sam_gordon
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 26, 2010
I'm not Familyoffive, but it sounds like you feel EVERY worker should be GUARANTEED a raise every year... after all, workers have to keep up with inflation, right? Is that what you're advocating?So Familyoffive, you feel the grocery workers have such a lowly job, they should not strike. So these low wage earners should go without a raise or pay increasing medical costs. With the economy the way it is, how will they handle the increased costs? We see gas and food prices ever rising. In my city, commuting costs are increasing with rising tolls and mass transit fares. Who will support these workers when they can't pay for food because of their shrinking pay? Will the government have to implement more subsidies to meet the needs of those underemployed workers? It's not as if grocery stores will reduce their prices because they will be gaining a cheaper workforce. In fact I'm sure they will increase their prices too. I will say it again unions do have a place in today's world, especially with all the evidence of increasing corporate greed.
I also think unions have a place in today's world. But they should be around to make sure there is not abuse of workers. Assuming an employer is paying minimum wage and following overtime rules, I think unions should stay out of pay negotiation.
Look at it this way... I'm good at my job. My boss has told me so. The price of gas is going up (and I have a daily hourly commute RT), the price of food is going up, health insurance is going up, etc, etc. I go to my boss and say "I want a 5% raise to keep up with the costs of everything." My boss says "No, I can only give you 2%" or "Sorry, no raises this year." Can you please tell me what my choices are? What would you do?
In my job, the company was around LONG before I showed up, and will still be around LONG after I'm gone. If I leave (even if I'm not replaced), will the company survive? Yup. Granted things may not get done as quickly or as well, but I'm pretty sure the company will muddle through. They'd probably even survive if my entire department (three including me) walk out.
I GUARANTEE it's easier to train a checkout person, bagger, or customer service rep than it would be to train someone for my job. That doesn't mean I'm irreplaceable though.