Wal-Mart abruptly closed a tire shop in Gatineau, Canada Thursday. Incidentally, the shop was the first in North America to be unionized. Wal-Mart claims costs associated with the tire shop contract were negatively impacting the main store, (which was not closed) citing a 30% increase in operating costs. The three-year union agreement, which was implemented by the Quebec Labor Relations Board after failed negotiations, was "unworkable" according to Wal-Mart officials. It is not the first shop closed by Wal-Mart in response to union activity: a store in Jonquiere was closed during arbitration in 2005.
See "Wal-Mart closes unionized Gatineau shop", Bert Hill, The Ottawa Citizen, October 16, 2008