Walmart looks forward to the opportunity “to shed some...

Walmart looks forward to the opportunity “to shed some light on the facts of these cases in front of a judge,” Walmart spokesman Kory Lundberg said after the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a consolidated complaint last week over the rights of employees to protest working conditions. Complaints covered two national TV news broadcasts and statements Walmart made to employees at stores in California and Texas, where Walmart was said to unlawfully threaten employees with reprisal if they engaged in strikes and protests on Nov. 22, 2012. Another complaint cited Walmart stores in California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas and Washington that were said to have unlawfully threatened, disciplined, and/or terminated employees for having engaged in legally protected strikes and protests. A third complaint alleged that Walmart stores in California, Florida, Missouri and Texas unlawfully threatened, surveilled, disciplined and/or terminated employees in anticipation of or in response to employees’ other protected concerted activities. The numerous complaints date back to the Black Friday 2012 organized strikes and protests over working conditions. Walmart’s Lundberg said: “The merits of these complaints have not been heard” and there hasn’t been “a single National Labor Relations Board decision against a Walmart in the last five years.” He said that’s because “we take our obligations in these matters very seriously.” NLRB spokesman Gregory King wouldn’t comment on specific cases but said “the majority of cases do get settled.” King was unable to discuss what issues prevented a settlement in this case, citing agency policy. Walmart has until Jan. 28 to respond to the complaint, after which an administrative law judge will set a hearing schedule, NLRB said.