Wal-Mart faces blast from human rights group

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has used a myriad of tactics, including some that are illegal, to hinder the ability of its workers to form labor unions, a human rights group said in a report to be released Tuesday.
According to Human Rights Watch, the world's largest retailer has restricted the dissemination and discussion of pro-union views, threatened to withhold benefits from workers who organize, interrogated workers about their union sympathies and sent managers to eavesdrop on employee conversations.
Wal-Mart employs more than 1.3 million workers nationwide, none of which is in a union. "Wal-Mart workers have virtually no chance to organize because they're up against unfair U.S. labor laws and a giant company that will do just about anything to keep unions out," said Carol Pier, who researched the report for Human Rights Watch, which probes human rights abuses around the world.