Organized labor was dealt a setback in its attacks on Walmart on Thursday when the National Labor Relations Board sided with the retailer in a dispute involving the United Food and Commercial Workers.

Dow Jones this morning reported that South African retailer and Walmart takeover target Massmart Holdings has given assurances it will continue to honor all agreements with labor unions and local labor laws if the buyout goes through. That’s what Walmart and Massmart have been saying since the deal was announced last year but they have to keep saying it because union activists are everywhere in the world. In this case, a shareholders meeting is planned for next week to vote on the deal and the union known as South Africa Commerical, Catering and Allied Workers Union had previously indicated it would protest at the meeting. Protest what?