Whole Foods workers seek to unionize • Hacker News Board

Re: Whole Foods workers seek to unionize

#411

Post by Frondo » Mon, Sep 10, 2018, 2:55 PM UTC

spacehome wrote: post #397

spacehome wrote: post #394

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maternity leave policies are a transfer of wealth from people who have fewer children to people who have more children.

They’re also a transfer of wealth from shareholders to employees (who have kids).

Awesome. Transfer that wealth. Shareholders add nothing of value to any economic system. Transfer it all to the people who are making a contribution.

But you said "people are voting for socialism" (in a discussion about some group unionizing) and that's just a bullshit claim. This country is so far from socialist policies, and no one's running on a socialist platform, it's just empty words to say anyone's voting for socialism.

Re: Whole Foods workers seek to unionize

#412

Post by Frondo » Mon, Sep 10, 2018, 2:58 PM UTC

spacehome wrote: post #395

Frondo wrote: post #379

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, that is what a society is; we all work to support one another in one way or another. The only real question is what that support looks like. For most of the Western world, it includes things like paying women for maternity leave, and not complaining or acting like this is a big controversial idea.

That's what you want it to be. Not everybody wants to live in that world.

That's what society is; what I want looks quite different from what we have, but the basic elements are in place.

If you don't want to live in a society, there are certainly places on earth you could go to live out your days in isolation, and you might be happy there. Give it a try, hey, why not? If we miss you, we'll let you know.

Re: Whole Foods workers seek to unionize

#413

Post by skrebbel » Thu, Sep 13, 2018, 5:24 PM UTC

coldtea wrote: post #320

skrebbel wrote: post #281

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If anyone believes individual cashiers asking for maternity leave is a good way to get it I recognize that your comment is dripping of cynicism so I'm not entirely sure which parts are true. You're saying that you can't get maternity leave at Whole Foods (or in the entire USA maybe? I don't know whether this is national or just that Whole Foods is somehow a horrible, terrible, no good employer) when you ask? How ab…

> I recognize that your comment is dripping of cynicism so I'm not entirely sure which parts are true. You're saying that you can't get maternity leave at Whole Foods (or in the entire USA maybe? Generally not, unless if you're some hot shit or in a well unionized job. Heck, in tons of jobs people are lucky to get their toiler breaks... > I don't know whether this is national or just that Whole Foods is somehow a hor…

I just noticed that I never responded to this. @coldtea, I hope you still read this: thanks for your answer.

I am indeed from abroad and my only contact with the USA is through HN. I vaguely know some people who work in the Bay Area but they all have good jobs so which parts of their job benefits are perks and which are law or norm was never clear to me. I truly believed all civilized countries had at least some sort of government mandated paid maternity leave. Basically I imagined that in the US it'd be 2 weeks instead of N months. Thanks for elaborating.

Re: Whole Foods workers seek to unionize

#414

Post by bonestamp2 » Thu, Sep 13, 2018, 6:36 PM UTC

maxxxxx wrote: post #162

bonestamp2 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have trouble getting on board with your opinion about their dedication because Whole Foods stores across the country have some of the best and most consistent customer service experiences I've had. I'd say there's no doubt they are more dedicated than most retail workers. The real question for me is if they are worth $15/hr? I don't know the business, so I can't say with any certainty there.

I really wish that all people who get paid $15/hr and are said to be not worth it would go on strike. I'd guess things would crumble pretty quickly. Probably much quicker than if the people who make $100+/hr stopped working.

Just for the record, I didn't say they're not worth $15/hr. Maybe they're worth $20/hr. They're worth whatever value they bring to the business + retention bonus since hiring new people also costs money -- and I think in the case of whole foods that number is high, but without studying their business I don't know what that number is. To throw out $15/hr arbitrarily doesn't help anyone; it might be less than they're worth.

Re: Whole Foods workers seek to unionize

#415

Post by ct520 » Thu, Sep 20, 2018, 4:51 PM UTC

hannasanarion wrote: post #171

ct520 wrote: post #105

These people do realize amazon owns and as is heavily invested in the most technological advance replacement for cashiers right?

So you're saying they should therefore be happy to be treated like robots?

economy is booming, last I checked they were not slaves.