Catherwood LibraryILR School

In a rare international collaborative effort, OUR Walmart and the Wal-Mart Chinese Workers Association (WCWA) have united to fight for better wages and working conditions for Chinese Wal-Mart workers as they have tirelessly and unsuccessfully campaigned against their employer’s wage cuts and unreasonable schedule changes. While Wal-Mart employees in both countries face roadblocks to achieving their ends, with OUR Wal-Mart not having collective bargaining rights and the WCWA having waged a recent fruitless strike, they have, with the help of a translator, held video conferences in which both parties exchange strategies, ideas, and tactics to better their working conditions and employment relationships. Few international union collaborations like this have taken place, this being one of the first times a Chinese union and an American union have worked together to fight unfair labor conditions, illustrating a broadening solidarity between workers and a possible threat to Wal-Mart.