Friday, August 15, 2008

Likely a Pyrrhic victory

A Quebec court has imposed a collective bargaining pact on a Walmart in Gatineau, Quebec: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2008/08/15/ot-walmart-080815.html. I'm not a big fan of Walmart--I think that the stuff it sells is largely crap, and that it puts too many local, smaller businesses OUT of business. That said, it clearly serves a purpose--selling goods at affordable prices. So, the practical effect of imposing a collective bargaining agreement on it will serve one of two purposes. The first would be that it will drive up those prices. The second is the more likely outcome--Walmart may elect to pull out of Quebec. If it does so, those workers crowing about their "victory" will instead end up unemployed. Assuming that that does happen, what has the union accomplished?

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