Walmart worker strikes spread across the country

[Engineer]

They think they are better than those jobs is the problem.

LOL, people who work at Walmart think they are better than a job? Heh. In case you didn't notice, my post was in sarcasm as I dare to say that there are not 10's of millions of unfilled jobs out there right now.

 

[railven]

They think they are better than those jobs is the problem.

Well, that's hardly a surprise when the likes of Walmart treat their employees like crap.

From the circle of people I know, these two ideologies aren't directly linked, at least in my circle.

Some of my friends are unemployed, but they applied at Wal-Mart/Target/Retail_Chain_Name_Here, but refuse to apply at Burger King/McDonald's/Fast_Food_Joint_Name_Here because they find it below them.

"I don't want to flip burgers," sure but you want to fold t-shirts "it isn't as bad as serving fries."

Sometimes I wish I could smack a grown person with no legal reprecussions.

 

[Londo_Jowo]

Also we as a nation pushed Trade schools. I remember in high school being able to take wielding, basic mechanic, basic building and electrical class's. Those class's have been cancelled.

Most kids now days want to land cushy office jobs, very few want to perform manual labor. Educators have been pushing them to get college degrees for several decades and now due to the lack of positions they wind up working in the service sector.

 

[drebo]

Here we are 50 years later, the US middle class is a diminished and endangered species, and now we somehow think that labor unions are the cause of that US decline?

Labor unions are part of it. The government is another part of it. Declining work ethic (mostly due to labor unions and government) are the third part of it.

The middle class is an afront to everything that socialism is about. The existence of a class of people who are self-sufficient and not reliant on the government for their day-to-day survival flies in direct contradiction to everything liberals, progressives, and socialists hold dear.

Just look at this thread.

 

[BudAshes]

Labor unions are part of it. The government is another part of it. Declining work ethic (mostly due to labor unions and government) are the third part of it.

The middle class is an afront to everything that socialism is about. The existence of a class of people who are self-sufficient and not reliant on the government for their day-to-day survival flies in direct contradiction to everything liberals, progressives, and socialists hold dear.

Just look at this thread.

This post makes little sense. Most people in unions and that work for the government are middle class.

 

[Engineer]

Labor unions are part of it. The government is another part of it. Declining work ethic (mostly due to labor unions and government) are the third part of it.

The middle class is an afront to everything that socialism is about. The existence of a class of people who are self-sufficient and not reliant on the government for their day-to-day survival flies in direct contradiction to everything liberals, progressives, and socialists hold dear.

Just look at this thread.

Of course, shipping good paying jobs that make stuff (wealth creation) out the country had nothing to do with the decline of the middle class.

 

[IronWing]

Labor unions are part of it. The government is another part of it. Declining work ethic (mostly due to labor unions and government) are the third part of it.

The middle class is an afront to everything that socialism is about. The existence of a class of people who are self-sufficient and not reliant on the government for their day-to-day survival flies in direct contradiction to everything liberals, progressives, and socialists hold dear.

Just look at this thread.

Nice load of horseshit you got there. When we had strong unions we had tariffs. When we had tariffs we had domestic manufacturing, good paying jobs, and a middle class. It was a great system until the rich decided they'd rather be even richer and convinced their conservative lackeys to vote for free trade so that the rich could get even richer, destroying the middle class in the process. Way to go, assholes.

 

[Engineer]

Nice load of horseshit you got there. When we had strong unions we had tariffs. When we had tariffs we had domestic manufacturing, good paying jobs, and a middle class. It was a great system until the rich decided they'd rather be even richer and convinced their conservative lackeys to vote for free trade so that the rich could get even richer, destroying the middle class in the process. Way to go, assholes.

To be fair, both sides vote for the horseshit that is (so called) FREE trade. Look at the deals Clinton and Obama signed (and they want more).

 

[IronWing]

To be fair, both sides vote for the horseshit that is (so called) FREE trade. Look at the deals Clinton and Obama signed (and they want more).

When it comes down to implementing policy (ignore their rhetoric) Clinton and Obama are conservative lackeys.

 

[Matt1970]

Conservatives claim "tariffs hurt everybody". Yeah those Chinese sure are hurting from the tariffs they put on everyone else's goods.

A good deal of Democrats do to and they are all wrong. US trade deficit in 2006 was nearly $800 Billion and the only reason it isn't near that now is because of the economy. The current system ain't working.

 

[Londo_Jowo]

Tariffs are like a double edge sword. True, placing tariffs on imports help local workers by making imported goods more expensive however, tariffs imposed on our exports make them more expensive as well so sales are affected which can result in manufacturing cutbacks/losses as well.

 

[Engineer]

Tariffs are like a double edge sword. True, placing tariffs on imports help local workers by making imported goods more expensive however, tariffs imposed on our exports make them more expensive as well so sales are affected which can result in manufacturing cutbacks/losses as well.

See my post above. The other countries like China are taxing the living crap out of our products sold there. They can say it's a tax instead of a tariff all they want but at nearly 19% rate (on the machine that we are shipping to China), I see it as a tariff.

I suspect that they (China) would be far more hurt in the deal consider that they really don't buy any where near the volume of items that we buy from them.

 

[Throckmorton]

They think they are better than those jobs is the problem.

1) They are human
2) They don't get paid enough for a human to survive
3) They are by definition better than those jobs

 

[Ben90]

Oh what do you know? Getting half your face tatooed made it impossible to find a real job, who'da thunk.

 

[JEDI]

Unskilled laborers can not successfully strike. Walmart will just fire them all and hire the next group of teenage mothers that walk in.

This. Why would they give more money/benefits to unskilled employees when there are plenty of other unskilled, unemployed people looking for jobs?

ding ding ding winnars!

 

[JEDI]

Yep, I've read comments saying the same thing on internet.

Seems like you're lucky if you get part-time position to start.

Glass Door website has employee reviews and supposedly open Costco positions (localized to area): http://www.glassdoor.com/Job/Costco-Wholesale-Jobs-E2590.htm

Probably best opportunity is if Costco opens new warehouse near you and word hasn't gotten out yet about how good a retail job Costco might be:

the one at WHEATON, MD (11160 VEIRS MILL ROAD) will probably be delayed.
heard the floorimg contractor did a shiity job.
costco wants to demo the floor and re-pour the concrete (at the contractors expense).

 

[alkemyst]

1) They are human
2) They don't get paid enough for a human to survive
3) They are by definition better than those jobs

Then the simple answer is they should be working at one of those better jobs.

Oh wait, they can't get a better job?!!? Let's just right-size what they can accomplish!

Screw socialist mentality. They need to get off their asses and either find something better or make themselves better.

 

[Darwin333]

Complaining about shitty working conditions is unAmerican. These lazy employees should have had the good sense to be born to parents who built a multinational billion-dollar plus retail establishment.

Just about anyone with even close to an average IQ can, while working at walmart, learn some sort of skill that will allow them to move beyond unskilled work.

 

[Darwin333]

1) They are human
2) They don't get paid enough for a human to survive
3) They are by definition better than those jobs

What exactly is the bare minimum, in monetary terms, that a human must be paid in order to survive?

 

[alkemyst]

What exactly is the bare minimum, in monetary terms, that a human must be paid in order to survive?

I have heard this argued at $25/hr lolz.

If we did this, it'd just shift prices up and you'd have a major inflation of everything.

We can't screw with much than a minimum wage that doesn't equate to slave labor unless we just want to pay more to get the same results and bitching.

 

[alkemyst]

Just about anyone with even close to an average IQ can, while working at walmart, learn some sort of skill that will allow them to move beyond unskilled work.

*BLINK BLINK* but why should I have to make myself better?

 

[JEDI]

WalMarts and the deindustrialization of America have been the most noticeable features of change in the American landscape since I was a kid. Across the USA almost all towns are mostly vast tracts of parking lots with corporate chain stores selling slave labor junk like gaudy plastic islands.

What few cities refused Walmarts contrast like night and day. Small businesses and families working their way up still happens.

Out in wally world you are doomed to a future of starting at wal mart, go into debt for a cardboard ugly house that matches everyone elses on your block. . and ending up back at walmart when you are old.

Reminds me of the old song verse: No future for you

psst.. competition is good for the consumer!

i, for one, like my stuff inexpensive!

 

[Acanthus]

I have heard this argued at $25/hr lolz.

If we did this, it'd just shift prices up and you'd have a major inflation of everything.

We can't screw with much than a minimum wage that doesn't equate to slave labor unless we just want to pay more to get the same results and bitching.

That is a joke. I've never heard anyone (in economics) advocate a $25 minimum wage.

If minimum wage was tied to inflation, it would be around $9.18. I feel that is a reasonable figure for someone who is thrifty to live on.

 

[JEDI]

Costco isn't the great bastion you think it is, Costco contracts out the food sampling it does, and the company it uses pays minimum wage, with no benefits at all. The people handing out food at Costco have it worst than Walmart employees.

in the dc metro area, the food sampler people are paid $12/hr to start.
(they have signs in front of their statiosns stating they are hiring samplers at $12/hr.)

then again, i wonder whats wrong w/that picture.
if they almost always have signs up, then why the high turnover for a $5 over minimum wage job?

 

[alkemyst]

That is a joke. I've never heard anyone (in economics) advocate a $25 minimum wage.

If minimum wage was tied to inflation, it would be around $9.18. I feel that is a reasonable figure for someone who is thrifty to live on.

Economics/politics are at a disjunct to what people (entitlement) think.

The problem is people want to live on their own and own luxury items.

I always love the people bitching they can't make ends meet and have gaming consoles, flat panels, actually upgraded wheels/stereos, and in designer clothing. Plus no roommates.

I know it sucks, but the country can't keep taking on everyone's shortcomings anymore. They will keep doing it though because that gets those that do major votes.