Wal-Mart Workers Walk Out

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"The new schedules posted made it seem like some hours were reduced, but that was inaccurate and we have corrected it." Tovar wouldn't talk about the sick-leave issue, saying that he wasn't aware the topic was raised by the workers. As for the changes in shifts, he says: "Our schedules are set so that we have adequate staff during the busiest hours of the day."

The scheduling changes, which have been rolled out in Wal-Mart stores around the country in recent weeks, are a sign that the retailer is acting on ideas outlined in an internal document that was leaked last year. In the memo, a Wal-Mart executive said it would find ways to rid its payroll of full-time and unhealthy employees who are more expensive for the company to retain.

Wal-Mart executives have recently told Wall Street analysts that the company wants to transform its workforce from 20% part-time to 40%. Recently, it was also reported that older employees in some stores who had back and leg problems were barred from using stools on which they had sat for years (see BusinessWeek.com, 8/14/06, "The Flip Side of Wal-Mart's Pay Hikes").

UNION MAYBE?

The moves come as the company is struggling to keep its profits growing at the rapid rate that they have in the past. As it squeezes its workforce expenses and trims costs in all corners, it is also expanding overseas. On Oct. 16, The Wall Street Journal reported that Wal-Mart has agreed to spend $1 billion to acquire Trust-Mart, a closely held Taiwanese company that owns one of the largest food and department store chains in China.

What's next at the Hialeah Gardens store, where store managers have had to pitch in to keep the store open? Is this the first step to forming a union at the store? That's unlikely, given the fate of previous attempts to unionize store employees. When employees in Jonquière, Que., Canada, voted last year to unionize, Wal-Mart shut the store. Vasquez says the workers haven't really talked about their plans, beyond getting the company to change its practices. "At this point, we just want to be heard," he says.

Gogoi is a reporter for BusinessWeek Online in New York.