Are the Wal-Mart trade unions working?

Since China's only allowed trade union ACFTU started to organize branches at the stores of US retailer Wal-Mart the question has been emerging whether this was the beginning of some real change at the ACFTU or merely window dressing.
China Labor News Translations comes with a first evalution and although its message is optimistic ("The Emergence of Real Trade Unionism In Wal-Mart Stores"), evidence is still rather meagre.

A search of Chinese websites and web blogs reveals a mixed but encouraging story. Although many of the Wal-Mart Trade Unions are indeed under the control and manipulation of Wal-Mart management and local Communist Party organs, at least one has been negotiating with management to remediate labor rights violations and to improve the income and work conditions of its members. Our regret is that based on these web searches alone it is not possible to establish how many have really taken action to further workers’ interests.

More research and certainly time is needed to draw real conclusions. CLNT finds in the end one branche were real negotiations between the trade union and management took place. The article gives four case studies and only in the Nanchang Bayi store there are indications of some real trade union work.

The Nanchang Bayi trade union was clandestinely set up on 14 August 2006. The chair, Gao Haitao, was elected by popular vote. Since then he had fought against Wal-Mart management over one issue after another. It is significant that he had studied law on his own while supporting himself by working at Wal-Mart part-time. In 2005 he passed a nation-wide examine in law and decided to stay on in Wal-Mart as a full-timer. His legal knowledge became his main weapon to fight against Wal-Mart.

The question remains of course whether the ACFTU will be able and willing to take on this massive task and cause a real change. While there is no doubt a sincere intention at the top of the organization and with some of the grass-roots organizers. But turning around this massive dinaurus might be a huge challenge.