Wal-Store Inc.

Wal-Mart workers in Windsor, Ontario, have ratified a labor contract at the giant U.S.-based retailer’s first-ever unionized store.

United Steelworkers of America spokesman Tom Collins said almost 66 percent of the store’s 220 unionized workers approved a two-year pact, averting a strike set for Jan. 2.

Windsor is across the Canada/United States border from Detroit. The store was the first to unionize among Wal-Mart’s roughly 3,000 stores worldwide.

The contract ratification came after 60 percent of the unionized employees in Windsor rejected a similar deal in early November.

The Steelworkers won the right to represent the Windsor workers after the Ontario Labor Relations Board overturned a vote by workers against union certification. The board ruled that the employees were intimidated by Wal-Mart management before the vote in May.

The Ontario Court of Appeal later rejected Wal-Mart’s application for a judicial review of the Labor Board’s decision.

Workers will receive hourly wage increases of between 75 cents and $1.25 Canadian — that’s 52 1/2 cents to $1.25 in U.S. currency — during the length of the agreement, which expires on July 31, 1999. The deal also includes improved benefits and a seniority structure for part-time workers.

n Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has purchased the full minority interest in its Brazilian joint venture from Lojas Americanas. In a separate transaction, Carlos Alberto Sicupira has personally acquired a lesser minority ownership in Wal-Mart Brazil at the same price per share that Lojas Americanas sold its minority interest to Wal-Mart Brazil.

Wal-Mart said the additional investment in its Brazilian operations is a part of its ongoing expansion program in Brazil and demonstrates its confidence in the future performance of its retail stores in Brazil.

Bob L. Martin, president and chief executive officer of Wal-Mart International, said Lojas Americanas has provided excellent assistance during Wal-Mart’s entry into the new market.

The announcement followed record year-to-date performance for the Wal-Mart International Division. During the third-quarter earnings report, Wal-Mart International reported year-to-date profit of $85 million, compared to a loss of $41 million during the same period last year.

n Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has completed its previously announced acquisition of the Wertkauf hypermarket chain from the Mann family of Germany for an undisclosed amount.

With annual sales of about $1.4 billion, Wertkauf operates 21 hypermarkets — one-stop shopping centers that offer an assortment of general merchandise and food and are similar in format to the Wal-Mart Supercenters in the United States.

n Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has named Emery Worldwide as its primary air freight carrier for all domestic heavyweight shipments weighing 50 pounds or more. The company has also designated Emery as its secondary carrier for international heavyweight shipments.

Under the terms of the one-year contract, Emery will move products ranging from clothing, sheets, household items and health-care products from Wal-Mart’s more than a thousand vendors to 16 distribution centers throughout the United States.