http://www.myballard.com/forum/ A forum for the Seattle neighborhood of Ballard en Thu, 23 May 2013 02:52:38 +0000 http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=3#post-116194 Sat, 20 Nov 2010 03:18:06 +0000 onederfullone 116194@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>well, of course *hugs*...sorry, can't say where I've been ;-)</p> <p>Give jr my best, hope it is settled quickly. </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=3#post-116187 Sat, 20 Nov 2010 03:12:36 +0000 pennygirl 116187@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>1der!!!</p> <p>Where have you been?</p> <p>PG junior might be going on strike in the coming days...do I get hugs? :-) </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=3#post-116185 Sat, 20 Nov 2010 03:10:40 +0000 onederfullone 116185@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>^^<br /> 00<br /> 0<br /> *</p> <p>*hugs* </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=3#post-115791 Thu, 18 Nov 2010 00:10:30 +0000 ecw 115791@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>GR- you are my hero, and sound a lot like a lion-friend that used to be on this forum. </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=3#post-115704 Wed, 17 Nov 2010 06:17:49 +0000 msballard30 115704@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>O.K., I just talked to my Mom, the Ballard Market employee. Hopefully this will bring some clarity to the discussion. </p> <p>Keep in mind that while most of the grocery store employees in the area are part of the same union, they have different employers, each of which negotiates separately with the union. In this case, Town &#38; Country Markets reached an agreement with the union, so there is no dispute between Town &#38; Country and its own employees. Hence, they have no need to strike. </p> <p>By contrast, Kroger/QFC/Safeway/Fred Meyer have NOT reached an agreement with the union (see all of the previous discussions re cuts in pay, benefits, etc.), and hence the pending strike.</p> <p>What I found interesting (as best as I understand it) is that there is a pool of funds that are used to provide striking union members with a nominal amount of money while they are on strike. Once that money runs out, if the strike is still going on, my Mom and her co-workers at Ballard Market and the other Town &#38; Country stores would contribute to the cause by having a small amount of money taken out of their paychecks to help their fellow union members. So in that regard, even if Ballard Market is not on strike, they will support the striking employees of Safeway/Kroger/QFC/Fred Meyer since they are all part of the same union. </p> <p>That's all she knows right now (she was a bit short on the details), but she'll try to find out more tomorrow. (Edited to add that if there's anything I've written here that needs to be corrected or clarified, I'll do it as soon as I have more info.) </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=3#post-115637 Wed, 17 Nov 2010 03:00:45 +0000 cdpenne 115637@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>"Cdpenne...Not on your best day."</p> <p>That's true. I could never reach such elevated levels of smug pompassity and self-satisfaction. I'm sure gonna keep trying though becuase it helps hide my ignorance of history. </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=3#post-115592 Wed, 17 Nov 2010 01:23:06 +0000 pennygirl 115592@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>Alli...</p> <p>The Safeway employee is msballard30's Mom. msballard30 did say that she was Union, but Ballard and Greenwood markets won't be striking. I think part of the reason is so the grocery workers who are striking have a place to shop without having to cross a picket line. </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=3#post-115587 Wed, 17 Nov 2010 00:53:21 +0000 allisonw 115587@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>The Safeway employee is incorrect. Ballard Market IS union, they just will not be striking as they have what's called a "sweetheart" or "me-too" agreement and will remain open. </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=3#post-115534 Tue, 16 Nov 2010 20:40:18 +0000 motorrad 115534@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>I would rather have responsible people handling my food and working in the store than crack heads and felons. Pay crack head wages get crack heads handling your food. Hmmmm...kind of like some restaurants. Oh not the fancy ones of course. </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=3#post-115525 Tue, 16 Nov 2010 20:02:45 +0000 GoldenRetriever 115525@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>"I worked my way through college, and worked since I was 17 years old. I worked in Alaska in the salmon industry 20 hours a day in the summer to put myself through college. And guess what? I've been unemployed for over two years. No, I wasn't in a union- but I wish I were. </p> <p>Hard work is no guarantee. A college degree is no guarantee. The year they closed the West Coast office of my company, they spent $10 million re-doing the corporate offices back east. (privately owned company.)"</p> <p>And during those two years of unemployment what actions did you take to change your circumstances? Did you research a career path that was in demand? Did you obtain skills that would better align yourself with that industry? Or perhaps did you opt to work 2 or 3 part time jobs saving money so that you could start a business of your own?<br /> I hope the answer to any of those is yes. And if so well done.</p> <p>Cdpenne...Not on your best day. </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=3#post-115515 Tue, 16 Nov 2010 19:32:04 +0000 Samkin 115515@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>So I know that if I reread this whole thread (sorry, no time right now...), I could remember who it was - but doesn't someone's mom work at Ballard Mkt? I just had an interesting conversation w/a Safeway employee, mostly about the scab hiring signs, and he mentioned that Ballard Mkt isn't union.... Could your mom clarify if they AREN'T union, or is it really that they are, but have opted out of the strike because of the previously mentioned agreement to abide by the eventual terms? I'm just a bit surprised/disappointed to hear that they might *not* be union?! (Edited to clarify, he thought it was a good thing in so much as local folks could shop there still while honoring the strike; I just try to support union businesses whenever possible - admittedly, I've never heard anyone speak badly about working at Ballard Mkt....)</p> <p>On a side note, the scab jobs will pay a whooping $10/hr.... </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=3#post-115394 Tue, 16 Nov 2010 05:48:03 +0000 cdpenne 115394@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>When I grow up I want to be just like GoldenRetriever. </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=3#post-115252 Mon, 15 Nov 2010 22:29:21 +0000 Jules 115252@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>If anyone thinks for a nanosecond that lower employee wages will be reflected in lower grocery prices, think again. </p> <p>Come to think of it, my ex-company raised the price of its products !0% concurrent with getting rid of 1/3 of the workforce. I guess the CEO needed a bigger yacht. </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=3#post-115250 Mon, 15 Nov 2010 22:19:26 +0000 Jules 115250@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>I love Golden Retreiver's story : I worked hard, got a great paying job, so can anyone. Sure. And any kid in America can grow up to become the President. It's easy to be smug when you're in an industry in demand. </p> <p>I worked my way through college, and worked since I was 17 years old. I worked in Alaska in the salmon industry 20 hours a day in the summer to put myself through college. And guess what? I've been unemployed for over two years. No, I wasn't in a union- but I wish I were. </p> <p>Hard work is no guarantee. A college degree is no guarantee. The year they closed the West Coast office of my company, they spent $10 million re-doing the corporate offices back east. (privately owned company.)</p> <p>Unions gave us the 8 hour day. The minimum wage. If you want to see how well a system works without these kind of protections, google "third-world sweatshop."</p> <p>The grocery stores want to CUT wages? Screw them. I won't cross a picket line. </p> <p>People in this town were completely shocked when the Boeing union, SPEA, went on strike. (mainly engineers.) It was the longest white-collar strike in the history of America. Well, I for one, do not want my planes designed by minimum wage illegal immigrant workers, do you? </p> <p>When I worked at the UW, our union went to Olympia to picket. The state would vote us a 1% pay raise every two years (or not, depending on how they felt)...and then we would have to wait two years to get it. At the same time, our benefits were cut...and oddly, our parking rates were raised, apparently index-linked to the date of our "raises." The net effect was, that over the years, every time I got a 1 or 2% "raise", I actually took home less money than the month before. At the same time, the UW President got a $600,000 golden handshake. (keep in mind, the guy gets free housing in the form of the President's Mansion. :)) There was a plan afoot to throw all of our cheap 10year anniversary paperweights through his window, which, alas, came to naught. This was at a time when all the legislators were voting themselves big raises. </p> <p>So, yeah, I won't be crossing a picket line. </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=3#post-115193 Mon, 15 Nov 2010 18:37:34 +0000 Tim 115193@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>I'm a union member working for QFC. (For the record I don't do drugs and I graduated high school.)</p> <p>It seems like a lot of people have a low view on grocery workers. It may not be prestigious work but it's an honest living. I'm a night manager and my crew and I work our asses of every night to keep our store running. We are working while the rest of you along with our own family are sleeping in bed. It sucks most of the time, but I do it to make a paycheck and survive.</p> <p>I would be completely fine with renewing our current contract. However our employers are trying to increase their profits by cutting our pay and benefits. If my company was struggling to survive and I had to take a pay cut to keep my company afloat to keep my job, I would. But when my company is striving and my stores sales are higher than last year, I see no reason for them to take away the pay I worked so hard to earn. Being in management I get to see our sales and profit numbers. Kroger and QFC are doing pretty damn good for themselves. Some of the products are marked up so high it's ridiculous. Do you really think prices will be cut if Kroger gets rid of the Union and highers a bunch of minimum wage workers? Get real. They're it in for the money and they'll get it any way they can. They're a business. That's what they're supposed to do.</p> <p>In case anybody was wondering the union is sitting down for another negotiation later this week. I doubt this will end up in a strike but we'll see.</p> <p>-Tim </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=3#post-115192 Mon, 15 Nov 2010 18:31:49 +0000 pennygirl 115192@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>(Edited previous post)</p> <p>Here's a link to the latest news regarding the possible strike:</p> <p><a href="http://www.mynorthwest.com/category/local_news_articles/20101115/Grocery-workers-and-employers-continue-negotiations/" rel="nofollow">http://www.mynorthwest.com/category/local_news_articles/20101115/Grocery-workers-and-employers-continue-negotiations/</a> </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=3#post-115191 Mon, 15 Nov 2010 18:26:20 +0000 AtheistGoddess 115191@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>Is the strike set to begin tonight? Did I read that somewhere? </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=3#post-115152 Mon, 15 Nov 2010 13:27:32 +0000 teigyr 115152@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>pg, I was at QFC last night and thought of you! I don't know if pg-son was working but everyone I saw seemed to be working really hard. </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=3#post-115095 Mon, 15 Nov 2010 04:21:36 +0000 pennygirl 115095@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>Sorry to hear that Golden :-( </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=3#post-114981 Sun, 14 Nov 2010 23:16:41 +0000 GoldenRetriever 114981@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>Cd and ballardgirl. I will indeed reply and no the cat doesn't have my tongue.<br /> I am out of town attending a funeral. My response will be delayed but I always keep my word and will reply </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=3#post-114939 Sun, 14 Nov 2010 19:15:05 +0000 c2 114939@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>If there is a strike I am going make some signs with this logo:</p> <p>You pay peanuts and you get monkeys... </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=3#post-114660 Sat, 13 Nov 2010 07:00:18 +0000 ballardgirl 114660@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>GR, cat got your tongue? </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=3#post-114653 Sat, 13 Nov 2010 06:54:21 +0000 stopgo 114653@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>carlywine74 - don't fret. Barney is what you'd call a dumb guy. I used to work at a grocery store in High School. The best job I ever had. One time I took a nap in the toilet paper aisle up on the third shelf with a row of TP fronting the shelf. I've also thrown four or five shopping carts in the trash compactor. I did used to love going to work high on acid. One time I was high on acid and I wrote Kris Berry hates dijon mustard on the trash compactor shoot. another time we tried to go over the pharmacy wall. the floor had sensors and they rang as soon as our feet hit the floor. working at a grocery store is a good job. it takes a certain kind of person and I have lots of respect for the staff. </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=3#post-114627 Sat, 13 Nov 2010 06:09:26 +0000 carlywine74 114627@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>Barney Stinson<br /> offline<br /> Member</p> <p>"Most grocery workers I know are drug using high school drop outs. Forgive me for shedding a tear for them.</p> <p>There are plenty of people out there would take their jobs at less pay than what they get now. They should stop acting like spoiled children and realize they work in a no skill industry."</p> <p>I know this is from the beginning of the thread but I had to throw in my two cents.<br /> I am a grocery worker. I am a college graduate. I don't use drugs. </p> <p>I was without full time work for more than 2 YEARS before I was lucky enough to get the job I have. I love my job and my store is awesome. My job takes skill. </p> <p>and I am not asking for a raise. I don't want a paycut. That's all. </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=3#post-114576 Sat, 13 Nov 2010 03:22:46 +0000 great idea 114576@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>how 'bout:</p> <p>"stock your shelves?</p> <p>do it yourselves!"</p> <p>or </p> <p>"looking for a shopping cart?</p> <p>you'd find one if my boss weren't such a tarte!" </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=3#post-114569 Sat, 13 Nov 2010 02:41:51 +0000 pennygirl 114569@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>Or...</p> <p>Mess with me<br /> Meet a bag of pee</p> <p>Or...</p> <p>Algebra lessons sold here </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=3#post-114567 Sat, 13 Nov 2010 02:35:58 +0000 great idea 114567@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>maybe:</p> <p>the Man sellin' your food ain't a cool dude.</p> <p>or </p> <p>the CEO of Kroger<br /> is nothing but a money grubbin' ogre. </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=3#post-114566 Sat, 13 Nov 2010 02:30:45 +0000 great idea 114566@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>I'm pretty good at math, so the algebra should be no prob.</p> <p>I have carried a few signs at demonstrations, so perhaps I could educate him in that regard. my experience has shown that humor goes a LONG way regarding the success of said sign.</p> <p>any suggestions out there for good sign material these strikers might employ? (pun intended) </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=3#post-114553 Sat, 13 Nov 2010 01:49:32 +0000 pennygirl 114553@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>great idea...</p> <p>That sounds like a plan. He needs the tslk about a few things, namely how to wield a sign properly, picket line protocol, the correct way to lob a bag of pee, and a bit of algebra tuition wouldn't go amiss while you're at it :-) </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=3#post-114548 Sat, 13 Nov 2010 01:34:43 +0000 allisonw 114548@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>CD6 FTW! </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=3#post-114541 Sat, 13 Nov 2010 01:10:41 +0000 great idea 114541@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>exactly pennygirl!</p> <p>all those old people walking around with bags of pee attached to their canes/walkers. can you imagine?</p> <p>I will join the ranks of any potential strikers. I've got some time on my hands. maybe I can hang with your son in the picket line. any talks he needs given to? </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=3#post-114539 Sat, 13 Nov 2010 00:52:53 +0000 pennygirl 114539@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>Is that what they told you up at the Holman QFC great idea?!! </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=3#post-114538 Sat, 13 Nov 2010 00:49:19 +0000 great idea 114538@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>those bags of piss are really just warm water.... honestly. </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=3#post-114537 Sat, 13 Nov 2010 00:45:51 +0000 stopthebuzz 114537@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>but it could be arranged. :) </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=3#post-114536 Sat, 13 Nov 2010 00:44:27 +0000 Streaker Troll 114536@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>Zeesh thread is exhausting. Time for a nap. </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=3#post-114535 Sat, 13 Nov 2010 00:42:44 +0000 pennygirl 114535@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>Cranky...</p> <p>The quote you posted:</p> <p>"...watch for the bags of piss that I and some real Grocery workers will be launching at your car."</p> <p>Was in response to this:</p> <p>"Are these motherfuckers out of their fucking minds? Pulling a strike in this economy? Don't they value their fucking jobs? Don't they think about how they gonna put food on the table? That's just plain stupid.....get real and get a life fuckers.......there's more ppl out there to take your jobs if you go on strike."</p> <p>And remember...it's faceless people posting these comments. I highly doubt you will encounter a bag of piss when you are buying your groceries in the real world :-) </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=3#post-114518 Fri, 12 Nov 2010 23:06:51 +0000 rodmunch 114518@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>are people forced to work for the evil grocery chains? if conditions are so poor, move along. </p> <p>i fully support them if they want to strike, it's their choice. i'll cross the line without a second thought for my groceries and look forward to any insults they can hurl. if they choose to assault (as noted in the post above) me or my wife, then the fun begins. </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=3#post-114507 Fri, 12 Nov 2010 22:17:21 +0000 Mr. Crankypants 114507@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>I have never been a member of a union, but nobody I know who has been (except, notably, Allison) has ever had anything positive to say about it. However, one of the comments in the SW article mentioned the option of being a union member to be a "representational member only" and thus being exempt from having to strike if the union decides to do so. If it was me (and it is not, thankfully), I would not be able to not work. Period. </p> <p>As it is, I am not willing to go without food and other necessities, so I will shop. I have no interest in supporting one side or the other, I just want to feed my family. The jackasses who are posting comments like <strong>"...watch for the bags of piss that I and some real Grocery workers will be launching at your car."</strong> <a href="http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2010/11/grocery_worker_strike_looms_ov.php#comment-11837127">(1)</a> and <strong>"Enjoy crossing the line, just watch out for the pee filled water balloons."</strong> <a href="http://www.king5.com/news/local/grocery-strike-holiday-shopping-107004458.html">(2)</a> on articles about the strike aren't making me see things their way at all.</p> <p>I feel sorry for anyone who will be personally affected by this strike, but threats of violence don't help the workers' case. </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=2#post-114501 Fri, 12 Nov 2010 21:52:10 +0000 cd6 114501@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <blockquote><p>The negotiations have been going on for 9 months. Kroger has continued to make a huge profit during this time.</p> <p>Argue that. </p></blockquote> <p>I imagine GR is either never going to answer this, or he'll do so in the middle of a giant incoherent paragraph of Ayn Rand masturbatory fantasies.</p> <p>Here's a link to Kroger's past five year finances, and you can see their revenues climbing up over 60 million. <a href="http://money.cnn.com/quote/financials/financials.html?symb=KR" rel="nofollow">http://money.cnn.com/quote/financials/financials.html?symb=KR</a></p> <p>Here's a link with a table showing their revenues in competition with others in the industry: <a href="http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/snapshots/1370.html" rel="nofollow">http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/snapshots/1370.html</a></p> <p>In short, Kroger is the titan of the industry. They are not "just barely scraping by, held hostage by the cruel, greedy union masters," as GR would have us believe.</p> <p>Kroger ranks 23rd on the Fortune 500 list, ahead of Boeing even. </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=2#post-114500 Fri, 12 Nov 2010 21:42:25 +0000 cd6 114500@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <blockquote><p>Unions killed the auto industry in this country. </p></blockquote> <p>Let me give you a little history of the auto industry, by copying and pasting from a blog I read awhile ago...</p> <blockquote><p><em>THE TRAGEDY OF THE AMERICAN AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY:A Play in Three Acts</em></p> <p>Dramatis Personae</p> <p>BIG THREE, a manufacturer of automobiles<br /> UAW, Big Three’s employee<br /> Barney Stinson, an idiot</p> <p>ACT ONE</p> <p>BIG THREE: I have plans to build automobiles, but I need labor to do so!<br /> UAW: I will labor for you if you will pay me $40 per hour.<br /> BIG THREE: I will not pay you $40 per hour<br /> UAW: But I need to save for my inevitible retirement, and any health concerns that may arise.<br /> BIG THREE: I will pay you $30 per hour, plus a generous pension of guaranteed payments and health care upon your retirement.<br /> UAW: Then I agree to work for you!</p> <p>ACT TWO</p> <p>UAW: I am building cars for you, as I have promised to do!<br /> BIG THREE: I am designing terrible cars that few people want to buy! Also, rather than save for UAW’s inevitible retirement when I will have to pay him the generous pension of guaranteed payments and health care that I promised, I am spending that money under the dubious assumption that my future revenues will be sufficient to meet those obligations.</p> <p>ACT THREE</p> <p>UAW: I have fulfilled my end of the deal by building the automobiles that you have asked me to build.<br /> BIG THREE: Oh no! I am undone! My automobiles are no longer competitive due to my years of poor planning and poor judgment!<br /> BARNEY STINSON: This is all UAW’s fault! </p></blockquote> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=2#post-114481 Fri, 12 Nov 2010 20:26:16 +0000 Womyn2me 114481@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>Well, I rarely go to QFC to begin with, so I am ok with that one, although we do go to Fred Meyer for the 'regular' groceries. I do not go to Whole Foods and rarely to Trader Joes, so that will be ok. If there were a PCC in Ballard, interbay or magnolia, I would go there, are they part of this whole strike? </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=2#post-114437 Fri, 12 Nov 2010 17:11:35 +0000 Anonymous 114437@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>Teigyr - kind of off topic but Smith Brothers also delivers holiday cookie dough during the holiday season. I really like having a milk man and that the milk is reasonably priced and doesn't have any growth hormones or antibiotics and comes from a local farm. Well, at least when I was a kid it came from their farm in Kent - I'm not sure if they are still there or not.</p> <p>Also, I think it's a lot harder for someone to go to school if they don't like their job if they have kids - especially single parents. I know a few grocery store workers who might like to change careers but between needing to get the rent paid and needing to be home to pick up the kids after school, etc. they just can't go back to school. Even taking online courses is impossible with no time to do the course work when you work 40 hours a week and have to take care of little kids. But we should debate this over coffee instead of on the MB forum! :)</p> <p>Sadly, at smaller companies where the CEO works in the same building or even the same city employees are usually rewarded for good work. But when you get into the huge corporations like Kroger (which owns QFC and Fred Meyer along with all the Kroger stores in the Southeast U.S.) you run into the problems if millions of employees just being statistics. If you add in upper management who are greedy and look at the employees the way Barney Stinson does (they're just high school drop-outs who are no good anyway) they stop thinking of living wages and benefits and start thinking of the bottom line profits and making sure their share-holders are rich and happy and they get a giant holiday bonus. </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=2#post-114435 Fri, 12 Nov 2010 17:00:56 +0000 Anonymous 114435@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>I swear I leave for a couple months and come back cheering for Briar Rose and what she said earlier on in the thread. Weird but cool.</p> <p>One of my best friends chose a career in the grocery store industry and she is smart and kind and a very good person. I'd take her as a friend over elitists like Barney Stinson any day. I know plenty of drug-addled losers who drank their way through college to get a business degree (that a monkey could get) and now have high paying tech sales jobs with high salaries and yet they are still bozos. One's career does not make a good person. But then if you're already a jerk I guess it is cold comfort to think you're better than others because of what you do for a living.</p> <p>I think a grocery store strike is inconvenient but it's not like any of us are going to starve by not crossing the picket line. And you know, you *can* cross a picket line so where is the inconvenience to you to begin with? And unions were started so that CEO's making millions of dollars per year could not work lower paid individuals to death. Which is by the way a *good* thing. </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=2#post-114413 Fri, 12 Nov 2010 05:16:04 +0000 teigyr 114413@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>I think it's all in how you define a career position. I knew mine wasn't, that's why I went back to school. And if it's truly that horrible, then leave. The employers don't owe the employees anything, really. If they are GOOD employers, then they will treat their employees well and will therefore retain the best ones. If they are bad, then they won't. I also believe employees make the company so therefore those companies will fail.</p> <p>No, the grocery clerks shouldn't put up with it but the ultimate revenge would be rising above it and going elsewhere and perhaps leading a business that treats their employees as they should be treated.</p> <p>NB, Smith Brothers Dairy has eggnog!!! It is OH so good. Am not so sure how having a milkman ranks in it all but it works for me :) </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=2#post-114404 Fri, 12 Nov 2010 03:56:31 +0000 msballard30 114404@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>Let me see if I have this straight. </p> <p>One one side ... the greedy little grocery clerk who is making somewhere around minimum wage and is both selfishly and unreasonably trying to MAINTAIN health benefits, his crappy hourly rate, his pension, etc. (no, he's NOT seeking big wage increases as some here have presumed) in the hopes of being able to get by in a rotten job market where opportunities are few and far between.</p> <p>And on the other side ... Kroger, one of the nation's largest grocery chains with 2Q profits that beat analysts expectations, with a net income of $261.6 million (41 cents a share) that represents a net INCREASE of 2.8 percent from $254.4 million (39 cents a share) a year earlier. Sales were up 6 percent, to $18.8 billion, from $17.7 billion a year earlier. (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/15/business/15kroger.html). Poor Kroger, in a pitched battle with Wal-Mart, left with no choice except to start treating its own employees like Wal-Mart employees in a true race to the bottom.</p> <p>But really, I guess you're right DDF, Barney and the others. Those little people should just stand up an say "Hey, that's OK with me! As long as YOU'RE making a ton of money on my back, take whatever you need from me. I'm here for ya man. That's cool." </p> <p>Wow. What world are you living in that that's OK? </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=2#post-114397 Fri, 12 Nov 2010 02:21:29 +0000 Nora Bell 114397@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>Side note to anyone avoiding picket lines for Holiday shopping: Trader Joe's doesn't have egg nog in yet. </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=2#post-114395 Fri, 12 Nov 2010 02:09:26 +0000 pennygirl 114395@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>"So now I have to wonder about today's courtesy clerks making ten cents over minimum wage (according to an earlier post). Can they afford to strike? There must be a point where missing x many days of work costs them more than they would lose via pay cuts (assuming they aren't planning to work there until retirement). If they strike for a month, will they get evicted from their apartment?"</p> <p>Dweezil...</p> <p>No-one can afford to strike. But it really isn't about that. It has more to do with securing their future. I believe they are negotiating a 3 year contract which once signed would be set in stone. Union or not, it would be foolish to agree to anything that cuts your pay, health benefits, pension, guaranteed hours etc for 3 years.</p> <p>And another thing to consider. Anyone who thinks it will be business as normal simply because QFC etc can hire new non-Union workers to fill the positions hasn't taken in to account that the majority of delivery drivers that actually bring the food to the store will not cross a picket line. </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=2#post-114352 Thu, 11 Nov 2010 22:34:47 +0000 Dweezil 114352@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>Just a year out of high school I was bagging groceries at a grocery store part-time for low wages. It was also my first and only union job. The union dues in relation to my part-time courtesy clerk income really upset me and I stopped paying dues and quit.</p> <p>So now I have to wonder about today's courtesy clerks making ten cents over minimum wage (according to an earlier post). Can they afford to strike? There must be a point where missing x many days of work costs them more than they would lose via pay cuts (assuming they aren't planning to work there until retirement). If they strike for a month, will they get evicted from their apartment? </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=2#post-114345 Thu, 11 Nov 2010 21:38:51 +0000 teigyr 114345@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>Amazon Fresh! THANK YOU!!! I'm on crutches for a bit and have already experienced grocery store failure in a huge way. I can shop now! </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=2#post-114344 Thu, 11 Nov 2010 21:27:45 +0000 shallow.end 114344@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>another vote for Amazon Fresh! </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=2#post-114342 Thu, 11 Nov 2010 21:25:35 +0000 teigyr 114342@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>Allison, yes. It was very poorly planned outsourcing, granted. I think that is the perfect example of consequences and what not to do. </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=2#post-114341 Thu, 11 Nov 2010 21:23:47 +0000 allisonw 114341@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>Isn't outsourcing one of the main reasons that the Dreamliner is over 3 years behind schedule? </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=2#post-114340 Thu, 11 Nov 2010 21:16:57 +0000 BallardP 114340@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>Top Food, at 175th and Aurora is also under the same deal as the Ballard and Greenwood Market. Their workers will not be striking. They are a decent store and I think they are cheaper than Ballard market.<br /> Just an FYI in case the strike happens and people want to do their holiday shopping without crossing a picket line. </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=2#post-114334 Thu, 11 Nov 2010 20:46:42 +0000 Edog 114334@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>Outsourcing would suggest that industry had found a way to succeed, Barney. And still they failed. Yes, the cost of labor is an issue, but "Detroit" has been quite adroit when outsourcing and relying on foreign factories to compete for some time. You ever read the sticker on an "American" car? And I say that with the 80s in mind! Could it be there is more going on here? &lt;/rhetorical question - sarcasm&gt;</p> <p>By the by, academically speaking, the events you have described explain why a community that relies on an industry would suffer due to lower costs that would send that industry abroad, but fails to explain why a business in that industry taking advantages of those savings would suffer.</p> <p>The bottom line is the collapse of the american auto industry is complex, and anyone who pins it on one cause is not paying attention, or is easily distracted by BIG CASH BACK and a crappy product! </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=2#post-114329 Thu, 11 Nov 2010 20:31:22 +0000 Barney Stinson 114329@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>See the city of Detroit for further details on how liberal fiscal policy can ruin an American city.</p> <p>Baltimore is another one. </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=2#post-114328 Thu, 11 Nov 2010 20:30:38 +0000 Barney Stinson 114328@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>Unions got salaries and benefits to high to make doing auto building business in America affordable to the companies, hence outsourcing production overseas.</p> <p>If you don't believe that, then no one can help you. </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=2#post-114324 Thu, 11 Nov 2010 20:13:50 +0000 Edog 114324@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>Barney, learn the rules of debate. You made the assertion, the burden of proof falls to you!</p> <p>P.S. Ever read the Automotive Extremist? Its a fanatastic blog about the automotive industry. Go back several years, and look at past writeups and explore the MULTITUDE of issues surrounding the "domestic" auto industry. </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=2#post-114322 Thu, 11 Nov 2010 20:07:37 +0000 Sven 114322@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>Grocery stores are already phasing out checkers. They are going the way of full service gas. </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=2#post-114315 Thu, 11 Nov 2010 19:57:08 +0000 Barney Stinson 114315@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>edog, care to back that up with anything? Or just your typical blow hard liberal BS? </p> http://www.myballard.com/forum/topic.php?id=8084&page=2#post-114304 Thu, 11 Nov 2010 19:24:45 +0000 teigyr 114304@http://www.myballard.com/forum/ <p>Why do the grocery store workers deserve more than McDonalds workers? Am not trying to dismiss the grocery store workers, I could say the same for my profession too. Do they "deserve" more because they're union? I'd love to find a good economics person and just ask question after question because there are a lot of things I'd like to know more about.</p> <p>I wasn't thinking about striking being bad now because of the economy, I was thinking more along the lines of the unemployment rate. I witnessed a fairly large lockout/outsourcing action that I never thought would happen. I think a lot of union people think those things will never happen and they do. If the union workers lose their jobs, where is the security then? I think that the day is coming when unions will mostly be a thing of the past. </p> <p>Maybe at a MB meeting, we could all drink beer and energetically discuss something like this without holding grudges. My opinions are mostly observation, I'd really like to hear other perspectives. </p>