http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/culture-change/Content?oid=5654891 Comments On: Culture Change by Sarah Mirk en-us Copyright 2013 Portland Mercury. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, Portland Mercury readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact Portland Mercury. webmaster@portlandmercury.com (Portland Mercury Webmaster) Sat, 18 May 2013 00:00:01 -0700 Sat, 18 May 2013 03:45:00 -0700 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Posted by Alison Hallett]]> Wed, 07 Mar 2012 10:59:00 -0800 Portland Mercury
New Seasons of today is VERY different than it was 12 years ago. In the brave new store, policy is policy. Rules are rules. Corporations are people. Cameras are everywhere in every store, spying on customers and employees. Employees are liabilities on the balance sheet, not assets, and as such they are expendable.

It's sad to see what NSM has become (kinda like having voted for Obama). Today, the store is a sham of "the friendliest" store in town. Some of its policies are definitely better than, say, Walmart, for sure, but it will soon go the way of Whole Foods. Elite Green Capitalism, which values profit over people.

Too late for Ryan and other past and present NSM employees who have been dumped or dumped on, but you guys need a union, big time. No one has your back in a dispute with management. A "peer" support program is almost laughable because it does not level the playing field at all. The hierarchy remains, and workers have zero power.

Time for a union! Organize, Organize, Organize!

Posted by Former fan]]> Wed, 29 Feb 2012 17:25:18 -0800 Portland Mercury Posted by notinamillionyears]]> Wed, 29 Feb 2012 14:15:51 -0800 Portland Mercury
"I would love to hear from an NSM employee to tell us how often they remove all vegetables and do a serious clean up and sanitize those areas and how often they get checked by an outside agency. The same goes for other stores."

I would like you New Seasons Market employee or the organization for that matter to tell us, what type of chemicals do they use if they ever sanitize 100% their produce and food displays.

Why do I ask this? Because there will be chemical residues left in the display that will leak to the food. Don't think so? Wanna hire a lab to do the research plus a few sworn testimonies from employees? Ops, forget it, they are scared now. They are afraid of losing their jobs. The corporate boot is stepping on too hard on them already.

OMG, I let one cat out of the bag. There it goes, catch it, catch it or the crap will hit the fan!!!!!!!!!!

;)
Posted by Sense]]> Tue, 28 Feb 2012 16:31:06 -0800 Portland Mercury
independent lens replied to me however and i am going to share it here:


Independent Lens | PBS: Kristin Angelique - shared because it encapsulates our ethic here supporting independent filmmakers and diverse voices. As for the bit on Wikipedia - IBM was one of hundreds of US and European corporations that profited during WWII. That citation is one author's account, and does not (for me) erase the wisdom of this statement.

au revoir, kristin angelique
Posted by kristinangelique]]> Tue, 28 Feb 2012 16:22:29 -0800 Portland Mercury
New Seasons Market wants to make a profit. If you don't make a profit charging a 1,000% of an item's cost and dummies buy it, YOU SHOULD NOT BE IN BUSINESS AT ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!


Posted by Sense]]> Tue, 28 Feb 2012 15:55:39 -0800 Portland Mercury
"The National Organic Program grew from fewer than twelve total employees in 2008 to approximately thirty in 2010. As of April 2011, it operates in three divisions: Standards, Accreditation and International Activities (AIA), and Compliance and Enforcement."

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Orga…

Do you really think that you are buying organic food at New Seasons Markets or any other market with that claim? I say you are getting organic food for an outrageous price only based on the honesty of the producer, nothing else because it is not enforced in the country or the world for that matter. How in the world 30 people can cover the whole United States? How? What about internationally when in the off season?

Secondly, About New Seasons Markets and their produce displays. I would like you to go to a produce display and lift the vegetables in there and see what you find. A "planet" of bugs, microbes, bacteria, etc. They are never cleaned up, disinfected especially in around the clock stores. So buyer be aware!

If you are eating those vegetables raw, be careful.

That is the truth people and the same with the other food displays. Hygiene, handling, storage, displays are issues of concern.

I would love to hear from an NSM employee to tell us how often they remove all vegetables and do a serious clean up and sanitize those areas and how often they get checked by an outside agency. The same goes for other stores.

Common sense will tell you to cook your veggies, meats, fish, etc very well so you don't get sick. Concerning the veggies you would lose most of the gains nutrition wise.

Now, do you know the percentage of male customers on a New Seasons Store? Very low, mostly women, Why is that? Because women are scared shitless with cancer and these marketeers have found their holy grail by preying on women's fears.

Cancer is a combination of a hell of a lot of factors. You think that you improve your chances with organic veggies but since you live surrounded by pollution and transmitted diseases, you are better saving those dollars you are throwing away at news seasons and invest in a place where you can grow and have 100% or near it control of your food intake if that is worth to you, but do not rely on this scam to feel better because healthier you will be not! You just bite line, sinker and hook like the rest of fad crowd.

Sorry Ryan, But I think that the best thing that happened to you was to not be at New Seasons anymore. You will see down the road that this shake up forced you to aim higher, have more pride and you will learn to never beg for a lousy job back. Your kids are small now and they would be more proud of their dad if he fought for a way better job that a near minimum wage job leading to no where but the same old. Those friends you have or had at New Seasons are not your friends. You will see in time who will give the shirt of their back for you. They are psychologically intimidated by your firing and that is the whole purpose of the exercise. To intimidate and bring the workforce back in line according to corporate mandates.

That is how it works! BE happy that this happened now and not when you are old and nobody would hire you because these pricks really discriminate with age, gender and color. They don't do it openly but if you look at the average age, gender and color of the New Seasons Market employee demographics, you will understand what I am talking about...
Posted by Sense]]> Tue, 28 Feb 2012 15:45:20 -0800 Portland Mercury Posted by kristinangelique]]> Tue, 28 Feb 2012 15:10:17 -0800 Portland Mercury Posted by ohnos!]]> Tue, 28 Feb 2012 15:07:22 -0800 Portland Mercury Posted by kristinangelique]]> Tue, 28 Feb 2012 14:40:45 -0800 Portland Mercury Posted by thinkoutloud]]> Mon, 27 Feb 2012 21:33:15 -0800 Portland Mercury
Look, it was apparent from day one that NSM is shamelessly expensive. However, they were able to succeed by tapping into that ever-popular demographic, "White Folks With Money To Burn." BOTTOM LINE- It's just a grocery store. There are plenty of other shopping options for you to choose from if you hate the place so much. Or you can hunt and gather.

As for the living wage issue, NSM pays a good wage and benefits to people that do simple work. Not knocking what they do, but it is simple work. They also promote almost strictly within their own ranks, so it is possible to move up. Mr Gaughan, a long time employee, new he would top out the wage scale. He knew it was either become management or find a better paying job. I will add that he probably should have just gotten a week suspension instead of getting fired.

I do not begrudge your anger. I just think that it would be better directed at something worth being angry about, like the two homeless guys that got shot. No doubt Mr. Gaughan, our newest addition to the unemployed ranks, realizes that maybe he did not have it that bad. I hope his next job has full time hours, sick pay, profit sharing, vacation, health benefits (including holistic) and "lifestyle scheduling," as well as anything else this snowflake needs to feel even more special. In the meantime he needs to begin to learn to behave like a responsible adult. For instance, quit begging for your old job back via sophomoric attention grabbing and start seeking new employment, for jobless benefits are rarely given to embezzlers.
Posted by ill paxton]]> Mon, 27 Feb 2012 21:14:21 -0800 Portland Mercury
Maybe you should quit that minimum wage slave labor gig and get smart by moving up the latter so you can afford to bitch and moan about the current state of the country instead of hitting your 12 pack or a bottle of wine and call it the day.

Yes, I care about the people that were shot or are victimized violently. I also consider the millions of people in America today that are economically victimized by no jobs or low wages so they can never get ahead. Have you ever wondered why education is so expensive and not affordable to everybody. Hint, the system can not sustain itself without low wage grunts the way it is designed. Return on investment is mandatory or else. It is so F up that jailing people is a business, a private business contracted out by the states.

People are shot because our society is sick. It is out of control. The crave for drugs, alcohol and violence is so generalized that we have lost our north. Add to that the culture of violence accentuated by war and violent video games that kids and young adult become experts about.

We are sick as a nation dude. Get a clue and my best advice is that to not become a bulls eye for some sick idiot somewhere.

We are going down just like Rome and you have better smell the coffee. Kids are shot at their school regularly now and you wonder why adult or near adult psychos are not doing that on the streets?

Wake up!
Posted by Sense]]> Mon, 27 Feb 2012 19:07:50 -0800 Portland Mercury Posted by ill paxton]]> Mon, 27 Feb 2012 18:18:43 -0800 Portland Mercury
The more I hear about this store and their ways the more disgusted I get. Hell will freeze before I go to that place.

Good riddance! Eventually they will go bankrupt anyway. Those prices are not sustainable for the America we have today, unless they go to some rich neighborhood. The scam is out for everyone to see, at least the progressive bunch that is well read and knows better.
Posted by Sense]]> Mon, 27 Feb 2012 17:13:11 -0800 Portland Mercury
I am on your side and the hell with New Seasons. I truly think that New Seasons is the "same old", nothing has changed in America's corporate culture. They just are a bit smarter on their "dressing" to market their idea to dummy consumers. See, in order to compete, they have no other choice to present a facade, the organic one but after you really dig into it, that is just a facade. They must show numbers to back up their claims. They profit on the liberal/progressive movement that this country is embarking on. After all is said and done, they are the same as a Safeway or a walmart. They profit by screwing the consumers and their employees.

I wonder if long term NSM employees realize the impact of a minimum wage in their social security earnings when they retire, that is providing that the extreme right does not do away with the whole system altogether.

My advice to you is to remove the video links you posted because they look kind of weird. You should make a video right from across the street of their store and state your case seriously and to the point. That way you will gain more credibility and the "anonymous" kind won't be trying to ridicule you.

Anyway, you are not alone in the contempt against New Seasons Market. There are plenty of people around that don't drink their kool-aid and are a bit wealthier because of it. A dollar not spent in their store is a dollar saved that could be producing earnings instead of ending up in their pockets.

Concerning this ex-employee Ryan, he is making a huge mistake. I know that he has a family to feed and the pressure he must be feeling is probably overwhelming that is why he is losing his dignity with a picture begging for NSM to take him back. Personally, I would rather reinvent myself and give the my middle finger. He is suffering a loss not only of a job but also his daily friends. Time will cure that and he will learn from it. They probably made him an example for other employees. He took the fall. Sometimes that happens. The problem is that he may not even get unemployment and there is where the community, his friends and family ought to help. New Seasons Market won't hire him back because corporate mandates won't let this set a precedent or weakness from them. That is how they manage people, that is by acts like this and psychological intimidation towards the rest of the employees. New Seasons is not the employee's store in corporate land. They are just tools, low cost tools at that.

New Seasons Employees ought to run the hell away from that type of business model and start their own. They already know the suppliers.

They could start their own niche businesses with the acquired knowledge and change the dynamic of grocery stores by creating smaller stores where the commitment from the customers is not just the quality of the food but because it is "employee owned" and managed where the profits go back to the business and the prosperity of their workers.


Posted by Sense]]> Mon, 27 Feb 2012 17:02:14 -0800 Portland Mercury
i previously posted links to everything which is completely truthful with regards to which you refer for several reasons but especially so that nobody could accuse me of withholding information.

i was arbitrarily trespassed for a reason that is off-topic - and i chose not to belabor that fact here - but as to be completely forthcoming i made a note of it in a very previous post and provided a link to the entire story which i spent months writing out.

miguel rosas-baker, a seven corners manager, freely admitted that he didn't actually need a reason to trespass me. that is not friendly.

on june 23 i met with a new seasons market "customer advocate" regarding the injustices i felt nsm responsible for and most of all to put my side of the story on record and, i had hoped, resolve the situation privately, but this was to no avail... instead as to deter me from the possibility of "seeking to prove my innocence" i was informed that i was trespassed from all locations.

the point for me was not "wah wah wah take me back" but how dare you attempt to F me over when i have done nothing wrong and this led to me choosing to do two things:

1. not to "do something wrong" but to give new seasons an actual worthy reason of trespassing me by pissing them off by actually doing something they could point to: protesting their HYPOCRISY

my protest began by distributing only nsm e-mail which was sent to me. completely presented with their exact words.

2. and by being totally honest with anyone who inquired of me, what had led to my trespassing, regardless of how embarrassing it was for me to do so.

my protest first GREW when new seasons tried to F me over even more, but also out of a community response, and information i uncovered on my own, during my subsequent investigation into new season's fraudulency and hypocrisy.

...it is already a matter of public record in many places, and i have a new seasons former employee (who was a best friend to me before everything went down) as my primary witness that i had long before the may 19 "trespassing incident" considered publically calling out new seasons, on behalf of slaughtered animals, because it is my belief that they should adopt a different motto if they wish to profit from such exploitation...

nothing you allude to is anything i have hidden here at this article and it is this website which first published that e-mail nsm sent me (aside from me i mean) on july 1, 2011 (by denis c theriault himself)! my story has been told a lot by now, i was trying to stick to topic here, but not by covering anything up: fyi.

and if by "you of all people" you meant to imply why would anyone want to make themselves a target for ridicule, i get your drift but my response to that is that i certainly do not wish to be a target for ridicule but it is the risk that an open and honest person takes when they seek to back up their claims by being truthful about their identity.

i am an artist, filmmaker, musician and i publish a fanzine (this is the short list) i also have friends and family and i put everything on the line by being so open but i have the truth on my side so i have nothing to hide.

it still sucks but that's how it is.

i am unaware of any mistruth on any flyer i have ever created or disseminated, back up your claim.

additionally, i provided substantiation to every factual claim i made and was careful to state that something was either my opinion or heresay on everything i published.

there should totally be surveillance video of everything that took place at the seven corners store on may 19 2011, if i had been untruthful new seasons could have easily proven it but i was totally truthful and i have never had your management dispute that with me personally.

if i'm leaving anything out feel free to ask me more questions, what have you got to lose as a coward who posts as anonymous.
Posted by kristinangelique]]> Mon, 27 Feb 2012 16:37:47 -0800 Portland Mercury
Do you believe in evolution? Do you believe that creatures must adapt to their environment? Do you believe in acid rain for example? Do you believe that everything that surround us affects us in one way or the other for good or for bad? If so, you can run but you can't hide. Your body in its limited duration on earth will adapt or it will be extinct. Those forces we can't control in their entirety. Genetic manipulation, salt water in your chicken and blah blah blah has been going on for a long time. The combustion engine and all other emissions are changing us anyway. You can't hide from the chemicals in your plastic containers or the air, and on and on. It is a losing battle.

The point I was trying to make with Apple was that they pay their employees well and most likely they won't quit because they are taken care of even with outrageous profits.

The key "anonymous" is how the pie is distributed. That is profits. Where do they go and whether the employees need to borrow to make ends meet at the end of the day. Once they need to borrow, they are caught in the compound interest trap and there only two ways out, bankruptcy or eternal poverty unless they stop drinking the kool-aid and they run the hell away from a below subsistence wage.

Let's say that for a profit dollar 20% is distributed among the indians and 80% is distributed among the chiefs. Now, what is wrong with that picture? Get my drift.

Now let's say they chiefs have a good heart and they give the indians 40% and as a "bonus" but wait. That is taxed at 45% or so so you never see the money. Wow, what a racket, you lose every time.

My point is that it is time to re-engineer this racket and make it more fair fro the ones that really do the work. What is wrong with that? Do you like to be poor? To see your kids and look at them in the eyes and tell them, I am sorry because of the lousy wage I have, I can't send you to college or the capital and time to be an entrepreneur? Do you get my drift of generational poverty pretty much mandated by this business model.

On poster mentioned the "invisible hand" referring to Adam Smith. That is the market forces. Let the market determine wages. Fine and dandy but we have at least to set up a livable starting point don't you think?

Is $10 and hour a livable starting point? Hell no!



Posted by Sense]]> Mon, 27 Feb 2012 15:42:38 -0800 Portland Mercury
Your comparison of Apple moving its manufacturing off shore with importing food is bogus. Apple could easily keep their manufacturing here and still be profitable. This is unlike importing produce from different climate zones, which is done to extend availability, not to increase profits.

"Is it morally acceptable to sell coffee to include sugary additives to complete the drink so you not only make zombies of your customers, plus add eventual diabetes, get them hooked in the caffeine drug and loot their wallets at the same time forcing them to come for some more while at it, day after day? Have you ever tried to quit caffeine? Don't you think that coffe at the store has a purpose? " New Seasons is not the food police. Why don't you get off your butt and start your own store where you can pay your dishwashers $160,000.00 per year and sell everything for low prices, except for sugar and coffee and anything else that's for "zombies". I think you've got an excellent chance to sew up the niche market of consumers who are only interested in healthful food as long as they can get it with Monsanto's finest genetic engineering and sprayed with Dow Chemicals' pesticides.
Posted by anonymous]]> Mon, 27 Feb 2012 15:10:17 -0800 Portland Mercury
Does the term "living wage", "family wage" has anything to do with the governor's wage? Absolutely not, so do not distort the message okay?

America's minimum wage ought to be a living wage and from then, the sky is the limit based on meritocracy, not nepotism, cronyism, race, religion, etc. or any other way to step on the others just ambition in order to get ahead. Also, it is not right to keep people at minimum or near minimum wage plus borrowing to make ends meet and cover basic necessities. Usury is a despicable Modus Operandi to keep people oppressed and to control them.

The only reason why you love your minimum wage job is because of supply and demand of working stiffs and a market collusion of "the industry" as you refer to it or what it is customary. The minute we have a near 5-6% economic growth rate that minimum wage job that you love so much today would be vacant because you would be "pursuing other interests" as they note when you are fired or you quit.

Let me sweeten this pill up for you with a song, NSM would be left?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvxrYm4nxXY




Posted by Sense]]> Mon, 27 Feb 2012 15:07:21 -0800 Portland Mercury
It's amusing that you of all people would ask that question. I know why you were trespassed off New Seasons' property, which had nothing to do with your "protest", which only began after the fact. Anyone who reads your flyers, which are full of lies and misrepresentations, can form their own conclusions about your mental state. I don't want to become the target of your obsession.
Posted by anonymous]]> Mon, 27 Feb 2012 14:44:25 -0800 Portland Mercury
Don't worry so much about me. I don't rely on NSM to survive nor to eat or drink. I am pretty much as healthy if not even healthier as the other guy spare any "obsession" about it.

About NSM books. Stop misrepresenting the truth. Unless you are an executive of NSM or you prepare the financial statements, you have no idea about the "real" deal. See, you are not talking to a minimum wager, so stop assuming much. A common practice is something called "on a need to know basis" and you tell the employees only what they need to know.

Your numbers are "imaginary". How else would you justify opening more stores if the earnings are not there to justify so?

About the profit sharing, 401ks, bonuses, etc. Have you ever read the fine print on a 401k and/or the mutual funds commision earnign schemes? I encourage you to do so. Have you ever validated the numbers shown in a profit/loss statement as a grunt employee? I can't stop laughing. Do you really understand the tax schemes that go into preparing financial statements for tax purposes and especially when a company is for sale? I could go on and on, but I can't compete with a kool-aid drinking that thinks that New Seasons Market is better than apple pie at $10 dollars an hour. Laughable!

About scraps, dents and related matters. You often mention "industry" like there are defined rules, customary behaviors, etc. Fine, but I say to that. Re-invent the freaking wheel for God sakes. Yes, I think a minimum wage job ought to be only a temporary job because it insults people's intelligence to sell their prime time in their of life, for peanuts. Something is wrong with that type of people that even love to be poor or be treated with disrespect by their employers that they can not touch what they themselves produce. They should even take a truck load home and promote it with their neighbors if you ask me, so they come to the store and become customers.

Anyway, let's review this one more time. A $10-$14 dollar an hour job must not be an end but only a beginning in the American dream path reserved for young workers while they go to school, nothing else. An adult individual must have more ambition than tha,t so our country can lead again, not fall behind like we are today.

Stop drinking the kool-aid anonymous and please, get a lab kit or service and evaluate all the chemicals found in the food, containers, display cases, cleaning products, etc at a NSM store or any other. I guarantee you that most of the Organic claim is lost by contamination and chemicals not declared plus source of origin of the products.

Now, get back to punching your clock and have another kool-aid drink while at it. Oh, I forgot. Since you are so much into the organic fad, I have a question for you....

Is it morally acceptable to sell coffee to include sugary additives to complete the drink so you not only make zombies of your customers, plus add eventual diabetes, get them hooked in the caffeine drug and loot their wallets at the same time forcing them to come for some more while at it, day after day? Have you ever tried to quit caffeine? Don't you think that coffe at the store has a purpose? Why do I mention this is because you can't be good at one thing and totally contradictory at another one.

The food and drinks we eat are all chemically polluted, contaminated at their source, their handling, their processing and their transportation, their display, their transportation home and preparing, even storing and reheating. That is a fact anonymous and there is nothing we can do about it. You can give the impression that is all "kosher" but that is just a marketing scheme give and take a few chemicals.



Posted by Sense]]> Mon, 27 Feb 2012 14:26:30 -0800 Portland Mercury
"Look at exemplary companies like many that exist that pay their employees well. Malcontent is not often the case. Actually, they are proud to work for an organization or another. Look at Apple for instance." Oh, you mean the Apple that off shored their manufacturing to a country that actually has slave labor.

"Are you going to tell me that you can't create a grocery store where employees really thrive?

Bull crapola. It can be done!" If your definition of thriving is when dishwashers' wages exceed what the Oregon governor earns, you couldn't be more wrong.

Posted by anonymous]]> Mon, 27 Feb 2012 14:22:38 -0800 Portland Mercury
As a four year New Seasons employee with 21 years of grocery experience in four different stores, I would like to add my perspective.

New Seasons offers a way better deal than what the unionized stores do and the working conditions are much better. New Seasons offers a better pay scale. Union store employees who work less than 80 hours a month receive no health care benefits while New Seasons pays 50% for employees who work just one shift a week and 80% for employees who work 20 hours per week. New Seasons covers domestic partners and even the children of domestic partners while at the union stores domestic partners aren't covered. Sick leave policy is more generous at New Seasons. New Seasons employees get five sick days per year, but the key point is that an employee can miss one day and claim a sick day. The union stores don't pay sick time until the third day an employee is out and then the employee has to have a doctor's excuse and the store can make the employee go to a doctor of the store's choosing. Vacation policy is more generous at New Seasons. The first seven years is the same as the union stores, but New Seasons offers four weeks paid vacation after seven years while the union stores offer four weeks after twelve years. New Seasons offers profit sharing. I've never heard of a unionized store that does so. New Seasons offers employees a 20% discount. The union store I worked at offered a 5% discount, but at least they didn't limit it as Safeway does with their policy. Safeway employees get 5% off on Safeway brand merchandise only. The 5% discount policy tells you a lot about how they feel about their employees. It makes sense to give employees a good discount. It's an inexpensive benefit. When an employee receives a dollar in wages, it costs the store more than that because they have to pay matching FICA taxes, unemployment, workman's comp., and TriMet tax. Then the employee has to pay taxes on the dollar. It ends up costing the store about two dollars for every one dollar that makes it into the employee's pocket. With a discount it costs the store maybe sixty-five cents to put a dollar in the employees pocket. It's stupid not to give employees a generous discount, but they don't do it because they don't want to give the employees anything. New Seasons also allows employees to take home scratch and dent merchandise for free while at Safeway employees get nothing. What they don't donate they would rather throw in the dumpster than let their employees have it. If an employee does take something out of a dumpster it's considered theft. The only thing that is better at the union stores is holiday pay and only slightly. New Seasons pays us double time if we work a holiday, but nothing if we don't work unless it's one of the two holidays the store is closed, Christmas and Thanksgiving, in which case we get paid. At the union stores they get paid for the holiday if they don't work plus time and a half if they work.

As for tardies, at the unionized store where I worked, an employee could or would be written up for being one minute late, depending on who it was. New Seasons doesn't even count employees late until we're five minutes late. They also give us a paid day off if we come to work on time (within the five minute window) and don't miss any days for six months in a row. This is unheard of in the industry. The reason they do it is they want to offer excellent customer service, which is helped by employees having good attendance. Some employees have abused the five minute window and management is trying to crack down on it because it hurts customer service, which is our competitive edge. Some of us start working as soon as we clock in, while there are others who will, if left to their own devices, run to the time clock to punch in, and then leisurely put their coat away, finish their cell phone conversation, use the rest room, and maybe grab a snack before they head to their department. Those who think there's something "straight up Walmart" about New Seasons are in for a reality check if they go work in a unionized store, let alone WalMart. I know one thing they'll miss right away is what New Seasons calls "life style scheduling". Not only is it company policy to not split an employee's days off, we get a consistent schedule. I know I'm always going to get my same days off and can plan accordingly. Every time I've ever requested a different or additional day off it's been granted immediately. The way the unionized stores do it is that schedules change from week to week. Employees have to be available for any shift. At the store I worked at, for example, work weeks ran from Saturday to Sunday. According to the union contract, schedules were supposed to be posted 72 hours before the start of the work week, but they never posted it until Thursday afternoon. So for any given weekend, I wouldn't know what my shifts were until Thursday afternoon. I could ask for a certain day off or for an early shift on a particular day, but all they would ever say is "I'll see what I can do". I never knew until the schedule was posted whether my request was granted. In general, they acted like they were doing us a big favor if they gave us two days off in a row.

Contrary to what a previous poster suggested, the unionized stores have no trouble getting rid of whomever they want. All it takes is a few written warnings. I've seen employees get written up for being one minute late or for inadvertently accepting a fifteen cent vendor coupon on an item we didn't carry. Then there's the trick of changing an employees schedule while the employee is on a day off, knowing that the employee will be late so they can issue a warning for that. They can also claim that a customer complained about the employee. They will also terminate employees for a single minor infraction. At a Safeway store where a relative of mine works, a cashier was going on her strictly enforced ten minute break and wanted a candy bar, but there was a long line. Just as many customers do, she left exact change with another cashier. Safeway fired both of them.

I work at Seven Corners but due to schedule differences I worked with Ryan very little. I like the guy and was sorry to see him terminated. I never heard anyone criticize his work ethic and didn't see anything that would cause me to consider him below average. I also don't see any evidence that his firing was retaliatory. Management was within its rights to take the action they took for the specific transgression they cited, however minor some may regard it. They also may have suspected, however erroneously might be the case, that he was taking more than tofu and rice. That's the sort of thing management doesn't comment on so we'll never know if that's the case. Employees sometimes are not aware that something they're doing might be regarded as suspicious. For example, I used to frequently see employees with backpacks or messenger bags go into the PG (perishable grocery) walk-in to look for free dated merchandise. I would certainly never do that because I think it's wise to avoid the appearance of possible impropriety. Eventually management made a policy that non-PG personnel were to stay out of the cooler and get the free stuff only after it had been removed to the break room by PG personnel.




Posted by Jack Dinehart]]> Mon, 27 Feb 2012 14:21:27 -0800 Portland Mercury
i get it that many folks have "screen names" but imo it goes a long way when you are willing to back up your statements by being open about who you are.
Posted by kristinangelique]]> Mon, 27 Feb 2012 14:04:00 -0800 Portland Mercury