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"Bernie Coyle wants to hire people. In this hopeful moment in the recuperating American economy, he wants to give 40 new employees health insurance, dental insu

"Bernie Coyle wants to hire people. In this hopeful moment in the recuperating American economy, he wants to give 40 new employees health insurance, dental insurance, good wages and a 401(k) plan with a company match.." Why do employers think they are "giving" people a job? Would they say the employee is looking to "give" them labor? Its business after all, both parties are exchanging something. Nothing is being "given".

dropit_sphere 13y ago
>Why do employers think they are "giving" people a job? Would they say the employee is looking to "give" them labor? Its business after all, both parties are exchanging something. Nothing is being "given". While I want to side with you in principle, for many workers this is their reality. For whatever reason, their own fault or not, they have trouble finding a job, and it is very easy to fall into the mental trap of relying on the generosity of others rather than one's own competence.
- fredgrott 13y ago
  Yes, but he is in fact interviewing for competence.. Its probably the phrasing of the writer not Bernie
- rdtsc 13y ago
  Employees and employers maybe legally have equal power, as in, on paper it is a peer to peer type relationship. But in practice it is not. There could be many reasons, low level of training required, lots of desperate candidates waiting at the door, jobs shipped overseas (so say local factory from another type of industry) was closed create a surplus of labor, and so on. Normally people will be lining out at the door to take the place of anyone fired and will also work extra and sacrifice their free time in order to not get let go. Another reason for what he said is the propaganda narrative that has been pushed through the ages -- "companies are good, they create jobs" "you should not unionize", "labor rights are wrong", "companies are benefactors and if you behave yourself you'll get a job from them". So this kind of mentality (even regardless of economic condition currently) is entrenched. Think about it, usually that kind of jobs would be filled quickly and it would be make for a news story. The fact that it wasn't, it kind of became an anomaly and is now in the news. Now he could probably change location (move to a more poor part of the country), raise the salary (to make it worthwhile to drive 2 or 3 hours a day), or few other things.
joelrunyon 13y ago
Well if people are looking for a job, he's giving them an opportunity to fulfill that desire. While a engineer in SV might have more leverage in a situation like this, in parts of the US that are still recovering and the unemployment is higher, finding these opportunities is definitely an area where an employer has leverage.
- joelrunyon 13y ago
  I don't get the downvotes. As someone from the midwest (and spent significant time in that area - Ft. Wayne), that's exactly the mentality that exists there.
chrisbennet 13y ago
It just bugs me when an employee has the mindset that they are doing the employee a favor. It's an exchange of value. if anything, the employer is often exploiting a desperate employee in order to put even more money in their own pocket.
- joelrunyon 13y ago
  If that's the case, you're better of educating that populace to change the position of leverage to be in their favor than you are complaining about the word choice that accurately reflects the current reality of the situation.
  - chrisbennet 13y ago
    I know this thread is making me sound like a raving loon or communist and I'm not, honest! It's the sense of entitlement that bugs me. As to your point, better educating the populace has not been a solution so far. The glut of college educated people has not improved the employer/employee relationship. The lack of jobs is a systemic thing that more education is not going to fix unfortunately. Few people will admit that though.
    - joelrunyon 13y ago
      I meant educating the populace in how to get into a position of leverage - not simply just getting education to get education.

dropit_sphere 13y ago

>Why do employers think they are "giving" people a job? Would they say the employee is looking to "give" them labor? Its business after all, both parties are exchanging something. Nothing is being "given". While I want to side with you in principle, for many workers this is their reality. For whatever reason, their own fault or not, they have trouble finding a job, and it is very easy to fall into the mental trap of relying on the generosity of others rather than one's own competence.

fredgrott 13y ago
Yes, but he is in fact interviewing for competence.. Its probably the phrasing of the writer not Bernie
rdtsc 13y ago
Employees and employers maybe legally have equal power, as in, on paper it is a peer to peer type relationship. But in practice it is not. There could be many reasons, low level of training required, lots of desperate candidates waiting at the door, jobs shipped overseas (so say local factory from another type of industry) was closed create a surplus of labor, and so on. Normally people will be lining out at the door to take the place of anyone fired and will also work extra and sacrifice their free time in order to not get let go. Another reason for what he said is the propaganda narrative that has been pushed through the ages -- "companies are good, they create jobs" "you should not unionize", "labor rights are wrong", "companies are benefactors and if you behave yourself you'll get a job from them". So this kind of mentality (even regardless of economic condition currently) is entrenched. Think about it, usually that kind of jobs would be filled quickly and it would be make for a news story. The fact that it wasn't, it kind of became an anomaly and is now in the news. Now he could probably change location (move to a more poor part of the country), raise the salary (to make it worthwhile to drive 2 or 3 hours a day), or few other things.

joelrunyon 13y ago

Well if people are looking for a job, he's giving them an opportunity to fulfill that desire. While a engineer in SV might have more leverage in a situation like this, in parts of the US that are still recovering and the unemployment is higher, finding these opportunities is definitely an area where an employer has leverage.

joelrunyon 13y ago
I don't get the downvotes. As someone from the midwest (and spent significant time in that area - Ft. Wayne), that's exactly the mentality that exists there.

chrisbennet 13y ago

It just bugs me when an employee has the mindset that they are doing the employee a favor. It's an exchange of value. if anything, the employer is often exploiting a desperate employee in order to put even more money in their own pocket.

joelrunyon 13y ago
If that's the case, you're better of educating that populace to change the position of leverage to be in their favor than you are complaining about the word choice that accurately reflects the current reality of the situation.
- chrisbennet 13y ago
  I know this thread is making me sound like a raving loon or communist and I'm not, honest! It's the sense of entitlement that bugs me. As to your point, better educating the populace has not been a solution so far. The glut of college educated people has not improved the employer/employee relationship. The lack of jobs is a systemic thing that more education is not going to fix unfortunately. Few people will admit that though.
  - joelrunyon 13y ago
    I meant educating the populace in how to get into a position of leverage - not simply just getting education to get education.