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    BulfrightHamilton Nolan
    7/16/14 2:32pm

    "And no one should be expected to make themselves available outside their regularly scheduled work hours, unless they want to."

    I assume you mean no one who is an hourly-wage worker? Because availability outside "scheduled hours" is pretty much the norm for most salaried workers.

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      HiMyNameIsJayAgainBulfright
      7/16/14 2:35pm

      Because availability outside "scheduled hours" is pretty much the norm for most salaried workers.

      LOL FUCK NO IT ISN'T.

      I wish a motherfucker would call me after 5pm, on a weekend, or on my day off.

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      SaintClarence27Bulfright
      7/16/14 2:36pm

      I think that's what he means. But at least salaried are paid and have the knowledge of what they're signing up for.

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    George33crHamilton Nolan
    7/16/14 2:34pm

    Here's an idea, instead of whining about someone who is using their own money to give you a job, improve your skills so that you are more competitive in the current marketplace.

    Tough, yes. But guess what, life is tough. There are winners and losers. Decide which one you want to be.

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      mishellie3088George33cr
      7/16/14 2:36pm

      Fuck you.

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      Johnny ChundersGeorge33cr
      7/16/14 2:37pm

      Thx coach.

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    ArkHamilton Nolan
    7/16/14 2:46pm

    Being part-time on call is the absolute worst. It eats your entire schedule like a 50-hour-a-week full time job, but it pays like a 20-hour-a-week part time job. Employers basically expect people to sit by the phone 24 hours a day waiting to leap up and go to work when it rings.

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      KarlSuburban8Ark
      7/16/14 5:17pm

      Come to Canada.

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      ArkKarlSuburban8
      7/16/14 6:00pm

      Trust me, I'm thinking about it.

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    MiniatureamericanflagsforothersHamilton Nolan
    7/16/14 2:30pm

    If workers really don't want on call time they should just negotiate with their employer to get it.

    But never as a group.

    Only as individuals.

    Unequal bargaining power is a myth invented by liberals.

    Yep, each store clerk should go toe-to-toe with Walmart to shift that supply curve.

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      colefinnMiniatureamericanflagsforothers
      7/16/14 2:37pm
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      Angry WaspMiniatureamericanflagsforothers
      7/16/14 2:40pm
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    TakoKnightHamilton Nolan
    7/16/14 2:42pm

    Task Rabbit, a fairly popular and by all accounts thriving, service used to allow people to actually set up their schedules and plan their work, I'm sorry, independent contracting in advance. Whether it was TV-mounting, dog-walking, house painting, or deliveries.

    Now, just a few days ago, they overhauled their 6-year old working system, turned off their website entirely, and became just an app. No more scheduling. Just the Uber of "come over and unload this U-Haul now", no more planning in advance. If you don't say yes or no to some random person's request (with hardly any information to start with, oh and you can't ask questions) you get demerits.

    In conclusion, obviously there's nothing wrong with the direction of "on-call" part-time employment in this country!

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      mishellie3088TakoKnight
      7/16/14 2:49pm

      Wow. I would have loved the original!

      But no way Im going over to some creepers house who I can't ask question just because they asked me to.

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      Sam BiddleTakoKnight
      7/16/14 3:11pm

      I'd love to hear more. Could we talk?

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    gazorpazorpHamilton Nolan
    7/16/14 2:58pm

    I used to work retail, in an area where there were lots of other retail stores. This practice of part-time, always available is par for the course. Not only do you have to promise to be available (availability is what will get you hired), you get the pleasure of working juuuust 30 minutes shy of what would legally be a full time employee. And at my store, management got pissed if you had a second job because then you weren't available! They assume that you are either working at the store, or at home doing nothing. All while earning minimum wage.

    Don't even get me started about regular work hours. Regular hours my ass. Schedules change all the damn time, and no one is ever guaranteed a steady schedule. And how could you? Retail stores are never adequately staffed. Unless it is black friday or christmas, your stores are run by a bare minimum skeleton crew who cannot physically stock shelves, help customers, and ring out at the register. So there is just no wiggle room for store coverage and schedules change week to week depending on the forecast and overall budget and profits (gotta hustle for the managers bonus).

    Walmart is just the easiest example to point to. But by and large, almost all brick and mortar chain retail stores do this same shit.

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      ARP2gazorpazorp
      7/16/14 3:22pm

      Exactly, so bootstrappers, how can we pick ourselves up by our bootstraps if we can't work that second and third job?

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      sunshineonthebay1ARP2
      7/16/14 3:34pm

      GOP answer: Just work HARDER at working HARDER. Drrr.

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    ratchedHamilton Nolan
    7/16/14 4:52pm

    My daughter is a sushi chef/waitress. Her employer will call her 15 minutes before she needs her, with absolutely NO warning. She will also show up for work and find out that the owner called someone else in and they would send her home. Unfortunately, she has to take being treated like that until she saves enough for a vehicle to get to other employment.

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      Peterratched
      7/16/14 9:49pm

      that's so unfair 😒😒😒

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      Pokemongo just pawn in game of liferatched
      7/16/14 11:14pm

      If she's in CA, I do believe that the employer has to pay her (4 hrs, minimum, I think). Years ago, I had a tech job that required me to carry an on-call pager about once/month. If I had to come in before or after my normal shift, I got paid 4 hours.

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    PootMcFruitcakesHamilton Nolan
    7/16/14 2:29pm

    Is this the same bag of fish as "zero hour contracts", that are currently convulsing and disgusting the UK?

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      PoundsSterlingPootMcFruitcakes
      7/16/14 2:39pm

      It is indeed the very same kettle-o-horsedick.

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      Lucy CooperPootMcFruitcakes
      7/16/14 2:39pm

      Yup.

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    nopenopenopenopenopenopeHamilton Nolan
    7/16/14 2:39pm

    I had on-call shifts in 2004 working at American Eagle. These are not new things. On-Call also meant "We'll tell you to come in, but we might tell you to leave after an hour, too."

    On-call is the worst. No way to make plans. Fuck on-call.

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      TheRoyalShenopenopenopenopenopenope
      7/16/14 3:31pm

      Me too, in 2005. Granted, I was a second-semester senior in high school at the time and didn't have real-life things (another job, a kid, even school work at that point) that would interfere with going into work (or not), but it definitely was a huge pain in the ass. The worst time was when I was calling the store repeatedly for an hour and kept getting the busy signal. (They didn't have call waiting. Go figure.) It came down to 20 minutes before my shift, so I did the 'responsible' thing and went to work anyway, just to be told when I got there that I wasn't needed. To this day, I have no idea why the phone was busy, but all I know is that I got major attitude from my manager about it. So when I eventually quit, I called an hour before my shift was supposed to start. Oops.

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      nopenopenopenopenopenopeTheRoyalShe
      7/16/14 4:13pm

      So when I eventually quit, I called an hour before my shift was supposed to start. Oops.

      Hell yeah, me too!

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    4thGenHamilton Nolan
    7/16/14 3:29pm

    "Time is money, employers. Pay the bill, or stop asking for your employees' time."

    If you have to available 24/7, you are *working* 24/7. These companies want control over 100% of the employees' time, but only want to pay for it when it's most beneficial to the employer. Just another way to extract more labor for less reward, like cutting pensions and benefits. H.R. used to be an advocate for the employee; now much of the focus is in figuring out how to whittle away compensation and remind workers they have no power whatsoever.

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