Superstore staff in Alberta vote in favour of strike action

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by Azure

What I don't understand is that most of these big grocery corporations do make good money. Why on earth they don't just take care of their employees is beyond me.

You know, like Costco does.

There is enough evidence out there to suggest that if a company does that, they make even more profit.

Is this your first experience with capitalism? The entire system is built on taking advantage of people. If they pay them more, they will make less profit. That's all that matters.

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

Is this your first experience with capitalism? The entire system is built on taking advantage of people. If they pay them more, they will make less profit. That's all that matters.

Don't forget the part where then other people will be jealous and angry at them for getting paid decently, instead of getting mad at their own employer for screwing them over

[The Yen Man]

Originally Posted by Azure

What I don't understand is that most of these big grocery corporations do make good money. Why on earth they don't just take care of their employees is beyond me.

You know, like Costco does.

There is enough evidence out there to suggest that if a company does that, they make even more profit.

Not only that, but you get staff who are good at what they do, and seem to be motivated to do well. Give them proper training, pay them properly, and surprise surprise, you get high productivity. Seems like a win win for both IMO. I can't speak personally to Costco culture as I've never worked there, but they're always ranked high in employee satisfaction. And despite Costco being a gongshow in terms of customer traffic, the wait times to get through a cashier given the huge volumes is fantastic.

[Hack&Lube]

I haven't gone through a grocery store check out in 10 years, I always prefer to self-checkout. This is probably costing someone a job, but it is not a fulfilling job.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

Not only that, but you get staff who are good at what they do, and seem to be motivated to do well. Give them proper training, pay them properly, and surprise surprise, you get high productivity. Seems like a win win for both IMO. I can't speak personally to Costco culture as I've never worked there, but they're always ranked high in employee satisfaction. And despite Costco being a gongshow in terms of customer traffic, the wait times to get through a cashier given the huge volumes is fantastic.

Yes but don't worry, Costco maintains their capitalist ideology by screwing over other retailers and small businesses with unfair business practices.

Ultimately they're meeting their misery quota one way or another.

[Yamer]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

I haven't gone through a grocery store check out in 10 years, I always prefer to self-checkout. This is probably costing someone a job, but it is not a fulfilling job.

I'm sure eating is pretty fulfilling.

[The Yen Man]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

Yes but don't worry, Costco maintains their capitalist ideology by screwing over other retailers and small businesses with unfair business practices.

Ultimately they're meeting their misery quota one way or another.

Could be worse. Could be Walmart, where they screw both

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

Yes but don't worry, Costco maintains their capitalist ideology by screwing over other retailers and small businesses with unfair business practices.

Ultimately they're meeting their misery quota one way or another.

Can you give an example of their unfair business practices? It seems to me that efficiently distributing large quantities of goods from producers to consumers at low costs while still paying fair wages is a pretty nice accomplishment.

[Cappy]

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

I've never really liked the term "unskilled" worker. It gives it a demeaning undertone, like it's somehow not as important as "skilled" workers.

Many "skilled" jobs are pretty much just repetition and experience

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

I haven't gone through a grocery store check out in 10 years, I always prefer to self-checkout. This is probably costing someone a job, but it is not a fulfilling job.

What? what does fulfilling have to do with it? People are trying to live and feed their families on these jobs.

Also, if you talk to everyone in the working world it seems that 70-80% of people working anywhere feel unfulfilled with their employment. It certainly isn't entry level job exclusive.

[kermitology]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

Superstore is my go-to. Some No-Name brand and PC brand items are sneaky good.

PSA: My guilty pleasure is pizza pops. Don't get off brand pizza pops, they suck haha.

I'm the same as you. It's unseasoned dough.. disgusting.

[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

I've never really liked the term "unskilled" worker. It gives it a demeaning undertone, like it's somehow not as important as "skilled" workers.

I’d be interested in looking into where the change from calling them “entry level jobs” to “unskilled labour” started. I’ve always known them as “entry level”.

[_Q_]

Originally Posted by Cappy

Many "skilled" jobs are pretty much just repetition and experience

This.

I'm an Electrical engineer. I design protection and control systems for electrical infrastructure, such as transmission substations and solar installations. To most outsiders, it sounds like rocket science. But it's not. I can probably teach a homeless guy off the street what I do and have them be useful to my company within 2 months.

As you said, it's all repetition and experience. Just the same as scanning produce, knowing the sku for royal gala apples off the top of your head, bagging, all while being friendly and keeping the line moving efficiently are.

[btimbit]

There's an art to everything. Doesn't matter if you bag groceries, stock shelves, paint crosswalks, or design buildings. You're no better than anyone else

[81MC]

‘Unskilled’ is demeaning? Only if you choose to take it as a personal affront to your character.

Unskilled is almost universally applied to roles/positions not requiring a higher degree of training or education beyond a GED. It’s not an indictment of character of the person doing the work, it’s a descriptor for the requirements.

If you want to call a cashier or stocker ‘skilled’ because you find it offensive otherwise, go ahead. But the very term is being misused, and it’s not rooted in reality. I believe almost every role within the scope of the union here does not require a technical diploma, a degree, or a trade certificate.

If we want to call these skilled roles, which positions would you call ‘unskilled’?

Again, this doesn’t mean I believe unskilled workers should live in poverty. I’ve been vocal in advocating for better wages and work conditions against the profits of multi-million dollar corporations.

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by 81MC

‘Unskilled’ is demeaning? Only if you choose to take it as a personal affront to your character.

Unskilled is almost universally applied to roles/positions not requiring a higher degree of training or education beyond a GED. It’s not an indictment of character of the person doing the work, it’s a descriptor for the requirements.

If you want to call a cashier or stocker ‘skilled’ because you find it offensive otherwise, go ahead. But the very term is being misused, and it’s not rooted in reality. I believe almost every role within the scope of the union here does not require a technical diploma, a degree, or a trade certificate.

If we want to call these skilled roles, which positions would you call ‘unskilled’?

Again, this doesn’t mean I believe unskilled workers should live in poverty. I’ve been vocal in advocating for better wages and work conditions against the profits of multi-million dollar corporations.

It's not the term itself, or comparing the terms skilled vs unskilled. It's just the way most people use it. It's almost always the same people that are rude to waitresses and talk down to people. Not to mention that many 'skilled' positions hardly require that much skill or work ethic either.

Both terms are dumb that's all.

[bdubbs]

Me, personally, I would abolish the term 'unskilled'. Which I think is what most people are trying to get at.

[PepsiFree]

Yeah, I don't think 81MC was meaning any insult by it (he always seems full of respect for workers of all types to me), it's just that the term itself is stupid. Primarily because literally every job requires skills. I'm trying to think of one that doesn't.

I suppose the biggest difference in jobs are the stakes. Retail is low stakes. You need skill to do it well, but if you screw up, mostly nothing happens. Maybe Karen throws a ####ing fit at you. If you're a plumber and you screw up, you could cause a few thousand dollars in damage. If you're a doctor and you screw up, you could kill someone.

Personally, I find the suggestion that a particular job isn't fulfilling to be more insulting than unskilled, since one is just a dumb term that everyone uses, and the other is a value judgement on what others value in their lives. People take fulfillment from different things and, for some people, jobs are just jobs and they get no fulfillment from it at all, it's simply a means to enjoy the things they do find fulfilling.

I always find it funny how we view different jobs though. Like, is a real estate agent "skilled" compared to the manager of an A&W? Probably not. Does a dentist use any more "skill" in their work than an electrician? Again, I doubt it. Of course, the stakes are different in some cases, but that doesn't always mean they're higher.

[TheScorpion]

Calling labour "unskilled" is a slippery slope.

IMO, "unskilled labour" doesn't exist. Every job should come with a liveable wage and, IMO, at least some health benefits.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

Is this your first experience with capitalism? The entire system is built on taking advantage of people. If they pay them more, they will make less profit. That's all that matters.

And yet there is so much evidence of companies in the same sector paying their workers fair wages and offering great working conditions who make more money than ever.

Damn that capitalism.