While many of us celebrate Labor Day with a backyard barbeque, an afternoon at the beach, or a trip to the ballpark, it’s easy to forget that millions of American workers are still struggling to achieve the kinds of lives that allow them such commonplace luxuries.
Your column reminds me of past jobs, and the erosion of respect for workers over time. In 2006, I worked for Banana Republic at one of their mall stores. I lived about five miles away, but some employees lived considerably further away. It was routine for them to schedule us for four hour shifts, which was minimal work for the trouble of getting ready and coming in. Then, they started handing out three hour shifts. After a few weeks, a group led myself and two other employees confronted our manager. We said that for some of us, the pay for commuting to a three hour shift would hardly cover more than the gas money. It was unacceptable. They reluctantly relented, but for many other workers, that three hour shift was routine.
Workers are now traveling across town, paying for parking, and routinely working without breaks. There is no effective policing of standards. Some employers circumvent overtime laws by maintaining separate businesses licenses even though they own the other locations. The downward spiral must be stopped. Unionizing is only part of the answer. Making employers accountable is the other. It truly is sad that human decency must be regulated. But decades of wage theft and eroding working conditions have demonstrated there is no other way.
Your column reminds me of past jobs, and the erosion of respect for workers over time. In 2006, I worked for Banana Republic at one of their mall stores. I lived about five miles away, but some employees lived considerably further away. It was routine for them to schedule us for four hour shifts, which was minimal work for the trouble of getting ready and coming in. Then, they started handing out three hour shifts. After a few weeks, a group led myself and two other employees confronted our manager. We said that for some of us, the pay for commuting to a three hour shift would hardly cover more than the gas money. It was unacceptable. They reluctantly relented, but for many other workers, that three hour shift was routine.
Workers are now traveling across town, paying for parking, and routinely working without breaks. There is no effective policing of standards. Some employers circumvent overtime laws by maintaining separate businesses licenses even though they own the other locations. The downward spiral must be stopped. Unionizing is only part of the answer. Making employers accountable is the other. It truly is sad that human decency must be regulated. But decades of wage theft and eroding working conditions have demonstrated there is no other way.
Well said. I'm sorry California succumbed to Uber and Lyft on Prop 22.