Walmart (NYSE: WMT) workers are once again pushing for better pay and treatment – but not through a union.  Instead thousands of the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer’s workers have joined a non-union group called OUR Walmart or Organization United for Respect at Walmart.

It’s a courageous move by employees, considering that Walmart has succeeded in beating back any attempt to organize its workforce. One Walmart store in Canada is no more because the world’s largest retailer shut down the location after employees there voted to unionize.

With the economy still struggling and wages stagnant, Walmart workers may find sympathy with consumers but not with corporate leaders. And considering Walmart’s sluggish sales last year, WMT may not be will to spend its resources on workers when there are other problems for the retail stock.

Many business analysts will say that Walmart sales suffered because consumers are looking for better bargains at super discount stores such as Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR), Family Dollar (NYSE: FDO) and Dollar General (NYSE: DG).  But a few of Walmart’s socially conscious customers may have decided to go elsewhere because they believe the headlines about Walmart mistreating its workers in ways such as locking some in the stores overnight to unpack shipments or bullying them into working when they need to pick up their children.

So why should consumers and investors care if Walmart workers want better wages and more respect? Well, if employees aren’t getting those things and their performance shows it, that could be a big reason shoppers said Walmart’s customer service stinks in a recent Consumer Reports investigation. After all, you reap what you sow — and in this case Walmart didn’t just reap low customer service marks, it lost sales when customers walked out of its stores.

The latest organized effort may be no more of a threat to Walmart than past attempts. But the retailer may not be able to get away with intimidating or retaliating against employees as it has in the past. Just ask The Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA), whose decision to move 787 Dreamliner work to a South Carolina plant after workers in Washington went out on strike against the company’s warnings was dubbed retaliation by the National Labor Relations Board.

As of this writing, Cynthia Wilson did not own a position in any of the stocks named here.