六宗罪：那些年沃尔玛犯过的错

    《纽约时报》（The New York Times）上周末报道称，沃尔玛公司（Walmart）涉嫌掩盖一项内部调查，该调查证明其墨西哥分公司向该国官员行贿。事件曝光之后，这家零售巨头的股价于周一大幅下挫。市场真的需要这么大惊失色吗？尽管沃尔玛的高管们多年来一直不遗余力地维系其美国精神典型代表的形象，但这家公司的不良表现却多次见诸报端。现在，让我们一起来回顾一下沃尔玛这些年来的种种丑闻。

工作条件

    Over the weekend, the New York Times reported that Walmart allegedly covered up an internal investigation proving its Mexican subsidiary bribed officials in the country. The retail giant's stock fell sharply Monday following the expose. Should the market be really that surprised? Over the years, Walmart has made headlines for behaving badly even as executives work tirelessly to maintain its all-American image. Here, take a look at Walmart's blunders.

Working conditions

    工人有权获得午餐时间和加班费。但沃尔玛一些门店的员工们并不总是能享受到这样的待遇。

    2005年，沃尔玛数千名员工称被非法剥夺了午餐用餐时间。加州一个陪审团裁定，沃尔玛需要向这些员工赔付1.72亿美元。当时，全美各地因雇主侵犯劳工权利引发的类似诉讼案至少有40起。

    这些案件的最终结果不尽相同，但那些走上法庭的员工为这家公司带来了坏消息。2002年，俄勒冈州联邦陪审团发现沃尔玛员工被迫延时工作，并裁定沃尔玛向83名员工补发工资。

    2000年一次类似的案件中，这家零售巨头就科罗拉多州沃尔玛超市前雇员和现有雇员发起的集体诉讼案达成了和解，并为此支付了5,000万美元。

打压工会

    沃尔玛一直密切留意那些试图组织起来的员工。这家零售巨头因坚决反对员工组建工会而臭名昭著。2000年，得克萨斯州杰克逊维尔市一家沃尔玛超级购物中心的牲畜屠宰员投票决定加入一个工会。随后，这个购物中心就转而销售预先包装的肉类产品。沃尔玛公司当时声称，此举在工会投票前就已经安排好了，但它还是向员工们传递了一个清晰的讯息。2005年，就在魁北克一家门店的工人即将达成工会组建协议之际，沃尔玛公司关掉了这家店。

    但沃尔玛并非反对所有的工会——它只针对美国的工会组织。正如《华盛顿邮报》（The Washington Post）去年所指出的那样，工会在英国的沃尔玛超市中普遍存在。数十年来，这家零售商已经与巴西和阿根廷两国强大的劳工团体谈成了多项合同。

    A worker's got a right to lunch. And get paid for overtime. That wasn't always the case at some Walmart stores.

    In 2005, a California jury awarded $172 million to thousands of workers who claimed they were illegally denied lunch breaks. The case was one of at least 40 similar suits filed nationwide at the time, alleging workplace violations.

    The outcomes of the cases varied, but those that stood in court brought bad news for the company. In 2002, a federal jury in Oregon found Walmart employees were forced to work off the clock and awarded back pay to 83 workers.

    And in a similar case in 2000, Walmart settled a class-action lawsuit against former and then current employees in Colorado and paid $50 million.

Quashing unions

    Walmart has gone toe-to-toe with workers that tried to organize themselves. The retail giant is infamous for staunchly opposing labor groups. In 2000, it switched to prepackaged meats after a handful of butchers at a Walmart Supercenter in Jacksonville, Texas voted to join a union. The retail giant at the time said the move was planned ahead of the union vote, but it nevertheless sent workers a clear message. And, in 2005, Walmart shut down a store in Quebec where workers were close to reaching a union contract.

    It's not as if Walmart is against all unions -- only those in the U.S. As the Washington Post pointed out last year, unions are prevalent in the United Kingdom. And for decades, the retailer has negotiated contracts with powerful labor groups in Brazil and Argentina.