Broad Unionization Would Hammer the Stocks

What happens if the pro-union plans of President Obama go through Congress? What happens if secret ballots and quick elections occur?

I think that Wal-Mart (WMT - commentary - Cramer's Take) would get unionized, eliminating its competitive advantage. More important, I think that we could see major unionization efforts at large banks, chiefly by underpaid tellers at Citigroup (C - commentary - Cramer's Take) and Bank of America (BAC - commentary - Cramer's Take), something that could be a big setback to attempts to rein in costs. We all know that if banks are going to keep costs down, the last thing they need is to be unionized. I worry that this drive could really hinder the next leg up of the banks, if there is to be one.

I am surprised that no one is talking about this as a risk factor to stocks. I think, regardless of how you feel about unions, a teller drive and a Wal-Mart union drive are NOT in the numbers.

I put it out there to keep on your radar screen because the return of union problems away from the auto companies is something that's been so long ignored that it will probably really take people by surprise...

At the time of publication, Cramer was long Wal-Mart.

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Know what you own: Cramer mentions Wal-Mart. Other companies in the retail industry include Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF - commentary - Cramer's Take), Aeropostale (ARO - commentary - Cramer's Take), J.Crew (JCG - commentary - Cramer's Take) and Gap (GPS - commentary - Cramer's Take).

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