—”on employee rights.

"Wal-Mart workers have virtually no chance to organize because they're up against unfair U.S. labor laws and a giant company that will do just about anything to keep unions out," stated Carol Pier, senior researcher on labor rights and trade for Human Rights Watch.

The full report is available online. Also featured on the site is a Wal-Mart training video in which a new employee is counseled by store higher-ups to reject any notion of unionizing the store. [Human Rights Watch, Mike Rose]

May 1, 2007