An assistant store manager for Walmart tells in mid-2011 how during an eight-week training course “managers were trained to put … fear into hourly workers’ heads” and spot employees the company deemed likely to organize.

“I thought we would get a crash course in Walmart history and then get into learning the computer systems, the policies, how to schedule people,” writes the author. “I was far off track. I was now in an eight-week indoctrination into how Walmart is the unsurpassed company to work for, and how to spot any employee who was having doubts. I was supposed to be happy at all times.”

The account offers insight into how language can become suspect in an institution intent on controlling its members. An entire day of training was devoted to “word phrasing.” The use of “unlawful Walmart language” such as “committee,” “organize,” “meeting,” “volunteer” and “group” made employees eligible for warnings or write-ups.

Managers in training were given 15 to 30 minutes a day to read Walmart founder Sam Walton’s book, “Sam Walton: Made in America,” and had to watch anti-union videos.

— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.