'Twas the night before Christmas when Wal-Mart told the world it decided to settle 63 lawsuits to the tune of $640 million; most of those lawsuits alleged that Wal-Mart "underpaid its employees."

So what prompted the usually greedy Grinch to give more than half a billion dollars to its employees? It must've been a passing wind of Christmas Cheer, right?  No.

The Wall Street Journal says one reason Wal-Mart paid out $640 million is because the world's largest retailer wants to improve its image ahead of its fight against the Employee Free Choice Act.  Wal-Mart appears to be afraid of that legislation because it would give employees the free choice to join unions and negotiate for better wages, benefits, and retirement security - something Wal-Mart employees certainly don't have now.

Here's what the Wall Street Journal said about the settlements:

But there may be something else going on. Remember the Employee Free Choice Act? [...]

Paul M. Secunda, an associate professor at Marquette University Law School, suggested Wal-Mart wanted to settle the lawsuits not just to avoid potentially more costly defeats in the courtroom, but to resolve issues that might be used to argue for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. The legislation, expected to be considered by Congress next year, is fiercely opposed by Wal-Mart because the company worries it will make it easier for workers to unionize.

Wal-Mart is familiar with fighting the Employee Free Choice Act.  FEC complaints were filed against the company in August alleging that Wal-Mart told its employees to vote against Democrats such as now President-elect Barack Obama because of their support of the Employee Free Choice Act.  And current Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott told reporters this fall why he's against the Employee Free Choice Act.  From the WSJ:

Card check is about power. Management has it, workers don't, and business doesn't want that to change. Consider the remarks made by Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott at an analyst meeting on Oct. 28, when he was asked about the possible coming of [the Employee Free Choice Act]: "We like driving the car and we're not going to give the steering wheel to anybody but us."

But we will no longer get to enjoy the presence of Mr. Scott after February, as he is stepping down from leading the company in a surprise move announced just a month ago.  Long-time Wal-Mart operative Mike Duke will take over, giving Wal-Mart a fresh face to lead the company in 2009.  (And don't forget the company's brand new logo - goodbye smiley face, hello sunshine!)

Wal-Mart is evidently trying to spin itself a new image before it faces President-elect Obama and our new Congress to fight this important piece of our economic recovery program.

The Employee Free Choice Act can help raise wages and extend health insurance and retirement security to millions of people.  The New York Times, in an editorial this morning supporting the Employee Free Choice Act, said the Employee Free Choice Act is "vital legislation":

The measure is vital legislation and should not be postponed. Even modest increases in the share of the unionized labor force push wages upward, because nonunion workplaces must keep up with unionized ones that collectively bargain for increases. By giving employees a bigger say in compensation issues, unions also help to establish corporate norms, the absence of which has contributed to unjustifiable disparities between executive pay and rank-and-file pay. [...]

There is a strong argument that the slack labor market of a recession actually makes unions all the more important. Without a united front, workers will have even less bargaining power in the recession than they had during the growth years of this decade, when they largely failed to get raises even as productivity and profits soared. If pay continues to lag, it will only prolong the downturn by inhibiting spending.

So now we have the world's largest employer fighting a "vital" piece of an economic recovery program, just to keep its employees making $10.32/hr - while its current CEO makes in excess of $16,000/hr. 

Even with CEO Lee Scott, $640 million in settlements, and the infamous Smiley logo going out the door with 2008, there's not enough lipstick sold at every Wal-Mart in the world to make this pig pretty.

Please join our campaign for the Employee Free Choice Act to help millions of working people in these tough economic times.

Above photo from Creative Commons Flickr user Lone Primate.