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I'm a Frito-Lay Factory Worker. I Work 12-Hour Days, 7 Days a Week

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Re: I'm a Frito-Lay Factory Worker. I Work 12-Hour Days, 7 Days a Week

#131

Post by harryh »

ffggvv wrote: post #116
vfclists wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nope. He is just like a prisoner coming up for parole who doesn't want to get into any trouble that will affect his release. The risk isn't worth it.

would being featured in this article jeapordize it? why even do it when you get a pension in two years

He was featured anonymously.

Though it's possible that there is enough information (age, tenure, gender) in the article to identify him. A bit hard to say.

He'd also have a pretty clear cut case with the NLRB if he was fired or otherwise punished for talking to the press about labor conditions (which isn't to say that this doesn't happen sometimes anyways).

EDIT: Er, nevermind. I misread it as being told to Mark McCarter thinking he was the Vice journalist. But he's actually the factory employee and Lauren Gurley is the journalist. I'm an idiot. TY ALittleLight for pointing out my mistake.

Re: I'm a Frito-Lay Factory Worker. I Work 12-Hour Days, 7 Days a Week

#132

Post by harryh »

bpodgursky wrote: post #60

My brother-in-law works at the Target distribution center in Topeka, and is very confused why these workers don't just quit and work at either the Target or WalMart centers that are practically next-door and begging for workers. Definitely sounds like a rough gig here, but everyone is begging for entry-level labor, most at higher wages than this. The workers need to just protest with their feet and quit.

It sounds like there are some pension benefit lock in effects that might make job switching costs higher than one would like.

Re: I'm a Frito-Lay Factory Worker. I Work 12-Hour Days, 7 Days a Week

#133

Post by TaylorAlexander »

nemothekid wrote: post #49
TaylorAlexander wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the fundamental flaw with trying to limit working days/hours is that some people will still pour their whole lives into work, To be clear, I am talking about a voluntary system. No one would be prevented from working more, it just wouldn't be necessary to survive. I love to work pretty much all the time, though only some of that is hours I am billing to my employer. EDIT: I quickly rewrote my original comment after…

> I see no contradiction or flaw. What I desire is a world where it is possible for any person to survive working 20 hours a week with a couple months off. What GP is arguing is that is achieved by fixing the pay distribution, not by limiting hours. If you only limit hours but don't fix the pay problem you create perverse incentives where people have to work undocumented "overtime" or face the threat that they will b…

I am also not describing a scenario where we limit hours. While I do have ideas on solutions, I am not even proscribing a particular solution. As I said, we must first agree that we are capable of changing things. Some want to imagine everything is as it is due to unchanging natural laws, when in fact individuals and collectives made a lot of decisions along the way. I suggest we question those decisions and imagine how things would be different.

One thing I can be extremely clear on is that I do NOT think the US government legally limiting work hours is any kind of solution. I am all about looking at society as a whole and reasoning on society-wide changes we can make voluntarily to achieve a better world.

Re: I'm a Frito-Lay Factory Worker. I Work 12-Hour Days, 7 Days a Week

#134

Post by pryelluw »

phreack wrote: post #73
pryelluw wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anyone knows why people decide to do this kind of time consuming work? Is the world getting hard enough that there is no alternative? As someone who had to do similar work for years the answer is that there were no alternatives. No one takes a shitty job on purpose.

I thought so as well, but then I started offering jobs to people I knew hated their jobs and also worked unpaid overtime constantly, with the smallest salaries. But for some reason, when offered a 6x salary freelancing, for less hours, with guidance, and the road paved as much as possible, everyone refuses. Turns out there are people who take shitty jobs on purpose, out of a sense of... I don't know, fear, embarrassm…

Freelancing is how I broke out of the shit job loop. But freelancing is not widely available and I consider myself extremely lucky and blessed to have been able to do it.

Re: I'm a Frito-Lay Factory Worker. I Work 12-Hour Days, 7 Days a Week

#135

Post by TaylorAlexander »

distributedsean wrote: post #62
clairity wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

as nice as that utopia would be, the fundamental flaw with trying to limit working days/hours is that some people will still pour their whole lives into work, which creates an iterated game that pushes the equilibrium for everyone toward working more. there's no practical way to mitigate this powerful, arguably inate, incentive. the other option is actively coercing a daily/weekly work limit, and that not only severe…

I can't believe people are even having this conversation. As a civilization we solved this problem about a century ago. We know the solution. In the US labour law has been subverted and undermined. Thats the problem. It's not that nothing can be done about it. Lots can be done and has been done around the globe (but predominately in advanced economies, of which the US is one).

"We solved it but the solution failed."

Re: I'm a Frito-Lay Factory Worker. I Work 12-Hour Days, 7 Days a Week

#136

Post by ALittleLight »

harryh wrote: post #131
ffggvv wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

would being featured in this article jeapordize it? why even do it when you get a pension in two years

He was featured anonymously. Though it's possible that there is enough information (age, tenure, gender) in the article to identify him. A bit hard to say. He'd also have a pretty clear cut case with the NLRB if he was fired or otherwise punished for talking to the press about labor conditions (which isn't to say that this doesn't happen sometimes anyways). EDIT: Er, nevermind. I misread it as being told to Mark McCa…

Anonymously? They call him by name (Mark McCarter) and show a picture.

Re: I'm a Frito-Lay Factory Worker. I Work 12-Hour Days, 7 Days a Week

#137

Post by pedalpete »

JackFr wrote: post #57

Where is the union? That has got to be the single most ineffective union I’ve ever seen. If that’s what a union shop looks like I can understand why people might not want to pay union dues.

I'd like to understand why you're being downvoted. Your comment isn't suggesting the factory owners/managers aren't at fault, but isn't the purpose of the union to protect the workers from exactly this?

Frito-Lay should be ashamed of themselves, and the union is an absolute disgrace as well. Both the union and Frito-Lay are stealing these peoples lives.

Re: I'm a Frito-Lay Factory Worker. I Work 12-Hour Days, 7 Days a Week

#138

Post by dzonga »

knuthsat wrote: post #2

Anyone knows why people decide to do this kind of time consuming work? Is the world getting hard enough that there is no alternative? Whenever I see people working really hard in other parts of the world, especially when the country is filled with other opportunities, I always wonder is it just everyone else that is raising the bar and now the standard is very time consuming work. For example, there's year long touri…

don't know if you read or watched Catch-22. There's phrase - what's good for the enterprise, is good for the country, hence good for the citizen. But if you're educated enough, you soon realize it's a lie. Hence why the `ills` of socialism are played all over the news n media.

Then of course, the propaganda that you're poor because you don't work hard. Which again forces people to work hard. Then you put in incentives such as tying employment to healthcare - hence no choice to be unemployed. n now you've the perfect recipe oh sorry I meant endless supply of labor / soldiers you can abuse at your whim.!!

Re: I'm a Frito-Lay Factory Worker. I Work 12-Hour Days, 7 Days a Week

#139

Post by andrepd »

knuthsat wrote: post #2

Anyone knows why people decide to do this kind of time consuming work? Is the world getting hard enough that there is no alternative? Whenever I see people working really hard in other parts of the world, especially when the country is filled with other opportunities, I always wonder is it just everyone else that is raising the bar and now the standard is very time consuming work. For example, there's year long touri…

> Anyone knows why people decide to do this kind of time consuming work? Is the world getting hard enough that there is no alternative?

I don't think anyone works 12/7 in a dingy factory doing repetitive work for fun. So the answer must be yes, there is no alternative for them.

Re: I'm a Frito-Lay Factory Worker. I Work 12-Hour Days, 7 Days a Week

#140

Post by regularjack »

cj wrote: post #128
akudha wrote: post #16

Jeez! 59 year old guy with the same salary for the last 10 years. People working in 100 degree temperatures with no air conditioning. This is depressing to read :(

It’s these people I think about when reading the weekly threads here on developer burn out.

Burnout is a legitimate health issue for many people in this forum, and elsewhere.
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