FairWeather
Well-known member
The recent thread on homelessness got me thinking about the labor market and today’s push for unionizing in low skill sectors, such as fast food.
The few Starbucks locations that are unionized are on strike today in response to Starbucks’ refusal to bargain with the unions, and retaliatory actions against union organizers.
I’ll start by saying it in no way affects me, so my opinion on the matter is of little concern. I just see both sides of the arguments that I’m seeing unfold.
After I left the army, I went to work at Starbucks while I was going to college. I held that job for 2 years and I will say it SUCKED. Not as much as being an infantryman, but for 25¢ over minimum wage it was a crap job.
If it weren’t for my VA disability and GI Bill payments supplementing my income, there’s no way I could have made ends meet with what they paid. As it was, my wife and I were often needing to use the campus food bank.
That said, the entire time there I was well aware it wasn’t intended to be a career. It’s a crap job you work until you find something better. I now work in a unionized environment and am a union member. I am not anti union by any means.
Being a multi billion dollar corporation, conditions for the workers should be improved, yes. That said, it’s still a very low skill job that is not meant to be a career. Should it provide a “living wage”, yes if you want to keep your employees housed. Should it provide a “family wage”? I’d say not.
It seems to me that where the union is at now, demands wise, is still pretty reasonable. Time off, benefits, wages to keep up w/ inflation. Pretty standard. Though, it sounds like they have much grander ambitions.
So, the way I see it, yes conditions should improve…but not to the point where this is now a potential lifelong career. A good compromise leaves all parties unhappy.
What does bother me is the way this has bled into a discussion around being a consumer.
There was a woman who posted a PSA in a local bulletin FB page about how the few Starbucks in town are closed (they’re among the unionized), and how the ones in the grocery stores are still open. This lady got absolutely dragged in the comments. People hurling all sorts of abuse about how she’s a scab and the scum of the earth, etc. because she “crossed the picket line” to get her coffee. By all means, let the union and the company duke it out, but those of us on the sidelines don’t need to be fighting over this.
I think it’s ultimately just another symptom of the tumultuous times we live in right now.
Alright, I’m done rambling. Discuss if you want.
The few Starbucks locations that are unionized are on strike today in response to Starbucks’ refusal to bargain with the unions, and retaliatory actions against union organizers.
I’ll start by saying it in no way affects me, so my opinion on the matter is of little concern. I just see both sides of the arguments that I’m seeing unfold.
After I left the army, I went to work at Starbucks while I was going to college. I held that job for 2 years and I will say it SUCKED. Not as much as being an infantryman, but for 25¢ over minimum wage it was a crap job.
If it weren’t for my VA disability and GI Bill payments supplementing my income, there’s no way I could have made ends meet with what they paid. As it was, my wife and I were often needing to use the campus food bank.
That said, the entire time there I was well aware it wasn’t intended to be a career. It’s a crap job you work until you find something better. I now work in a unionized environment and am a union member. I am not anti union by any means.
Being a multi billion dollar corporation, conditions for the workers should be improved, yes. That said, it’s still a very low skill job that is not meant to be a career. Should it provide a “living wage”, yes if you want to keep your employees housed. Should it provide a “family wage”? I’d say not.
It seems to me that where the union is at now, demands wise, is still pretty reasonable. Time off, benefits, wages to keep up w/ inflation. Pretty standard. Though, it sounds like they have much grander ambitions.
So, the way I see it, yes conditions should improve…but not to the point where this is now a potential lifelong career. A good compromise leaves all parties unhappy.
What does bother me is the way this has bled into a discussion around being a consumer.
There was a woman who posted a PSA in a local bulletin FB page about how the few Starbucks in town are closed (they’re among the unionized), and how the ones in the grocery stores are still open. This lady got absolutely dragged in the comments. People hurling all sorts of abuse about how she’s a scab and the scum of the earth, etc. because she “crossed the picket line” to get her coffee. By all means, let the union and the company duke it out, but those of us on the sidelines don’t need to be fighting over this.
I think it’s ultimately just another symptom of the tumultuous times we live in right now.
Alright, I’m done rambling. Discuss if you want.
