Why would anyone support entry-level (i.e. fast food, retail, etc.) unions?

[stabetha]

Since they were required to under Obamacare. However, they get around it by not having many employees work enough hours to qualify and by hiring veterans who already have VA coverage.

long before that, walmart has always offered healthcare to their employees, in fact they offered excellent healthcare to all employees no matter what their status until Obabamcare made it to expensive.
http://washingtonexaminer.com/surpri...rticle/2541670

[Captain N]

long before that, walmart has always offered healthcare to their employees, in fact they offer excellent healthcare to all employees no matter what their status.

Yeah that $4,400 annual deductible and $10,000 maximum out of pocket expense is so awesome for someone working $8/hour. Especially when you're charging them about $65 a month just to cover themselves.

[Rukentuts]

long before that, walmart has always offered healthcare to their employees, in fact they offered excellent healthcare to all employees no matter what their status until Obabamcare made more expensive.
http://washingtonexaminer.com/surpri...rticle/2541670

And they made sure next to nobody got the amount of hours to qualify for benefits.

[stabetha]

And they made sure next to nobody got the amount of hours to qualify for benefits.

before Obamacare made it so expensive anyone could get insurance no matter if they were full time or part time.

[poser765]

And they made sure next to nobody got the amount of hours to qualify for benefits.

yeah I though it was kind of common knowledge that Walmart is like one of the worst employers to work for.

[Rukentuts]

yeah I though it was kind of common knowledge that Walmart is like one of the worst employers to work for.

AFAIK it's standard operating procedure for retailers.

[stabetha]

Yeah that $4,400 annual deductible and $10,000 maximum out of pocket expense is so awesome for someone working $8/hour. Especially when you're charging them about $65 a month just to cover themselves.

A Journal of the American Medical Association analysis from September showed that unsubsidized Obamacare enrollees will face monthly premiums that are five to nine times higher than Walmart premiums.

[Wells]

A Journal of the American Medical Association analysis from September showed that unsubsidized Obamacare enrollees will face monthly premiums that are five to nine times higher than Walmart premiums.

Link please

[Rukentuts]

Link please

http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/0c...are-apocalypse

[talann]

Do I expect Walmart to pay me $15 an hour? No. First off, I'm an unskilled laborer at the moment, so why would they pay me $15 to do something a monkey can do?

Im not going read your entire post but ask you to think about this for a second. $15 an hour is what the minimum wage SHOULD be at if it were adjusted for our current inflation. Which means, the person who is currently working $15 an hour in a higher job should be paid more!

This is the problem people do not see. (I know I am not on topic I know). $8 an hour, the minimum wage as it stands right now, is not able to provide for someone let alone a family. What you need to understand is the reason they want to up the minimum wage is because Things cost WAY more than they did 10 years ago. I don't expect unskilled labor to be living a rich lifestyle even with 15 an hour but at least that much could help a starting out person afford a home and a car to be an independent person.

As for unions, I am against them. In just one year of working retail, I have paid over 200 in union dues. That money could be going in to my pocket. I don't feel a Union protects the workers enough to justify that much money coming out of my paycheck each year.

[poser765]

Im not going read your entire post but ask you to think about this for a second. $15 an hour is what the minimum wage SHOULD be at if it were adjusted for our current inflation. Which means, the person who is currently working $15 an hour in a higher job should be paid more!

This is the problem people do not see. (I know I am not on topic I know). $8 an hour, the minimum wage as it stands right now, is not able to provide for someone let alone a family. What you need to understand is the reason they want to up the minimum wage is because Things cost WAY more than they did 10 years ago. I don't expect unskilled labor to be living a rich lifestyle even with 15 an hour but at least that much could help a starting out person afford a home and a car to be an independent person.

As for unions, I am against them. In just one year of working retail, I have paid over 200 in union dues. That money could be going in to my pocket. I don't feel a Union protects the workers enough to justify that much money coming out of my paycheck each year.

I'll go ahead and point out to OP that a union is not solely about hourly wage or compensation.

In some industries a union is absolutely mandatory. I can't even begin to imagine the abuse we would receive in my field if we weren't working under a CBA. Even with one the company tries to violate it and take advantage of us often. It's nice being able to tell the company "Sorry, I will not be fucked by you today...it's in our contract."

[Yvaelle]

A Journal of the American Medical Association analysis from September showed that unsubsidized Obamacare enrollees will face monthly premiums that are five to nine times higher than Walmart premiums.

Since Walmart premiums are heavily subsidized, that's a pretty bizarre way of framing a point? It's practically like saying, "Ungrown Apple Seeds are smaller than Ripe Oranges"

[zhero]

long before that, walmart has always offered healthcare to their employees, in fact they offered excellent healthcare to all employees no matter what their status until Obabamcare made it to expensive.
http://washingtonexaminer.com/surpri...rticle/2541670

i assure you, even if you compared every worker at a walmart retail store as if working full time, less than 1% makes 53k a year, which is what their family of four plan comparison is using. a typical walmart employee is more like 13-22k a year, depending on how long you've been there and how many hours they give you.

[Suporex]

With the way employees change rapidly in retail it would be really hard for a union to gain any support. I know in the store I work in our management team is completely different from a year ago let alone regular associates. Most people who have been there long enough are already full-time and the ones that aren't are in school.

[Captain N]

With the way employees change rapidly in retail it would be really hard for a union to gain any support. I know in the store I work in our management team is completely different from a year ago let alone regular associates. Most people who have been there long enough are already full-time and the ones that aren't are in school.

Actually a constant rotation to the management team is a good reason to have a Union. There's always a chance that a new manager will choose favorites or will make life a living hell for a particular employee. Having good Union support could also help those in school pay for their tuition if the area of study is related to the job (Most business degrees and management courses would apply).

[Masark]

The Labour movement in North America almost came to blows

What do you mean "almost"? It went to blows (and gunshots) numerous times.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-union_violence

[Gheld]

With the way employees change rapidly in retail it would be really hard for a union to gain any support. I know in the store I work in our management team is completely different from a year ago let alone regular associates. Most people who have been there long enough are already full-time and the ones that aren't are in school.

Actually this is untrue. Canada's largest grocery chain, Loblaw's (See also Real Canadian Superstore and Atlantic Superstore, Extra Foods etc.) is mostly unionized. And somehow with the big evil union they are still able to effectively compete against Walmart and Sobeys. And they pretty much fill the exact same niche as Walmart (Albeit with a slightly smaller general merchandise section). It's hard to get a full time job there because of the union, but the part time employees still benefit from the same pay schedules as the full timers and get some of the benefits (such as dental coverage and pension). So there's actually plenty of incentive for students to be on board part time while going to school.

Retail sector unions can work. As far as fast food goes (which is actually service and not retail) you're probably right about there being too much turnaround to keep enough employees in one place long enough to join a union.

- - - Updated - - -

What do you mean "almost"? It went to blows (and gunshots) numerous times.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-union_violence

I mean compared to Europe, where it was an outright bloodbath in some parts.

[Daethz]

Only issue with unions is they get corrupt quickly and make the leaders of it rich while harming the people it was created to protect in the first place.
If a union was done right it would actually benefit the workers and would only hurt the rich people who own the company.

Frankly if we could fix the entire meaning of union to where it couldent become corrupt, I would want EVERY job to be unionized.

[Yvaelle]

Only issue with unions is they get corrupt quickly and make the leaders of it rich while harming the people it was created to protect in the first place.
If a union was done right it would actually benefit the workers and would only hurt the rich people who own the company.

Frankly if we could fix the entire meaning of union to where it couldent become corrupt, I would want EVERY job to be unionized.

I would argue that unions don't inevitably become corrupt.

Instead, the corrupting influence of money in politics encourages (read: necessitates) unions to lobby to maintain their effectiveness in America. So the problem isn't Unions at all - which is why they work in other countries - it's that because the US legislature is rigged to side with whoever has more money, US unions have to become corrupt to become effective.

The solution is to get money out of politics - then the systemic capitalist corruption culture would slowly recede - and people wouldn't stand for abuses of power as the status quo.

[cptaylor38]

Healthcare? Walmart? A bloo bloo bloo. Since when?

What is "A bloo bloo bloo." I tried to figure it out by saying it out loud but just wound up cackling at myself.

I must know this.