MNB reader Karl Graff emailed me about yesterday’s story concerning the staff of a Wisconsin Dollar General store that quit en masse, and my comment that “dollar stores in general have a reputation for cutting corners wherever and whenever possible, with low staffing levels that put enormous stress on the folks who do work there. In addition, there have been numerous cases in which corner cutting results in health and safety issues. The problem is that nothing seems to change the trend in any sort of permanent way. It is cheaper to paper over the issues and pay the fines than to actually invest in people and processes in any sort of meaningful way.”
He wrote:
“The problem is that nothing seems to change the trend in any sort of permanent way.”
Three years ago, retail, grocery, food service workers were all “heroes” who we couldn’t survive without. We loved them as long as they were willing to put themselves at some level of risk so we could get toilet paper and not have to cook at home all the time. Now they are back to being expendable and easily replaceable.
All work is work and the idea that a person working full time, traditionally 40 hours per week but per many employers 30 or more hours per week; cannot afford decent food, shelter, health care and transportation is mean. The idea that people should just get better jobs cracks me up. I live in a red, flat state and when farmers struggle no one tells them to go get a better job. They are praised for feeding the world, when in reality most of the crops they grow are fed to cattle so we can have beef. The propaganda is thick all around us.
Until we as a society shift our view about the value of all honest work, and the intrinsic value of the people who do that work nothing will substantially change. It makes me sad – I work in social services and most of the folks who need assistance work one or more jobs and I did work retail for a large part of my working life. In the 70’s and into the 80’s a full time minimum wage job could afford someone a home, food and transportation at least. We have created an incredibly unbalanced society, and I fear that there is no going back. I guess we are not our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers after all…
You’re right – “essential” is a word that was used a lot for convenience sake during the pandemic, but hardly ever is used anymore.
Some people and companies believe in the value of work, and some people and companies believe in the value of a share price.
Chiming in on the conversation about in-store music, MNB reader Andy Casey wrote:
This whole discussion makes me laugh and remember long ago when disco was king. I was in graduate school and working overnight on a stock crew at Safeway and the music got to the point where if we heard “staying alive” once more it would have been too much. Store was closed so we started bringing stereo equipment (tape decks, speakers and amps) in so we could play rock and roll.
Hannaford was cited in one news story as a company that gets it right, and MNB reader Joe Axford confirms it:
I can attest to the Hannaford story as I am a produce associate at the Londonderry NH store. The customers love it, and I love the sixties and seventies music. Dating myself a little bit there! There’s something for everyone, and the other associates love it too.
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