http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2013/01/31/walmart-wins-settlement-at-nlrb-over-pickets Comments On: Walmart wins settlement at NLRB over pickets by Max Brantley en-us Copyright 2013 Arkansas Times. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, Arkansas Times readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact Arkansas Times. robert@arktimes.com (Arkansas Times Webmaster) Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:01 -0500 Sun, 19 May 2013 11:45:00 -0500 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss By Bloomberg News
Posted: January 24, 2013

NEW DELHI — India’s Cabinet approved a retired judge to probe claims that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. broke rules as it lobbied to enter the country’s retail market.

A retired judge of the Supreme Court or former chief justice of a high court will investigate the Bentonville-based retailer, Information & Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari said in New Delhi after a meeting of the nation’s cabinet Thursday.

Wal-Mart spent as much as $25 million since 2008 on discussions regarding its foreign investments, including in the Indian retail industry, the Press Trust of India said Dec. 9, citing company disclosure filings before the U.S. Senate. Opposition lawmakers in parliament alleged part of the money was spent in India, where paid lobbying is not allowed.

India’s parliament last month endorsed a September decision to allow foreign investment in retail stores selling more than one brand, the centerpiece of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s biggest embrace of foreign investment in a decade, as he seeks to revive a slowing economy.

Overseas companies including Wal-Mart, Tesco PLC and Carrefour SA are seeking to benefit from entering the world’s second-most-populous nation, where retail sales are estimated to reach $875 billion by 2017, according to a report by Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India and Yes Bank Ltd.

The judge will investigate reports of Wal-Mart’s lobbying disclosures before the U.S. Senate and whether any of the retailer’s activities in India broke the law, according to a statement from the Ministry of Company Affairs on Thursday. The findings will be submitted to the government within three months, according to the statement.

Kevin Gardner, a spokesman for Wal-Mart, didn’t immediately respond to a phone call and e-mail seeking comment.
......
http://www.nwaonline.com/news/2013/jan/24/…
Posted by eLwood]]> Thu, 31 Jan 2013 18:59:11 -0600 Arkansas Times The NLRB did not make a decision on the merits of the charge. It was still being reviewed by the agency's Division of Advice, where cases involving difficult legal issues are sent.
The Board did not find the union had engaged in unlawful tactics. There was no settlement agreement between the union and the NLRB. Rather, the union sent a letter to the agency disavowing any recognitional object and agreeing to cease any picketing for a short period.
The Board viewed those offers by the union as being a proper resolution to the matter, and will dismiss the charge later in the year if the union complies with the terms of the letter.
It is not clear at this point what motivated the union to write the letter (I.e. whether it was pressed to do so by the NLRB) but the union still has a broad range of options available to pressure Wal Mart. As a practical matter, the Wal Mart charge was iffy from the getgo.
If a compelling case had been presented, the Board would have made a decision on it much sooner and would have sought injunctive relief from the Federal Court to enjoin the Black Friday actions.
Posted by Hombre]]> Thu, 31 Jan 2013 16:55:04 -0600 Arkansas Times Posted by louie]]> Thu, 31 Jan 2013 13:08:15 -0600 Arkansas Times
There are legal ways to picket, what did not meet that requirement in this incident?
Posted by Citizen1]]> Thu, 31 Jan 2013 12:34:52 -0600 Arkansas Times Posted by DeathbyInches]]> Thu, 31 Jan 2013 12:08:05 -0600 Arkansas Times