Former Wal-Mart executive Thomas Coughlin has combated accusations that he misused company money by claiming that the company had a secret scheme, approved by senior Wal-Mart executives, to pay union members for information about which stores they planned to organize. Mr. Coughlin has claimed that company money he spent was aimed at this special union project. However, there is no evidence that such a project ever existed.
See "Was Wal-Mart's Anti-Union Image Used as a Shield?", Michael Barbaro, The New York Times, January 8, 2006