What Were They Thinking?

The Union/Wal-Mart saga in Quebec continues to grab attention. The "economic terrorist" appellation was not enough. "A Quebec television broadcaster compared Wal-Mart to Nazism, but later apologized," reports the NYT (registration required but no subscription). And not surprisingly, "Bernard Landry, the leader of the separatist Parti Qu�b�cois and a former premier of the province, has announced that he is boycotting the chain." He should try boycotting his own leadership! Oh, wait a minute. He is already doing that too.

Discord and conflict are not just surfacing among the attention-grabbing usual suspects. A combat mode seems the more palpable in the Jonquiere store and in the community itself. There are reports of various intimidation tactics on both sides, the union peddlers and those who are trying to hang on to their jobs.

"This store is basically hell right now," said Noella Langlois, 53, a saleswoman in the Jonqui�re store who opposes unionization. "You have two deeply divided clans."

Close to 20% of all the Wal-Marts in Canada are located in Quebec, a substantial investment and an attractive profitable prospect for the chain. But they took a significant risk in opening all those stores in Quebec. I am not sure that I want to be sympathetic now when I hear them complain about the unions changing their business model. After all, they must have known that

the battleground in Quebec, where Wal-Mart has 47 stores, is not particularly favorable to the chain because provincial labor law is tilted in favor of unions. Forty percent of the province's work force is unionized, a rate 25 percent higher than the rest of Canada and more than three times the rate in the United States.

Duh! What were they thinking?

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