Wal-Mart Part 2 --- Unions

We've talked about the formation of unions in class so that workers can use collective bargaining to get higher wages, increased benefits, and better working conditions. If the union doesn't succeed the next step is usually to strike. But how are unions seen by the bosses? Do robber barons want their workers to join unions? Do big business even care about unions in your lifetime today?

Below is a video clip from that explains what Wal-Mart does to its workers that are trying to form unions. Watch it and then read the question below.



QUESTION:
How were these Wal-Mart workers treated when they wanted to form a union. What happened to them at work? What happened at the store that was trying to be unionized? How does this connect to the events happening in the Gilded Age in the 1800s?

Source: Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price, 2005.

Wal-Mart Part 1---The Low Cost of Power

You remember this cartoon right? It portrays the monopolies and trusts and their relationship to the US senate. The general idea was that these trusts can but the senate and therefore have laws written for them which would increase their profits and get them more power.

What about big business today? Follow the link below and read a bit about how Wal-Mart spends its money.

Wal-Mart in Washington

QUESTION:
What is Wal-Mart buying with its profits? How is this similar to what was happening with Rockefeller's Standard Oil Trust or Carnegie's US Steel in the late 1800s?