August 4, 2003
Statement From Michael E. Leonard UFCW Executive Vice President and Director of Strategic Programs
Today, the Arkansas Supreme Court reversed and remanded the nationwide injunction Wal-Mart had obtained against the UFCW in 2001.
This is a victory for common sense and the rule of law. Wal-Mart clearly over-reached in getting a county judge in Arkansas to issue a nationwide injunction, and by seeking to have a company policy enforced as if it were a law passed by a representative, legislative body.
As the record made clear, the UFCW representatives Wal-Mart sought to enjoin actually left the stores when a manager asked them to leave, so there was no “”irreparable harm”” which is required for such an injunction. Wal-Mart goes to extremes to deny its employees information about their legal rights, and the Arkansas Supreme Court has now delivered that message to Bentonville.