Wal-Mart Getting Too Political?

That is what the Wall Street Journal is reporting. Wal-Mart seems to be crossing a legal line in an apparent attempt to tell employees how to vote.

In recent weeks, thousands of Wal-Mart store managers and department heads have been summoned to mandatory meetings at which the retailer stresses the downside for workers if stores were to be unionized.

At the meeting department supervisors and store managers were warning employees of a Democratic victory in November. Especially if Barack Obama became president.

The Wal-Mart human-resources managers who run the meetings don't specifically tell attendees how to vote in November's election, but make it clear that voting for Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama would be tantamount to inviting unions in, according to Wal-Mart employees who attended gatherings in Maryland, Missouri and other states.

Wal-Mart denies telling employees how to vote, but some of the people who attended the meetings see otherwise.

"The meeting leader said, 'I am not telling you how to vote, but if the Democrats win, this bill will pass and you won't have a vote on whether you want a union,'" said a Wal-Mart customer-service supervisor from Missouri. "I am not a stupid person. They were telling me how to vote," she said.

Wal-Mart is afraid of the Employee Free Choice Act getting passed and becoming law.

The Free Choice, or "card check," legislation would let unions form if more than 50% of workers simply sign a card saying they want to join. It is far easier for unions to get workers to sign cards because the organizers can approach workers repeatedly, over a period of weeks or months, until the union garners enough support.

And of course what Wal-Mart is doing may be illegal.

Federal election rules permit companies to advocate for specific political candidates to its executives, stockholders and salaried managers, but not to hourly employees. While store managers are on salary, department supervisors are hourly workers.

What Wal-Mart is doing is wrong. It is clear that they are encouraging their employees to vote for Republican candidates in November. They do not want their stores to unionize so easily and thus they are trying to scare employees to vote against candidates who supporting legislatoion such as the Free Choice Act.

Chalk up another reason not to like Wal-Mart.