Grocery strike

[RitcheyRch]

Maybe I should go work at the grocery store when they strike. Doesnt quite pay as much as was making at my last few jobs but does pay more than unemployment. Maybe there is light at the end of the tunnel.

[HM]

I worked the grocery business when I was 17 - 19. It was a cool job...for a teenager! Most people aspired to get a "REAL" job back then. The "career" grocery people (or "Lifers" as we referred to them back then) were always telling the young people to go to school so they could get a real job and not get trapped in that job. While the pay was good, they knew it would not last...and this was in 1985!!! The people I hated the most seem to be the people who make up about 95% of the employees of grocery stores now...they think their job is a real career and they think they should make a livable wage in a job that requires little to no skill.

[Ziggy]

I wouldn't go as far as to belittle any grocery employee, but some are not the sharpest tool and would follow the lead goat off a cliff. I have a handful of friends that work grocery stores, these people basically have to follow the pack because otherwise they may be targeted from within.
The only one's that benefitted from the strike were Union bosses, they got full paychecks as the blue collar workers got pennies.

[Mountainstone]

I have lived in Alabama, Texas and Utah. None are strong union states, and I have never shopped in a union grocery store as far as I know. I don't want to offend any staunch union supporters, but does California not have Super Wal Mart stores? I shop there due to a large selection and low prices, I usually use the self check out because there is rarely a line (old folks hate 'em), and I cannot remember the last time anybody anywhere carried my grocery bags to the car.
I am not wealthy, and I am somewhat of a misanthrope, so I will go wherever saves me the most money and let the free market system decide who thrives and who starves. I can't see how a union store can compete with a non-union one in the retail/grocery market nowadays...

[HM]

Before you people just start to show your union hatred,
Too late. But, I am a an equal opportunity hater....I hate ALL unions.
I was raised by an entrepreneur of a father. He started with NOTHING...infact, his dad applogized to my mom when they got married because my dad did not have a "trade." He taught me never to buy into security and guarantees because there are NONE. Look at all the companies getting out of paying pensions! Where is the union backing these people on this? Anyone who tells you that you need a union is trying to make a buck off your fears...that is why I truly hate unions...they only survive if people are scared and they can keep up the employee vs. the company fight - they do far more damage to employees by exploiting their fear for profit than any of the companies that employ them.

[djunkie]

Phebus, the reason isn't because they can't work it out but because the companies AND the union leaders won't let them work it out. The negoiators can only give so much and don't really have a 'free hand' to do anything the companies or unions do not allow them too.
You are 100% correct about the last strike being harmful to both sides. The employees suffered losses that quite a few could not sustain. Foreclosure, BK, saw too many of them that had to sell all their playtoys just to feed their families. On the flip side the stores were predicting that within months they'd have their customer share back again. DIDN'T HAPPEN ! Shoppers found alternatives and although in most cases it wasn't as convenient, they remained.
Before you people just start to show your union hatred, please don't show your own ignorance about something you know nothing about. Let's face facts. The boat shop that works on your boat IS NOT worth 90. bucks an hour an don't even bring up education is this equasion. A real estate transaction is not worth 6% as you could do it yourself if you'd take the time an do your homework. The rest of the service trades are the same way to an extent. We live in a state that is driven by the economy an everyone is just trying to survive. You can't to it in this area on 15 bucks an hour. If you want to start placing blame then start with the basics such as the oil companies, the drug companies, etc.
Think about it. The longshoremans strike a few years ago put the hurt to this area far more than did the grocers strike. We don't hear any longshoreman bashing and these people make about 3 to 4 times what a grocery clerk does. WHY ? Because the majority of you don't have contact with them on a daily basis. They were not out waving a picket sign in your face. (shows that the leadership of the LGSHMNS union is a whole lot smarter than the retail clerks). I'd venture to say that the level of intelligence for one job would be the same as the level required for the other, with some exceptions.
99% of the union employees are not aware of the fact that they can basically "opt-out" of the union and still be able to retain their jobs and benefits. The companies do not tell them this except in rare cases and you can be darn sure that the union leadership does not tell them. The union leaders are the ones fighting to keep their jobs. They are scared at the moment as if the companies take these jobs non-union then think of the pay cuts these union emplyees will have to take. Think of the job losses, guess we won't be needing all of these business agents, benefits clerks, etc. any longer.
Ralphs I have no idea about except their management consists of a bunch of dishonest scumbags as proven after the last strike, Vons is pretty much the same way. Albertsons was rated a while back as the 56th worst company to work for in the country. Albertsons is TOTALLY "anti-employee".
Anyone notice that lately Stater Bros meat has turned to crap? The quality has sure been going downhill for about the past year. They've been raising their prices big time for a while now too. Guess they have to pay for that new worehouse (typo) they are building in SB.
Me anti-union? I'm anti everybody. The union lost all of their bargaining power when the last union member that knew how to use a few sticks of dynamite retired. The companies have been trying to break the unions for the last 15 years (overtly) in the interest of power and greed. (I'll write that chapter in the next post). F*ckum both.
Rio
Great post Rio. I do enjoy reading your thoughts on stuff like this whether I agree or not. But I must step in and correct something you wrote. The Longhoremen did NOT strike. We were locked out by our employer. Quite the opposite of a strike. I do agree that our union leaders are pretty smart when it comes to contract negotiating but they are not perfect. There is a lot I agree with but I do disagree with some things they do. Its hard to compare our union/industry with other union jobs. Its just not your normal 8-5 job. The port runs 24 hours a day an there is a lot involved but I could type for days and never really explain it all.

[Ziggy]

Great post Rio. I do enjoy reading your thoughts on stuff like this whether I agree or not. But I must step in and correct something you wrote. The Longhoremen did NOT strike. We were locked out by our employer. Quite the opposite of a strike. I do agree that our union leaders are pretty smart when it comes to contract negotiating but they are not perfect. There is a lot I agree with but I do disagree with some things they do. Its hard to compare our union/industry with other union jobs. Its just not your normal 8-5 job. The port runs 24 hours a day an there is a lot involved but I could type for days and never really explain it all.
Yeah, that Longshoreman lockout/strike had an effect on my business. I lost 2 sales of cars that were floating around outside of port Hueneme in ships for a month.... Nobody compensated me for that lost revenue, or found new buyers for custom order vehicles.
Can't we all just get along?

[yopengo]

Costco and Trader Joes for me. Fock them all.

[djunkie]

Yeah, that Longshoreman lockout/strike had an effect on my business. I lost 2 sales of cars that were floating around outside of port Hueneme in ships for a month.... Nobody compensated me for that lost revenue, or found new buyers for custom order vehicles.
Can't we all just get along?
It wasn't a strike!!!!!! RRRRRRRR. :devil: :devil: Sad part about the lockout was the port just couldn't handle the work. The media gave a ton of false information (what else is new?) and our union supposedly has hired a PR rep. to solve that. If you guys could have seen how packed the terminals were with cargo it would be realized that they just had no where to put cargo. Also the railroads were backed up cause they just couldn't handle the work load. Its sad that it all got blamed on us though.

[WYRD]

It wasn't a strike!!!!!! RRRRRRRR. :devil: :devil: Sad part about the lockout was the port just couldn't handle the work. The media gave a ton of false information (what else is new?) and our union supposedly has hired a PR rep. to solve that. If you guys could have seen how packed the terminals were with cargo it would be realized that they just had no where to put cargo. Also the railroads were backed up cause they just couldn't handle the work load. Its sad that it all got blamed on us though.
Give me a break you can't even unpack your house, of course its your fault