FSTDT Forums
Community => Politics and Government => Topic started by: Fpqxz on November 16, 2012, 04:54:40 pm
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From Reuters (http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/16/us-walmart-union-idUSBRE8AF1DB20121116):
Wal-Mart Stores Inc is taking its first legal step to stop months of protests and rallies outside Walmart stores, targeting the union that it says is behind such actions.
Wal-Mart filed an unfair labor practice charge against the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, or UFCW, asking the National Labor Relations Board to halt what the retailer says are unlawful attempts to disrupt its business.
The move comes just a week before what is expected to be the largest organized action against the world's largest retailer, as a small group of Walmart workers prepare to strike on Black Friday, typically the busiest shopping day of the year.
Wal-Mart's corporate office insists that the UFCW is trying to disrupt their business during the Holiday retail season, while the UFCW's people insist that Wal-Mart is simply trying to put up roadblocks to worker organization.
You can view the NLRB filing here (http://static.reuters.com/resources/media/editorial/20121116/Wal-Mart-UFCW-NLRB-charge-document.pdf). Wal-Mart is represented in this matter by the law firm of Steptoe & Johnson LLP (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steptoe_%26_Johnson), and you can view their letter to the UFCW's assistant general counsel here (http://static.reuters.com/resources/media/editorial/20121116/Wal-Mart-letter-to-UFCW.pdf).
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So I'm guessing that Wal Mart is hoping 'freedom of assembly, bitch' no longer applies in America.
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So I'm guessing that Wal Mart is hoping 'freedom of assembly, bitch' no longer applies in America.
Well, Wal-Mart stores are private property..
I think they are hoping that any press is good press still applies.
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It doesn't seem to be a matter of press, but a matter of "These people are doing illegal protests on private property, which especially on Black Friday could endanger workers and customers".
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The whole Black Friday thing is retarded, anyway. If the protest stems the stampede of idiot customers, it could probably save a few workers' lives. Then again, Walmart doesn't care if poor 17 year-old Steve Jones gets stomped to death so Little Biffy won't have to go without his new iPhone.
Also, as anyone who's worked at Walmart can tell you, just from the training videos, the anti-union vibe with them is so strong, you could power a Saturn V rocket for a year. Heaven forbid workers expect to be treated like human beings, instead of a bunch of trained baboons.
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The whole Black Friday thing is retarded, anyway. If the protest stems the stampede of idiot customers, it could probably save a few workers' lives. Then again, Walmart doesn't care if poor 17 year-old Steve Jones gets stomped to death so Little Biffy won't have to go without his new iPhone.
Also, as anyone who's worked at Walmart can tell you, just from the training videos, the anti-union vibe with them is so strong, you could power a Saturn V rocket for a year. Heaven forbid workers expect to be treated like human beings, instead of a bunch of trained baboons.
I heard they have kind of a weird cultish vibe, emphasizing the idea that people who work at Walmart are a family, and that if you suspect anyone of unionizing or trying to unionize, to alert superiors.
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The whole Black Friday thing is retarded, anyway. If the protest stems the stampede of idiot customers, it could probably save a few workers' lives. Then again, Walmart doesn't care if poor 17 year-old Steve Jones gets stomped to death so Little Biffy won't have to go without his new iPhone.
Also, as anyone who's worked at Walmart can tell you, just from the training videos, the anti-union vibe with them is so strong, you could power a Saturn V rocket for a year. Heaven forbid workers expect to be treated like human beings, instead of a bunch of trained baboons.
I heard they have kind of a weird cultish vibe, emphasizing the idea that people who work at Walmart are a family, and that if you suspect anyone of unionizing or trying to unionize, to alert superiors.
I worked at Sam's Club. While it tends to treat you a tad better than Wal-mart, it's still the same people. And the anti-union vibe is really strong though. To the point I was laughing a bit at the videos. Like... it's bad for the worker stuff. It's bad for the worker because the Home office goes insane. In fact, the home office is insanely centralized. All of the Security Cameras is hooked into the home office as well, the thermastat for our store was controlled by the home office. It just struck me as really, really insanely micro-management to the point of insanity.
But I swear there must have been some insane brain washing there. They were pressing me for more and more work, but I kept saying it wasn't so bad. But I hadn't felt so shitty at any point as when I was working there because they just work you so hard for no real reward, use harsh penalties to encourage activities (To the point I gave up keeping my job), and the methods for keeping your job is apparently totally arbitrary. I got fired for being too slow, despite the other supervisors saying I was better than some, worse than some. I was no where near in danger of being the most slow on the line, so basically. I got fired for some unknown bullshit bullshit.
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The whole Black Friday thing is retarded, anyway. If the protest stems the stampede of idiot customers, it could probably save a few workers' lives. Then again, Walmart doesn't care if poor 17 year-old Steve Jones gets stomped to death so Little Biffy won't have to go without his new iPhone.
Also, as anyone who's worked at Walmart can tell you, just from the training videos, the anti-union vibe with them is so strong, you could power a Saturn V rocket for a year. Heaven forbid workers expect to be treated like human beings, instead of a bunch of trained baboons.
I heard they have kind of a weird cultish vibe, emphasizing the idea that people who work at Walmart are a family, and that if you suspect anyone of unionizing or trying to unionize, to alert superiors.
(snaps and points at Iosa) Binnnnnnnngo. Yes, that's exactly the word: cult. And, yes, they do emphasize that whole "Walmart family" thing a LOT in their training shit. I know I really felt the family love when they fired me in clear violation of their own company policy.
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Wally World's one of those places that I absolutely refuse to shop. This is pretty much why.
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I stop shopping their because the quality of their merchandise is crap.
But these days it's like that every where.
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I stop shopping their because the quality of their merchandise is crap.
But these days it's like that every where.
I love apathy.
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I shop there because it's the most time/money efficient place for us to shop :-/
That and boycotts always hurt the actual workers before they hurt the big CEOs.
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I don't shop there because there are better stores closer to us. As it turns out, there IS a Wal-Mart in our area, but it's down on Main Street. There are two Safeways, a Fred Meyer, three QFCs, and two Whole Foods, all closer to us than Wal-Mart. Hell, the Asian grocery is as close as Wal-Mart! And I'm fairly certain Wal-Mart sells neither seaweed, beef chow fun, nor sake.
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Sounds like they just don't want workers to protect themselves from being trampled to death. Personally if I worked there on BF, I 'd want to work in the posrting goods dept. Not only are you in the back of the store, but you have access to metal baseball bats and firearms (This is one of the few times I'd want a gun.
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The whole Black Friday thing is retarded, anyway. If the protest stems the stampede of idiot customers, it could probably save a few workers' lives. Then again, Walmart doesn't care if poor 17 year-old Steve Jones gets stomped to death so Little Biffy won't have to go without his new iPhone.
Also, as anyone who's worked at Walmart can tell you, just from the training videos, the anti-union vibe with them is so strong, you could power a Saturn V rocket for a year. Heaven forbid workers expect to be treated like human beings, instead of a bunch of trained baboons.
I heard they have kind of a weird cultish vibe, emphasizing the idea that people who work at Walmart are a family, and that if you suspect anyone of unionizing or trying to unionize, to alert superiors.
(snaps and points at Iosa) Binnnnnnnngo. Yes, that's exactly the word: cult. And, yes, they do emphasize that whole "Walmart family" thing a LOT in their training shit. I know I really felt the family love when they fired me in clear violation of their own company policy.
I don't know how long ago you guys worked there, but when I got hired there a little over four years ago I don't remember sitting through the now legendary training video that said that Wal-Mart was Big Brother when it came to unions, instead I got videos that tried to convince their new employees that Wal-Mart wasn't "anti-union," they were "pro-associate," which is completely laughable, especially when they do shit like have me, the worst paid sales person work half the fucking store because they were too fucking cheap to hire the people they needed, then tell me that its fair because I don't spend 50% of my shift in another department and ultimately use the excuse of "you didn't greet a customer when they came to your register" (keep in mind that I wasn't a fucking cashier and was actually paid less than actual cashiers) to fire me.
And don't get me started on the bullshit "Wal-Mart cheer."
Sounds like they just don't want workers to protect themselves from being trampled to death. Personally if I worked there on BF, I 'd want to work in the posrting goods dept. Not only are you in the back of the store, but you have access to metal baseball bats and firearms (This is one of the few times I'd want a gun.
Well, the firearms, assuming the store has them (they aren't at newer stores and have been phased out of most of the older stores), aren't going to do you much good as only managers have the keys to unlock their case and they'd probably rather you get trampled to death than have to defend you in court for shooting someone in self-defense.
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And don't get me started on the bullshit "Wal-Mart cheer."
Gimme a squiggly!
I saw that video you're talking about. Wal-mart feels it can give the best benefits possible without a union. Hahahorseshit.
Our store is a horribly mismanaged piece of shit. We're running at less than half staff capacity, they never hire anyone full-time anymore so they don't have to pay out benefits, and they have us covering multiple areas at a time an expecting us to keep up with both while members of management give out conflicting orders. They don't give us more than 35 hours a week except on holidays, like this week, when they expect us to work 50 or more. Hell, our current manager was caught boinking the previous manager and is the reason he left. They both got promoted!
The grading system they use for raises is just grand. There are either four or five grades, and we can never get the top two unless the whole store meets certain sales and inventory criteria, which we can never do since we're severely short on help and our overnight crew is so god damned stupid and lazy that I'm surprised they can find the store every night.
They're scheduling people for 12 hour shifts on black friday. My department manager said she works 7 am to Noon or so on thursday, then has to come back and work 7pm to 7am the next morning.
Fuck this store. I can't wait until more stores are hiring and I can get the hell out of here.
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That and boycotts always hurt the actual workers before they hurt the big CEOs.
A stupid argument. Imagine if the early trade union movement acted like that. Can't go on strike- might hurt our members in the short run! Guess we'll just have to accept exploding bloody mineshafts for another thirty years, then!
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I'm still boycotting Nestle for child slavery.
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And don't get me started on the bullshit "Wal-Mart cheer."
Gimme a squiggly!
I saw that video you're talking about. Wal-mart feels it can give the best benefits possible without a union. Hahahorseshit.
Our store is a horribly mismanaged piece of shit. We're running at less than half staff capacity, they never hire anyone full-time anymore so they don't have to pay out benefits, and they have us covering multiple areas at a time an expecting us to keep up with both while members of management give out conflicting orders. They don't give us more than 35 hours a week except on holidays, like this week, when they expect us to work 50 or more. Hell, our current manager was caught boinking the previous manager and is the reason he left. They both got promoted!
The grading system they use for raises is just grand. There are either four or five grades, and we can never get the top two unless the whole store meets certain sales and inventory criteria, which we can never do since we're severely short on help and our overnight crew is so god damned stupid and lazy that I'm surprised they can find the store every night.
They're scheduling people for 12 hour shifts on black friday. My department manager said she works 7 am to Noon or so on thursday, then has to come back and work 7pm to 7am the next morning.
Fuck this store. I can't wait until more stores are hiring and I can get the hell out of here.
Do you work at my store or something? Because that is exactly the same stuff that is happening to me.
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I worked at wal mart for about 3 1/2 weeks before I quit, the video playing in the break room 24/7 saying how great it is to work at walmart was a little creepy.
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Reading this thread makes me thankfull I never did get that job at my local Walmart.
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Reading this thread makes me thankfull I never did get that job at my local Walmart.
This thread makes me happy that I was fired from the Wal-mart near where I live.
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That and boycotts always hurt the actual workers before they hurt the big CEOs.
A stupid argument. Imagine if the early trade union movement acted like that. Can't go on strike- might hurt our members in the short run! Guess we'll just have to accept exploding bloody mineshafts for another thirty years, then!
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Lt. Fred, there is a very distinct difference between strikes and boycotts.
Do you know what that difference is?
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Wally World's one of those places that I absolutely refuse to shop. This is pretty much why.
Ditto.
They run the smaller businesses out of business and treat their employees like crap. They also undercut other retailers that do offer better wages and benefits, fostering a race to the bottom mentality in retail. They treat their suppliers like crap too, and actively push them to export manufacturing jobs to third world countries.
I buy my groceries at Costco or Winco. For small things that are inconvenient to buy online, I go to Fred Meyer or (very occasionally) Target.
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They also bully governments and will bribe officials.
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And don't get me started on the bullshit "Wal-Mart cheer."
Gimme a squiggly!
I saw that video you're talking about. Wal-mart feels it can give the best benefits possible without a union. Hahahorseshit.
Our store is a horribly mismanaged piece of shit. We're running at less than half staff capacity, they never hire anyone full-time anymore so they don't have to pay out benefits, and they have us covering multiple areas at a time an expecting us to keep up with both while members of management give out conflicting orders. They don't give us more than 35 hours a week except on holidays, like this week, when they expect us to work 50 or more. Hell, our current manager was caught boinking the previous manager and is the reason he left. They both got promoted!
The grading system they use for raises is just grand. There are either four or five grades, and we can never get the top two unless the whole store meets certain sales and inventory criteria, which we can never do since we're severely short on help and our overnight crew is so god damned stupid and lazy that I'm surprised they can find the store every night.
They're scheduling people for 12 hour shifts on black friday. My department manager said she works 7 am to Noon or so on thursday, then has to come back and work 7pm to 7am the next morning.
Fuck this store. I can't wait until more stores are hiring and I can get the hell out of here.
Do you work at my store or something? Because that is exactly the same stuff that is happening to me.
I don't think so, not unless your store's in Missouri. It's hardly surprising if these practices are widespread, though.
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Or, if his store's in Sheridan, AR, too. That's how we were, I got shifted from job to job while in the middle of fucking doing something. The top 3 managers didn't even work, they just walked around, talked to officials and shit, and handed out orders. The zone managers, the guys who were just a grade or two above us peons? They were all cool, relaxed, hard-working, honest people, and I really liked 'em, even if one or two of em could be kinda...stupid, at times. The managers didn't teach me shit, I either learned on my own, another foot slogger taught me, or one of the ZMs took me aside and gave me a quick run-down.
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I don't think so, not unless your store's in Missouri. It's hardly surprising if these practices are widespread, though.
Yeah, that's how mine was, but its likely in same general area (Kansas City area, Gardner specifically). Ironically, my store had, and still has, a reputation for being the WORST store to work for in the area... which doesn't surprise me at all. In fact, here's a small list of the bullshit they pull:
They brought in a manager who had no fucking clue what she was doing. Most of us knew more about running the damn store than she did. Hell, once she even had the asset protection guy help a customer buy a display TV despite the fact that he was supposed to be incognito and I was only a department over and electronics was the only department outside of mine that I actually liked (largely due to the fact that I know the merchandise there like the back of my hand).
Ran a skeleton crew, even during the fucking holidays by refusing to replace people that quit or got fired unless they absolutely had to. Hell, the number one customer complaint was that they couldn't fucking find anyone to help them!
Bullshit write ups. Once I got written up for "low productivity," courtesy the aforementioned dumbass manager that had no idea what she was doing. She claimed that she had multiple incidents on record that lead to this write up, but couldn't even pull ONE out of her ass when I pressed her. My direct supervisor at the time actually apologized to me immediately afterward because even she saw the bullshit.
Relatedly, bullshit threats for write ups. Repeatedly, they would threaten to write me up if I didn't partake in the fucking Wal-Mart cheer, which they knew I fucking HATED in all its demeaning worthlessness. It was a waste of time and energy and I initially just left the meeting when they were about to start it. A couple other people actually started following suit because they agreed with me. They eventually gave up after I just sat there and did nothing during it to get them off my ass for leaving before it.
A complete lack of efficiency. Once, I was about to leave when a customer asked me to help them, so I went to do so. They wanted a fishing license, but the license computer was having serious issues (they happened all the fucking time and they never replaced it), so I let the customer know that it needed to reboot and that, since it was time for me to leave for the day, I would send over the next guy to help him. The customer had no problem with this, so I went to pass the sporting goods keys to the next guy (again, note that this was not my job and was actually a higher paying job than my actual position, see how often that happens?). A manager (incidentally, the SAME FUCKING IDIOT) overhears me doing this and she tells me to go back and help the customer, I explain myself to her, but she doesn't care. I roll my eyes and head back to help the customer... when the guy I was going to pass the keys along to comes by and takes the keys and proceeds to help the customer, telling me to go and talk to the manager. The manager then tells me to WAIT UNTIL AFTER THE STORE MEETING to talk to her, which I call her out on. She was actually so stunned that she actually let me leave for the night with no complaint. I can bet you twenty bucks that she would have written me up for this incident, which amounted to her making a mess out of me trying to optimize one simple fucking thing.
Lied to the unemployment office. This one didn't happen to me, but to a co-worker who was fired a few months after me for similarly dubious reasons. They fired him for some similar non-offense like when they fired me for not saying "hi" to a customer, something along the lines of refusing to help an unreasonable and angry customer, then lied to the unemployment office by telling them that he had threatened a customer.
As Ravynous said, shifted people from job to job... in the middle of doing something. On top of that, they would then yell at you for not getting your department's work done when you were forced to drop something and take care of a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT DEPARTMENT for two hours.
Worthless and idiotic manager rotation. Wal-Mart policy when I started working there was that managers would be assigned a new department every six months. Compare this to the store I now work at where my boss has had his position for 15 fucking years and knows everything there is to know about the department as a result. WHY they rotate managers like this is completely beyond me. The only advantage is to separate employees and managers that hate each other. Also, because of unnecessary policy changes, I was stuck wit that same fucking dumbass as my manager for the majority of my two year stint with the store. At least there was a 3 or so month gap between when she was my boss as a cart pusher and when she was my boss as a sales associate /sarcasm.
Completely computer generated scheduling. Because that worthless dumbass needs even LESS to do /sarcasm. Initially, the computer was used to give a guideline for scheduling, but idiotic and completely unnecessary policy changes actually made it impossible for managers to change the schedule before finalizing with conflicts having to be worked out afterward (or so they claimed, I have no idea if they were lying to me or not). The computer not only CONSTANTLY shuffled around hours and rarely would you go even TWO WEEKS with the same schedule, but it would often disregard availability, so we'd have people scheduled when they couldn't even work. It also disregarded logic in that it would occasionally schedule me until fucking midnight or until 10 PM on one day, then at 7 or 8 AM the next.
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I shop at Walmart while at school because I don't have a car and the shuttle bus takes you there for free. While at home, we shop at Walmart only to get things we can't get at our local grocery or Hannaford.
Also, I swear to God Walmart uses some sort of arcane black magic for its prices. For example, here is the yarn I make everything with (http://www.lionbrand.com/yarns/hometownUSA.html) because it is cheap and thick and warm and not alpaca whatever shit. You will note that, from the supplier, it is $5.29. At my Walmart, they're $3.27. WHY.
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I don't think so, not unless your store's in Missouri. It's hardly surprising if these practices are widespread, though.
Completely computer generated scheduling. Because that worthless dumbass needs even LESS to do /sarcasm. Initially, the computer was used to give a guideline for scheduling, but idiotic and completely unnecessary policy changes actually made it impossible for managers to change the schedule before finalizing with conflicts having to be worked out afterward (or so they claimed, I have no idea if they were lying to me or not). The computer not only CONSTANTLY shuffled around hours and rarely would you go even TWO WEEKS with the same schedule, but it would often disregard availability, so we'd have people scheduled when they couldn't even work. It also disregarded logic in that it would occasionally schedule me until fucking midnight or until 10 PM on one day, then at 7 or 8 AM the next.
Wanna know why they could get away with that? Cause as long as you had an 8 hour break between shifts, the computer thinks you've gotten enough rest. It's completely stupid. In the year I worked for Walmart, very rarely would I have the same shift 2 weeks in a row. Made making plans and shit just completely worthless because you knew you'd be scheduled a closing then an opening the next day. Only people who got the same shift were the overnighters and the full timers.
Ironbite-everyone else could go fuck themselves.
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I shop at Walmart while at school because I don't have a car and the shuttle bus takes you there for free. While at home, we shop at Walmart only to get things we can't get at our local grocery or Hannaford.
Also, I swear to God Walmart uses some sort of arcane black magic for its prices. For example, here is the yarn I make everything with (http://www.lionbrand.com/yarns/hometownUSA.html) because it is cheap and thick and warm and not alpaca whatever shit. You will note that, from the supplier, it is $5.29. At my Walmart, they're $3.27. WHY.
There's a few reasons for that. Wal-Mart can sell for less than the supplier because they buy a fuckton of volume for the cheapest possible price, and the supplier doesn't really want the hassle of managing small orders to individuals. Many suppliers will not sell to individuals at all. I buy yarn, feathers, beads and such for tying fishing flies and jigs, and it's the same story. Most of the suppliers won't sell from their site, and those that do you can buy the stuff cheaper at a specialty store.
Wal-Mart's prices always end in 7 because, believe it or not, there are actual studies that show consumers are more likely to buy an item with a price that ends in 7.
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Sounds like they just don't want workers to protect themselves from being trampled to death. Personally if I worked there on BF, I 'd want to work in the posrting goods dept. Not only are you in the back of the store, but you have access to metal baseball bats and firearms (This is one of the few times I'd want a gun.
Well, the firearms, assuming the store has them (they aren't at newer stores and have been phased out of most of the older stores), aren't going to do you much good as only managers have the keys to unlock their case and they'd probably rather you get trampled to death than have to defend you in court for shooting someone in self-defense.
True, I'd have to stick with the baseball bats. I've never been so glad to work in a bakery rather than at Walmart. Even though I go in at 5 on BF, I work in the back room, behind a huge hardwood table, nowhere near the customers.
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Speak of the devil. We got an email from Home Office this morning detailing the pending black friday strike. And by that, I mean we were informed that the evil monied Union was staging a publicity stunt at the cost of poor hapless workers who don't know any better and how Wal-mart was filing suit to PROTECT THE DREAM OF MR. SAM WHOOOOOO.
Most pathetic, empty, vapid corporate propaganda puff piece I've ever heard, and having to listen to it in our manager's nasally voice and ridiculous faux enthusiasm made it worse. It never actually addressed the reasons WHY they're facing this strike, just repetitions of Union Bad, Wal-Mart Good, Union Employees just lazy and want something for nothing.
And then they told us we have a responsibility to the customer and thanked us for our flexibility his holiday season. Because nothing says flexibility like being scheduled 56 hours in one week with no days off and less than 6 hours between some shifts, having your schedule changed at the whim of our store manager, and being threatened with write-ups if we call in.
I think we call that "exploitation."
Edit: And it came to light recently that our district manager implemented a hiring freeze on our holiday temps last month, and wouldn't let us actually hire the people we'd interviewed and approved until the end of October and early this month. What this means is that after wasting time in orientation, our holiday help is going to be kicked out onto the floor in the midst of the grinder that is holiday blitz, and will likely quit en mass. I went through this shit once last year, and it was a nightmare with even six months experience.
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Speak of the devil. We got an email from Home Office this morning detailing the pending black friday strike. And by that, I mean we were informed that the evil monied Union was staging a publicity stunt at the cost of poor hapless workers who don't know any better and how Wal-mart was filing suit to PROTECT THE DREAM OF MR. SAM WHOOOOOO.
From what I've read about Sam Walton, I don't think there's much of his philosophy left in the company. One of his major goals was to carry as many American made products as possible. Next time they say something about his dream, ask them about that part.
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Not to rub it in, but labour law here in Ontario states 11 hours off between shifts and no more than 48 hours a week unless you agree to it.
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Speak of the devil. We got an email from Home Office this morning detailing the pending black friday strike. And by that, I mean we were informed that the evil monied Union was staging a publicity stunt at the cost of poor hapless workers who don't know any better and how Wal-mart was filing suit to PROTECT THE DREAM OF MR. SAM WHOOOOOO.
Most pathetic, empty, vapid corporate propaganda puff piece I've ever heard, and having to listen to it in our manager's nasally voice and ridiculous faux enthusiasm made it worse. It never actually addressed the reasons WHY they're facing this strike, just repetitions of Union Bad, Wal-Mart Good, Union Employees just lazy and want something for nothing.
And then they told us we have a responsibility to the customer and thanked us for our flexibility his holiday season. Because nothing says flexibility like being scheduled 56 hours in one week with no days off and less than 6 hours between some shifts, having your schedule changed at the whim of our store manager, and being threatened with write-ups if we call in.
I think we call that "exploitation."
Edit: And it came to light recently that our district manager implemented a hiring freeze on our holiday temps last month, and wouldn't let us actually hire the people we'd interviewed and approved until the end of October and early this month. What this means is that after wasting time in orientation, our holiday help is going to be kicked out onto the floor in the midst of the grinder that is holiday blitz, and will likely quit en mass. I went through this shit once last year, and it was a nightmare with even six months experience.
The thread for ranting is here (http://forums.fstdt.net/flame-and-burn/wally-world-survivor%27s-thread/msg109499/#new), by the way, just in case you had stuff to contribute.
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My store is pointedly NOT talking about the strikes. Like, at all. Someone briefly mentioned it at the morning meeting one day last week, and the co-manager just waved the issue away and moved on without comment.
I would start something over here if I thought my co-workers weren't a bunch of jelly-spined morons. Actually heard a few of them grumbling over union benefits a few months ago...they're sure pissed at the better pay & conditions the union employees get, but would rather see them dragged down then demand the same for themselves. Morons.
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I would start something over here if I thought my co-workers weren't a bunch of jelly-spined morons. Actually heard a few of them grumbling over union benefits a few months ago...they're sure pissed at the better pay & conditions the union employees get, but would rather see them dragged down then demand the same for themselves. Morons.
Crab bucket syndrome.
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I would start something over here if I thought my co-workers weren't a bunch of jelly-spined morons. Actually heard a few of them grumbling over union benefits a few months ago...they're sure pissed at the better pay & conditions the union employees get, but would rather see them dragged down then demand the same for themselves. Morons.
Crab bucket syndrome.
That, and they know we'd all get shit-canned en masse if the higher ups caught us talking about it. Can't even use FB to organize something like that, as most of the management is FB-friends with as many worker drones as possible.
Of course, right now, it'd be pointless anyway. We've got a big swarm of newbies for the Black Friday fiasco and none of them are jaded enough to listen to anything hard-bitten bastards like me would tell them. Most of 'em will get shit-canned within a month or so, so it's doubly pointless.
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Stop the newbies from entering at any cost.
All you have to do is block their entry.
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Stop the newbies from entering at any cost.
All you have to do is block their entry.
Like I said, I can't count on anyone I work with to stand with me, so...if I'm gonna risk my job (and though they wouldn't officially shit-can me for protesting, they'd find some way to lose me sooner rather than later) I'd like it to stand a chance of success. I can't block all of them myself.
And I was also referring to a common tactic used by management to diffuse union talks - essentially, the HR department swarms the floor with a massive hire of young, idealistic newbies that are given the bestest of best treatment, so that when the newbs look at us old cranks who've been around long enough to know what's what, the newbs just think we're a bunch of complaining loons. Then, when it comes time to vote on forming a union, the newbies have no reason to vote for one as they see no need for one - Walmart spoon-feeds them propaganda with real-life examples until they side with the company over their fellow workers. This bogs down the process to a complete halt, which is exactly what is intended. Right now, we're already being newbie-swarmed thanks to the holiday hires, so there's functionally no point. :-/
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So I was reading an article on Black Friday Creep (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/22/black-friday-creep-retail-workers_n_2167066.html) over on HuffPo. Basically about how more and more retailers are opening their doors for Black Friday on fucking Thanksgiving. And then I had the unfortunate luck of looking at the comments. There were a good number of people saying this was a fucked up practice but then we got the standard conservative mouth-breathers calling the workers lazy for, ya know, wanting a little damn time with their family instead of feeling obligated to "volunteer" to work on Thanksgiving because they don't fucking make enough money.
As was said on the article I was reading:
Much like the strikes and protests expected to hit Walmart stores across the country on Black Friday, the readiness to labor on Thanksgiving is a symptom of the larger squeeze put on the industry's workers, argues Yana Walton, spokeswoman for the Retail Action Project, a group that advocates for rank-and-file retail employees.
"Everyone is part-timed to death at these stores," Walton said. "When they sign up for these shifts, it's 'I don't get enough hours, I'm dying for hours, so I'll work these shifts.' Until we do something to stop the part-timing of the workforce, we're going to see this happen."
"Workers want to stop this before it becomes an absolute standard to work on Thanksgiving," Walton added.
A Banana Republic worker whose New York City store will be open on Thanksgiving said a sign-up sheet has been hung in an employee area of the shop asking for volunteers. He said he suspects many will work the holiday because they need the cash.
"The way retail is going, they're forcing people into schedules like this -- not offering good wages or good hours or even benefits," said the employee, who works on store displays and requested anonymity to speak freely.
One of these knuckle-draggers popped off with a comment that's managed to get under my skin.
Do I feel sorry for the Walmart employees and other employees at other retail businesses because they have to work on a holiday................NO, I feel bad for all the people who are out of work. Hey all you Walmart rectal cavity employees who are walking off the job, you are working in a retain business. If you don't like it leave and join the ranks of the unemployed. Somehow I really think there will be someone who really wants to work that will take your place. There are Police officers and firemen who work every holiday, I know I did as a police officer and ate many a Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner in a Chineese restaurant.
When your boss tell you yopu have to work a loliday don't complain, be thankfull you have a job
You see, this is the sort of reasoning that got bandied about back during the industrial revolution. "So you don't make enough to survive and you never get to see your family. Just sit down and shut up and be happy to have a job at all." Talks of unionizing are said in hushed whispers in back rooms but everyone's too scared of losing their jobs to unionize so The Company basically has carte blanche to treat it's employees as horribly as it wants for the simple reason that right now not losing ground is considered an accomplishment. The argument used by this mouth-breather is part-and-parcel what a union buster likely used back during the early 1900s. They seem to have taken The Grapes of Wrath as a gold standard for an idolized time in history.
And is this pinhead really comparing cashiers to police and firemen? Ya know, union employees who provide fucking ESSENTIAL SERVICES? Does he really think that retail employees qualify as an ESSENTIAL SERVICE?
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Do I feel sorry for the Walmart employees and other employees at other retail businesses because they have to work on a holiday................NO, I feel bad for all the people who are out of work. Hey all you Walmart rectal cavity employees who are walking off the job, you are working in a retain business. If you don't like it leave and join the ranks of the unemployed. Somehow I really think there will be someone who really wants to work that will take your place. There are Police officers and firemen who work every holiday, I know I did as a police officer and ate many a Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner in a Chineese restaurant.
When your boss tell you yopu have to work a loliday don't complain, be thankfull you have a job
You see, this is the sort of reasoning that got bandied about back during the industrial revolution. "So you don't make enough to survive and you never get to see your family. Just sit down and shut up and be happy to have a job at all." Talks of unionizing are said in hushed whispers in back rooms but everyone's too scared of losing their jobs to unionize so The Company basically has carte blanche to treat it's employees as horribly as it wants for the simple reason that right now not losing ground is considered an accomplishment. The argument used by this mouth-breather is part-and-parcel what a union buster likely used back during the early 1900s. They seem to have taken The Grapes of Wrath as a gold standard for an idolized time in history.
And is this pinhead really comparing cashiers to police and firemen? Ya know, union employees who provide fucking ESSENTIAL SERVICES? Does he really think that retail employees qualify as an ESSENTIAL SERVICE?
Oh, but he'll just die if he doesn't get his China-made kitsch and his fucking discount Big-Mouth Billy Bass.
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Can't even use FB to organize something like that, as most of the management is FB-friends with as many worker drones as possible.
I would never, ever add my employer as a friend on FB. Not even if we were friendly. That just seems like a time bomb.
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Quote
Do I feel sorry for the Walmart employees and other employees at other retail businesses because they have to work on a holiday................NO, I feel bad for all the people who are out of work. Hey all you Walmart rectal cavity employees who are walking off the job, you are working in a retain business. If you don't like it leave and join the ranks of the unemployed. Somehow I really think there will be someone who really wants to work that will take your place. There are Police officers and firemen who work every holiday, I know I did as a police officer and ate many a Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner in a Chineese restaurant.
When your boss tell you yopu have to work a loliday don't complain, be thankfull you have a job.
What do you bet this is the same type of asshole who pisses and moans about the "war on Christmas"? Just wait until retailers start opening on Christmas for the day after sales. I bet this jerk would be A-OK with that too. Typical "I've got mine, screw everyone else" attitude.
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When your boss tell you yopu have to work a loliday don't complain, be thankfull you have a job.
Uh...
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Last time I checked firemen and police officers were essential services that were need year round. Wal Mart workers are not. We can go a day or two without shopping.
I'm also wondering how that person got a job as a police officer with such terrible spelling.
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I'm also wondering how that person got a job as a police officer with such terrible spelling.
You don't deal with police much, do you?
Trust me, you don't need to be a genius to be a cop in the USA. That's especially true for municipal cops, who are often-times worse than useless.
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Oh look another asshole who seems to think that he's entitled to anything on any day and fuck the rest of the world.
Ironbite-if I were dictator, there'd be laws against this kinda thing.
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Can't even use FB to organize something like that, as most of the management is FB-friends with as many worker drones as possible.
I would never, ever add my employer as a friend on FB. Not even if we were friendly. That just seems like a time bomb.
Likewise. I can like my co-workers well enough, but I keep my personal and private lives separate.
But a lot of the people looking to use the nepotism network to get ahead go and befriend (FB or otherwise) EVERYONE & their family for the sake of job protection. It's hard for your manager to shit-can you when you're their kid's room-mate (since that would adversely affect their kid) or when they just came to your housewarming party last week.
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If I was dictator, doing this would land you in one of three cool and unusual punishments:
1) forced to eat really bad Chinese fast food for six months. And only really bad Chinese food. Nothing else.
2) Strapped to a chair and forced to watch all the seasons of Jersey Shore, one episode after another, back to back.
3) Forced to act like a pig and roll around in slop for six months.
That aside, this is just disgusting. Rather than just give up some of their massive dough, the Walmart Heir brats are just being entitled douches.
What? What are they afraid of? Losing their slot in the Fortune 500 or something?
Just ridiculous.
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If I was dictator, doing this would land you in one of three cool and unusual punishments:
3) Forced to act like a pig and roll around in slop for six months.
Oh come on, that's not a punishment, that's next year's reality tv sensation!