20 years ago a cashier position in a grocery store was a well-paying union job with a pension. It could literally be your career. You could buy a house, raise a family, and retire from that position.
New hires were, yes. Because of automation (and position hybridization, the rise of the gig economy, despecialization, and the rise of Walmart, of course). This is exactly the point that I’m making.
Old contract new contract.
When boomers sold the union so no one else wpuld get living wage, and they could keep their lifestyle.
I was lucky to have a supervisor when I started in 2006 who was open and honest, explaining why our holiday pay and schedules were so different (old contract new contract)… Still complicated, but no more raises or benefits.
He was making over 20/hr. I started at about 8 usd… 10 years later i worked another brief stint at the chain. Same starting wage. Probably didn’t go up until covid pressure.
Gen X got screwed out at the end of long union busting campeigns, and the rest of the shit rolled downhill.
Fresh out of high school, I started working at a store that was union, but everyone in my generation was on a different contract from the people who had been there for 20+ years. A lot of the benefits paperwork that went out to everyone had to clarify different terms depending on whether you were hired before or after a certain date, with the terms for the “after” group usually being worse.
Unions in general are great and necessary, but bad unions are still out there.
It kind of blows my mind. I mean, take the rights people died for and then pull up the ladder behind and ask why no one wants to visit in retirement. Like, we don’t even get time off to vote in general election, we’re so busy hustling for half of a living wage and free sneers from management. Very yikes.
A strike in time saves nine, fancy. Lives, probably too.
The U.S. We still had strong union grocery stores right up until automation hit. Then you get the big UFCW strike in California in 2003-2004, and what you’re left with is a store full of a bunch of people who are making middle class wages, but all new hires are making $8/hr with no benefits. Get on another 20 years, and that’s basically everybody working at a grocery store now.
Reaganomics absolutely blazed the trail, but self-checkout finished the job.
20 years ago a cashier position in a grocery store was a well-paying union job with a pension. It could literally be your career. You could buy a house, raise a family, and retire from that position.
Reagan is already 40 years ago buddy. 2005 couldn’t do that for you.
Yeah, I’m talking about pre and post self-checkout. 2005 absolutely could have done that for you.
Cashiers in 2005 were making $7.25/hr, dude. At least in the US.
New hires were, yes. Because of automation (and position hybridization, the rise of the gig economy, despecialization, and the rise of Walmart, of course). This is exactly the point that I’m making.
Old contract new contract. When boomers sold the union so no one else wpuld get living wage, and they could keep their lifestyle.
I was lucky to have a supervisor when I started in 2006 who was open and honest, explaining why our holiday pay and schedules were so different (old contract new contract)… Still complicated, but no more raises or benefits.
He was making over 20/hr. I started at about 8 usd… 10 years later i worked another brief stint at the chain. Same starting wage. Probably didn’t go up until covid pressure.
Gen X got screwed out at the end of long union busting campeigns, and the rest of the shit rolled downhill.
This was my experience as well.
Fresh out of high school, I started working at a store that was union, but everyone in my generation was on a different contract from the people who had been there for 20+ years. A lot of the benefits paperwork that went out to everyone had to clarify different terms depending on whether you were hired before or after a certain date, with the terms for the “after” group usually being worse.
Unions in general are great and necessary, but bad unions are still out there.
Thanks for comparing notes.
It kind of blows my mind. I mean, take the rights people died for and then pull up the ladder behind and ask why no one wants to visit in retirement. Like, we don’t even get time off to vote in general election, we’re so busy hustling for half of a living wage and free sneers from management. Very yikes.
A strike in time saves nine, fancy. Lives, probably too.
Damn! Which country do you reside in?
The U.S. We still had strong union grocery stores right up until automation hit. Then you get the big UFCW strike in California in 2003-2004, and what you’re left with is a store full of a bunch of people who are making middle class wages, but all new hires are making $8/hr with no benefits. Get on another 20 years, and that’s basically everybody working at a grocery store now.
Reaganomics absolutely blazed the trail, but self-checkout finished the job.