Kinja reply list

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Mork Encino's Thick PeltHamilton Nolan
3/19/14 2:14pm
Shop at Costco. Better prices. Many of their workers are unionized and the store would let workers in other locations unionize if they chose to unionize and even the workers without a union affiliation collectively bargain for worker's rights and benefits.

I have nothing to do with Costco, except as a shopper.

They also have really tasty rotisserie chicken at a price so good you can't match it even if you cook it yourself.
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  pieholeshutMork Encino's Thick Pelt
  3/19/14 2:33pm
  The one near me also has the best steaks outside of an actual butcher. And awesome salmon.
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  Mork Encino's Thick Peltpieholeshut
  3/19/14 2:49pm
  I like their steaks and salmon, too. Decent liquor and beer selection and prices, too. I fill my gas tank at Costco. Only problem with Costco are some long lines on the weekend. And did you know that Costco is one of the nation's largest pizza chains, just based on their in-store food courts?
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everydayiscaturdayHamilton Nolan
3/19/14 2:25pm
Is Target a better employer than Wal-Mart? I tend to think so because the employees at Target generally seem happier than those at Wal-Mart.

However, the employees at Target are noticeably younger than those at Wal-Mart (and in my town, whiter, but not sure if that's coincidence or systemic). Maybe their youthfulness belies the happiness?
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  Hamilton Nolaneverydayiscaturday
  3/19/14 2:28pm
  "Is Target a better employer than Wal-Mart?" Not particularly, as far as I can tell from the many dozens of testimonials we've received from employees of both places.
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  Arctic16everydayiscaturday
  3/19/14 2:32pm
  I responded to someone else and said: "Target offers health insurance to all its employees, does not differentiate between "part time" and "full time" employees, gives everyone sick/vacation time that accrues (albeit slowly), and pays its workers a dollar more an hour to start than Walmart." I worked there for a year after college in 2011. It wasn't THAT bad (definitely not good, though) but then again, I have come to realize that I worked at an exceptionally well-run store.
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LooseSEALHamilton Nolan
3/19/14 2:20pm
WHERE AM I SUPPOSED TO SHOP?!?!?!?! No seriously, WHERE???? I hate Walmart and won't step foot into it. I usually go to target for all my sundries. Where can I get those if I can't shop at Target???? CVS is ok but its expensive and the selection is terrible. I can't shop at Walmart. sigh I wish a Costco would open near me.
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  emmabrocker2LooseSEAL
  3/19/14 2:34pm
  People are going to say "locally owned businesses!" but (at least where I live), I cannot think of a single locally owned business that sells basic household necessities. Maybe that advice could have been good to follow a decade or two ago?
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  toothpetardemmabrocker2
  3/19/14 2:38pm
  But just look at the prices on these swifflers!
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Quantum SuicideHamilton Nolan
3/19/14 2:30pm
From a friend/former Target HR manager whom I'd met during business school: Reps at Target are also required to break up other Target workers who might be commiserating on the floor (and talking about unionizing).

The Senior Reps had a code word for Target sales reps who were pro-union (and bound to try to unionize): "Spicy." As in, "Uh oh, two Spicies are on the floor together in the Home Care aisle. Someone needs to go break them up." She'd said it was a "fun game" for the people who had to monitor this.
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  emmabrocker2Quantum Suicide
  3/19/14 2:50pm
  I mean, that's fucked up, but as someone who works in education, I admit that I try to bust up negative people who tend to get into gripe sessions in the faculty lounge. ("These kids just can't learn, and let me tell you why…" "Oh, him? He's just a lazy fuck-up, and let me tell you about his family…") It creates a poisonous and pernicious vibe that affects everyone else. I've seen other teachers who have been in the building a while quickly ask to borrow one of them just to stop them from feeding off each other's negativity. I could imagine that being duplicated at other workplaces.
  
  So, there could be that going on, too.
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  Quantum Suicideemmabrocker2
  3/19/14 2:52pm
  They weren't told to break up negative people. They were told to break up people who could potentially unionize. The moniker "Spicy" was only applied to people who were pro-union.
  
  Breaking up negative people in a class isn't illegal.
  
  Breaking up people who are trying to unionize is.
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hoopgopHamilton Nolan
3/19/14 5:11pm
I would like to see Gawker report on one of the most overlooked anti-union crusaders, Trader Joe's. As an employee, I witness one of the most effective anti-union propaganda machines in the US at work. Trader Joe's takes great pains to create an atmosphere that suggests to entry-level employees that assistant and store managers are virtually the same as bottom-level employees, even though the gap in payment is staggering, with entry level salaries at about $14,000, assistant managers at $50,000-70,000, and store managers making well above $100k. Many self-righteous articles tout the benefits Trader Joe's employees receive. In actuality, these sources are outdated and play into TJ's hand in creating a myth about positive labor relations. Shabby health coverage has been cut for all but full-time employees, raises have consistently been cut, hours are consistently reduced while workload increases exponentially, and there is absolutely no semblance of profit-sharing. The number of people I've seen break down crying in the back room at Trader Joe's far exceeds the number I've seen at any former workplace. The most painful thing about it is that there is virtually no talk of unionization. This is because Trader Joe's does not utilize anti-union memos or videos, but instead expertly fosters a disingenuous image of a friendly and helpless management. The reason so many business journals laud TJ's business model is not its "commitment to its employees", but its cutting-edge anti-union model for a new century.
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  Hamilton Nolanhoopgop
  3/19/14 6:04pm
  If you have some inside knowledge on this, email me. Hamilton@gawker.com
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  ZaleyaKanehoopgop
  3/20/14 12:41am
  Blarg. This sucks. Is there any place to food shop that does not treat people like shit?
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KatieKaBoom22Hamilton Nolan
3/19/14 2:30pm
You should get a hold of Big Lots anti-union sketch. It's a doozy!
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  Quantum SuicideKatieKaBoom22
  3/19/14 2:43pm
  Do you have it? Can you post it? That's gotta be insane.
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  KatieKaBoom22Quantum Suicide
  3/19/14 3:52pm
  I wish. I saw it when I worked there briefly. It was cringe-inducing. A lot like Targets; shady characters trying to "trick" employees into signing cards, and doing so would nullify the ever-important Open Door Policy. It was downright insulting to my intelligence and it pissed me off quite a bit.
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rudi_freudeHamilton Nolan
3/19/14 2:26pm
I kinda lost interest in the prattle after I got over gawking at "Ricardo's" incisors and "Dawn's" Kathy Griffin-post-facelift mug.
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  hilikusopusrudi_freude
  3/19/14 3:10pm
  I couldn't put my finger on it, but there you have it. Thanks.
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e30s2kHamilton Nolan
3/19/14 2:30pm
Ricardo?!

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First time callerHamilton Nolan
3/19/14 2:30pm
At a previous job I was asked to join IBEW. Like the minute I signed the job paperwork a union rep came over to my desk with all the paperwork and reasons to join. I mean like within minutes of me sitting down. When she left a co worker came over and told me that even if I don't join the union, I still get union representation for a problem and any bargaining they do I benefitted from. The only reason to join would have been to take a chunk of my paycheck.

Of course said union was run by imbeciles. When the yearly pay negotiations came up they argued about getting something stupid. Like an extra pair of gloves or something. Something not needed, but they had to go back to their base and report they got something out of management. So it went back and forth, the whole time the raise didn't kick in because they didn't agree on all terms. FINALLLY they agreed and signed the paperwork, but at that time the person on managements end went on vacation. So our raise still not kick in until after he got back and signed it. Of course the union did not fight for back pay or anything.

Also this same union had some guys repeatedly call looking for some light fixtures on a job site. We advised when and where they were delivered. They kept coming back they don't have them. We actually had to fly someone out to the job sight, he found the lights exactly where the shipper said they were on the job site. When he showed the electricians where they were they responded that per their union they were not allowed to move or handle shipments, that it was another union's responsibility to unpack and give them those lights. This wasted about a months time on the job.
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  Lorna Hansen ForbesFirst time caller
  3/19/14 2:34pm
  I'm amazed that anyone as stupid as you can hold down a job in the first place.
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  MiniatureamericanflagsforothersFirst time caller
  3/19/14 2:44pm
  "When she left a co worker came over and told me that even if I don't join the union, I still get union representation for a problem and any bargaining they do I benefitted from. The only reason to join would have been to take a chunk of my paycheck."
  
  Well that and the ability to say "I'm not a freeloader" and not be lying.
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toothpetardHamilton Nolan
3/19/14 2:13pm
I look forward to moving into a fast, fun and friendly neighborhood soon.
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