Rant from beyond!!!

[zabu of nΩd]

About the Wal-Mart labor issues thing:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Wal-Mart#Employee_and_labor_relations

Some highlights:

Approximately 70% of its employees leave within the first year.

a class action lawsuit in Missouri asserted approximately 160,000 to 200,000 people who were forced to work off-the-clock, were denied overtime pay, or were not allowed to take rest and lunch breaks. In 2000, Wal-Mart paid $50 million to settle a class-action suit that asserted that 69,000 current and former Wal-Mart employees in Colorado had been forced to work off-the-clock.

On October 23, 2003, federal agents raided 61 Wal-Mart stores in 21 U.S. states in a crackdown known as "Operation Rollback," resulting in the arrests of 250 nightshift janitors who were undocumented. ... Wal-Mart blamed the contractors, but federal investigators point to wiretapped conversations showing that executives knew some workers didn't have the right papers. The October 2003 raid was not the first time Wal-Mart was found using unauthorized workers.

As of October 2005, Wal-Mart's health insurance covered 44% or approximately 572,000 of its 1.3 million U.S. workers. In comparison, Wal-Mart rival Costco insures approximately 96% of its eligible workers, although Costco has been criticized by investors for its high labor costs. Wal-Mart spends an average of $3,500 per employee for health care, 27% less than the retail-industry average of $4,800.

 

[Belligerent]

1) Folders sucks dick.

Theres nothing wrong with Folgers or Maxwell House. Like Darkyn mentioned, for the price of a cup of FrappalappaMochafaggio you could get a full canister of perfectly fine coffee and add your own creamer to it. Just as good and a hell of alot cheaper.

 

[King Richard]

Approximately 70% of its employees leave within the first year.

Kind of a moot point.

a class action lawsuit in Missouri asserted approximately 160,000 to 200,000 people who were forced to work off-the-clock, were denied overtime pay, or were not allowed to take rest and lunch breaks. In 2000, Wal-Mart paid $50 million to settle a class-action suit that asserted that 69,000 current and former Wal-Mart employees in Colorado had been forced to work off-the-clock.

Before I start saying stuff, don't take this as me defending WM, because what they did was bullshit but...

1) How the hell were all of these people "forced" (like they had a gun to their head right?) to work off the clock?

2) It's not against the law to not have any breaks throughout a work day unless you work 8 hours. Paid breaks are considered paid working time. So technically, an employer can indeed tell you to work through your break, because you are on the clock. Lunch break is a different beast. That's considered personal time and unless you agree to forfeit your lunch break (assuming you work an 8 hour shift), it is indeed against the law.

3) How the hell are these people stupid enough to be conned into something like that? I thought it was common knowledge that you can't be forced to work unless you were on the clock, but I guess I thought wrong.

On October 23, 2003, federal agents raided 61 Wal-Mart stores in 21 U.S. states in a crackdown known as "Operation Rollback," resulting in the arrests of 250 nightshift janitors who were undocumented. ... Wal-Mart blamed the contractors, but federal investigators point to wiretapped conversations showing that executives knew some workers didn't have the right papers. The October 2003 raid was not the first time Wal-Mart was found using unauthorized workers.

Awesome.

As of October 2005, Wal-Mart's health insurance covered 44% or approximately 572,000 of its 1.3 million U.S. workers. In comparison, Wal-Mart rival Costco insures approximately 96% of its eligible workers, although Costco has been criticized by investors for its high labor costs. Wal-Mart spends an average of $3,500 per employee for health care, 27% less than the retail-industry average of $4,800.

Not sure how this is an ethical issue. There's nothing wrong in what they are doing here.

 

[Dak]

FrappalappaMochafaggio you could get a full canister of perfectly fine coffee and add your own creamer to it.

 

[King Richard]

Theres nothing wrong with Folgers or Maxwell House. Like Darkyn mentioned, for the price of a cup of FrappalappaMochafaggio you could get a full canister of perfectly fine coffee and add your own creamer to it. Just as good and a hell of alot cheaper.

I don't mind coffee and the fact it's cheaper is nice. But to me, paying a little extra for something I enjoy more is totally worth it. It's not even about the money in the end, it's about enjoying the drink itself. Therefore, latte > coffee.

Btw, I've had a frappafaprepkgaeingainggfaggio before, it tasted like dick tbh.

 

[CF87]

I love Starbucks. Everything shitty has happened to me and there's no way I can get a brain tumor or cancer.

 

[sadistik necrofiend]

Like people would be willing to do much, but I am sure that if say people (lets say 80% of the population of shoppers and coffee fucks) decided to go for something....say not give into the convenience of Starbucks or Walmart which are at every fucking corner almost and instead went to the other places I am sure that you would see a huge increase in the local economies.

Plus Walmart is fucking wierd. The times I did go there, there is always some fucked up shit going on (like one time there was gnawed stripped chicken wings on the shelves where they sell magazines in the check out and then it seems like there is like a migration of every color but white and also white people trying to run you over while picking their nose at the same time. Maybe its not this way where you are, but in Salt Lake this happens more often than usual. I feel the need to just about drop someone cause it seems like they are all cracked out or just going crazy all around ya.

I actually been cutting back on the coffee. Starbucks is just fucking weak anyway. I could get some real brewed stuff which actually serves a purpose and does something to you without all of the fucking additives that really aren't fucking necessary except for just fucking you up.

 

[zabu of nΩd]

Kind of a moot point.

I know I'd have to elaborate on that statement to give it some weight, but I think it's still a good indicator of extraordinarily low job satisfaction for their employees.

Before I start saying stuff, don't take this as me defending WM, because what they did was bullshit but...

1) How the hell were all of these people "forced" (like they had a gun to their head right?) to work off the clock?

Well I assume it was pressure from managers. If you're worried that you might lose your job if you go against your boss's instructions, it's easy to be manipulated by them.

2) It's not against the law to not have any breaks throughout a work day unless you work 8 hours. Paid breaks are considered paid working time. So technically, an employer can indeed tell you to work through your break, because you are on the clock. Lunch break is a different beast. That's considered personal time and unless you agree to forfeit your lunch break (assuming you work an 8 hour shift), it is indeed against the law.

3) How the hell are these people stupid enough to be conned into something like that? I thought it was common knowledge that you can't be forced to work unless you were on the clock, but I guess I thought wrong.

I don't know the details and cba to read more into it right now, but there are two possible sides to this issue. The employees may well have been putting up with shit they didn't have to, but on the other hand they could have been misled or deceived by their managers. At any rate, there is a 70% annual employee turnover there, so there could very well be a serious problem with managers taking advantage of the employees.

Not sure how this is an ethical issue. There's nothing wrong in what they are doing here.

I think you may be confusing an ethical issue with a legal issue. They might not be breaking any laws by having lower employee benefits, but it really isn't very ethical for them to do it, especially considering that they're such an enormous company with a reputation for steamrolling their competition through lower prices.

Apparently the courts disagree with that though, since according to the article I linked they haven't really gotten nailed by the monopoly suits brought against them.

 

[King Richard]

Fair enough.

 

[MasterOLightning]

Starbucks coffee itself isn't that expensive tbh. Unless you want to drink the shit from the gas station, that's about the price of coffee. Independent coffeehouses are often more expensive than Starbucks. And I can't imagine there are additives in their black coffee.

It always bothers me that people are like "omg $5 for coffee, what is the world coming to". The coffee is under two bucks. Specialty espresso drinks cost a shit-ton.

Of course making it at home is much, much cheaper. I hate drinking bottom shelf garbage like Folgers. Even $10 a pound coffees are relatively cheap compared to a coffee shop.

 

[Belligerent]

:zombie: i thought this thread got locked...or maybe its me being loopy.

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

It did, I think Deron unlocked it or unknown or something...I didn't, because I still assert that it is stupid and doesn't need its own thread, despite what others who started a whole huge argument and debate (alongside other random opinions getting lost in the mix) in here think. Really, social is just getting incredibly shitty imo.

 

[sadistik necrofiend]

I don't really care. Just felt like ranting. Maybe I should start an emo band and submit to mind control.

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

Maybe you should have posted this in the whining and bitching thread

 

[Vimana]

The thread is free again. Awesome.

 

[SentinelSlain]

flaming coffee system

 

[skeptik]

We have too many fucking all-encompassing threads as it is. Too many things that could carry their own weight perfectly fine get lost because it could theoretically be shoved into a couple sentences in some other monstrosity of a thread.

 

[mutantllama]

I like my coffee like I like my slaves.







Expresso!

 

[sadistik necrofiend]

Somebody just throw this thread like a queefy biscuit somewhere like the Whining and bitching thread. :Smug:

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

Social is just a big piece of shit right now tbh, I don't know how to fix the problem. All I know is that if I had seen this right when it began I would have either closed it right off or put it in the whining/bitching thread.