Wal-Mart's Violation of US Workers’ Right to Freedom of Association
In this 210-page report, Human Rights Watch found that while many American companies use weak US laws to stop workers from organizing, the retail giant stands out for the sheer magnitude and aggressiveness of its anti-union apparatus. Many of its anti-union tactics are lawful in the United States, though they combine to undermine workers’ rights. Others run afoul of soft US laws. Human Rights Watch’s investigation revealed that, in most cases, Wal-Mart begins to indoctrinate workers and managers to oppose unions from the moment they are hired. Managers receive explicit instructions on keeping out unions, many of which are found in the company’s “Manager’s Toolbox,” a self-described guide to managers on “how to remain union free in the event union organizers choose your facility as their next target.”
ISBN: G1902
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- Discounting Rights
- Acknowledgments
- I. Summary
- II. Methodology
- III. Findings and Recommendations
- IV. Background
- V. Freedom of Association Under International and US Law
- VI. Freedom of Association at Wal-Mart: Anti-Union Tactics Comporting with US Law
- VII. Case Study I: Defeating Union Organizing Through Tactics Comporting with US Law
- VIII. Freedom of Association at Wal-Mart: Anti-Union Tactics Running Afoul of US Law
- IX. When Wal-Mart's Strategy to Defeat Union Organizing Fails
- X. Case Studies II: Defeating Union Organizing Through Tactics Comporting with and Running Afoul of US Law
- XI. Conclusion
- Appendix III: Letter from Wal-Mart to Human Rights Watch












