4 ms·

This article almost willfully leaves out a pretty crucial detail: the living wage only applies to businesses that have non-union employees. So let's be clear wh

by JunkDNA 13y ago

This article almost willfully leaves out a pretty crucial detail: the living wage only applies to businesses that have non-union employees. So let's be clear what this is: it's an effort to give union-run stores a labor advantage and protect them from non-union competition. Safeway and Giant foods don't have to worry about competing with WalMart or Target's rock-bottom prices[1] [1] http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324399404578583650562822608.html http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142412788732439940457858...

stephengillie 13y ago
Safeway and Giant (and Kroger and Supervalu etc) are forced by the UFCW to pay high wages ($18/hour in Seattle), and fully fund medical insurance for every employee working more than 20 hours per month. As a system admin, it's taken me 6 years after college to get back to the wage I made as a grocery store checker.
- thejteam 13y ago
  The west coast stores and east coast stores must have different unions. When I worked at non-union Kmart I made more per hour than I could have made at union Safeway (east coast).
  - stephengillie 13y ago
    As far as I know, they're all the same union (UFCW), but they have regional contracts. I'm pretty sure Portland (Oregon)'s grocery workers have a lower top pay.
thejteam 13y ago
I had no idea union stores were exempt. And unless Safeway and Giant have upped their wages recently they pay quite a bit less than 12.50 an hour for new employees.
dccoolgai 13y ago
The article may not have mentioned it, but the fact that there is a recognition of unions in there is not necessarily a bad thing... Those "rock-bottom prices" are just system-gaming - the real extra cost of the goods is hidden and distributed across the communities in which they operate (in the form of reduced living conditions, health care, quality of life, etc.) - all things that unions exist to protect... What is so fundamentally wrong about a community saying "no - it's not OK to try and distribute tat burden to the backs of our citizens"?
pessimizer 13y ago
I like the idea of the state stepping in as the union of last resort. Thanks for the detail.

by JunkDNA 13y ago

stephengillie 13y ago

Safeway and Giant (and Kroger and Supervalu etc) are forced by the UFCW to pay high wages ($18/hour in Seattle), and fully fund medical insurance for every employee working more than 20 hours per month. As a system admin, it's taken me 6 years after college to get back to the wage I made as a grocery store checker.

thejteam 13y ago
The west coast stores and east coast stores must have different unions. When I worked at non-union Kmart I made more per hour than I could have made at union Safeway (east coast).
- stephengillie 13y ago
  As far as I know, they're all the same union (UFCW), but they have regional contracts. I'm pretty sure Portland (Oregon)'s grocery workers have a lower top pay.

thejteam 13y ago

I had no idea union stores were exempt. And unless Safeway and Giant have upped their wages recently they pay quite a bit less than 12.50 an hour for new employees.

dccoolgai 13y ago

The article may not have mentioned it, but the fact that there is a recognition of unions in there is not necessarily a bad thing... Those "rock-bottom prices" are just system-gaming - the real extra cost of the goods is hidden and distributed across the communities in which they operate (in the form of reduced living conditions, health care, quality of life, etc.) - all things that unions exist to protect... What is so fundamentally wrong about a community saying "no - it's not OK to try and distribute tat burden to the backs of our citizens"?

pessimizer 13y ago

I like the idea of the state stepping in as the union of last resort. Thanks for the detail.