oppressing workers

It's not just for American companies. Apparently, German retailers are compiling a track record similar to Wal*Mart. Die Zeit has a scathing expose about the kind of shit Aldi and other discounters pull on their employees.

Basically, it's your standard Wal*Mart fare: shitty wages, unpaid overtime, nasty working conditions and anti-union activism. Just like Wal*Mart there were entire stores shut down because of union rumblings. What really struck me here though, was how up-front this executive was willing to be on the record:

The discussion about dismissal protection is overdrawn. The only thing of importance is that everybody plays by the same rules. Only associations and certain middlemen gain when this debate is continually incited.

Wow! The anti-union message made it across the Atlantic! Land of milk and honey for workers? Not so much.