SC vs SE vs ME?! *rant

[bean]

Yesterday I dropped into Kroger - hey, my store doesn't sell Dr Pepper, okay? Nor does it sell stuff like pens, paper, razors, etc.

So I get in line with my stuff. One lady is freaking out because her coupons didn't scan to 39 cents, they scanned to 38, or something equally stupid. The next lady wanted cigarettes, and the cashier was pretty slow in getting them. Actually, really slow, since she grabbed the wrong ones first, then went back to get them again.

Then the cashier yelled out to the customer if they wanted X cigarettes. The customer said "What?". The cashier yelled out again, then the customer responded.. then the cashier said "I can't hear you" and motioned for her to walk to the next register. Of course, in a noisy store, neither of them could hear each other, and the cashier wound up getting pretty pissed off and slamming her hand on the counter.

Finally, the cashier is getting the right cigs for the customer, the customer makes a comment about how Kroger always sticks the slowest cashiers on express (... express was closed, we were in the next line), and I made a comment back along the lines of "I work at X grocery across the street, she's not doing bad at all given the circumstances... but admittedly I'm here because my store doesn't sell this stuff". Customer told me "Oh I love shopping there" and we BS'd for a minute.

The SE reared her horns and went off on both of us about how she could hear us talking about how much we "hate shopping here and prefer to go across the street", and kept cutting us off when we tried to explain that no, she didn't hear what she thought she heard, and I kept trying to tell her that I WORKED AT THE STORE ACROSS THE STREET... and was still shopping at the competition!

I don't think I've ever come so close to losing my temper with a service worker before, she couldn't get it through her f*cking head that I was actually defending her to begin with.

I've shopped in there before wearing my Whole Foods shirt, and the same employee made a snide remark to me before... then asked what my store paid cashiers ($10.25/hour to start, Kroger starts at $7.50 here and doesn't have half the benefits that we have), then she remarked "Well at least we're union and have secure jobs!" and gave me a dirty look.

I'm thinking I need to have a little talk with the manager in that store.. although judging by how crappy the store looks in general, I doubt they'll care much.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

I'm calling BS on the union status if she's only making 7 bucks an hour.

[LifeCarnie]

then asked what my store paid cashiers ($10.25/hour to start, Kroger starts at $7.50 here and doesn't have half the benefits that we have), then she remarked "Well at least we're union and have secure jobs!" and gave me a dirty look.

Job security?? Because......people are going to STOP eating healthy? That's a stupid comment spouted by someone who reads too much union propaganda.

I was a teamster at one time, who actually took part in the UPS strike. I HATE, HATE, HATE the modern unions, they are totally useless. For precisely the reasons you posted. She's paying union dues, but you make more money and have better benefits. So WHY is she paying union dues? Oh that's right job security, because without the union people wouldn't eat.

I'm calling BS on the union status if she's only making 7 bucks an hour.

That's pretty much what the union slugs make around here. $7.39 to be precise.

[dreams305]

When I worked for a job that was in the Service Workers Union, I made $7.03 (min wage was $6.25)

As far as I know the only reason it's any amount more than that now is because minimum wage went up to $8.00

[BrightEyedKitty]

I'm calling BS on the union status if she's only making 7 bucks an hour.

Working for a nameless chain drugstore years ago, were were union; I was making minimum wage, and my union dues were deducted from my paycheck.

Crappy union, to say the least.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Seriously? I've never been part of a union, so I'm a bit suprised. What exactly is the benefit of joining a union if you still get crappy wages?

At 7 bucks an hour, how on earth can anyone afford the dues?

[blas]

I would imagine the union dues come out of their checks, kind of like insurance comes out of our checks where I work.

Technically, if we didn't have insurance and other benefits deducted from our checks, we would be making almost $20 an hour.

Well, at least, that's what we were told when we were complaining about temps making more money an hour than veteran and long time employees.

[Kogarashi]

At Wal-Mart, we'd occasionally get pro-union people trying to sell us on the idea at the registers. Wal-Mart doesn't do unions, and promotes a system where even the low-level employees can talk to management to try to get things done. Not saying it always works, but it's kind of like being your own union, I guess. Minus the dues. But I figured, why do we need to pay a union to "secure" our jobs, when we've got pretty good upward mobility in the company as it stands? My wages when I left after only four months were two dollars higher than minimum wage at the time, and with my employee performance and the like, there was a good chance of more raises before I hit a year there.

[Andara Bledin]

I'm thinking I need to have a little talk with the manager in that store.. although judging by how crappy the store looks in general, I doubt they'll care much.

You think you do? I'd have done it right then and there.

Seriously? I've never been part of a union, so I'm a bit suprised. What exactly is the benefit of joining a union if you still get crappy wages?

Some unions are still great, but a lot of the less-needed unions out there (where the industry has cleaned itself up), have started turning into exactly the entities they were created to protect the workers from in the first place.

At Wal-Mart, we'd occasionally get pro-union people trying to sell us on the idea at the registers. Wal-Mart doesn't do unions, and promotes a system where even the low-level employees can talk to management to try to get things done.

From everything I've heard and read, whether or not Walmart people could use a union is completely and utterly dependent upon the region. Some areas have great management and treat their employees the way they should. Other areas lock their employees in the store at night to work and don't pay them for the time that they were physically unable to leave the store even though their shifts had ended several hours earlier. (they got hit with a huge fine and judgement for one shop pulling that stunt) And considering what I've seen from personal acquaintances with grocery unions, I doubt being in it would be of any real benefit.

And my personal opinion on the UPS strike several years back was that the union wanted to hide something hinky they were doing with the retirement funds.

^-.-^

[PuckishOne]

Things haven't gotten out of hand yet, but I just want to drop in a reminder that we're talking about Bean's encounter with the sucky cashier, and NOT the political and social viability of labor unions. Thanks.