They asked what our starting pay is. Funny thing is, I don’t even remember. I could theoretically do the math backwards from paystubs, but eh. I know how much to expect.
Regardless, I said somewhere around 13 dollars, but the company I work for is unionized so the shit pay is offset a little bit by ensured basic rights like the ability to actually take breaks, unlike any of my previous workplaces. Coworkers are awesome, even management’s tolerable.
They said they worked for a place that was “worker-run” but then it stopped being so worker-run so they quit. Then they said Walmart of all places had started hiring at 17 an hour, all positions, so that was still their first choice.
To see a small wage increase (not even to a livable wage) sway a worker in real time against the right to negotiate with their employer as workers collectively… bruh. It just sucks.
I once worked for a pharmacy where I made $16.50 an hour and I consider it one of the worst jobs in the world. It was so alienating, I had intrusive thoughts like
unhinged
“maybe in this hellworld the only way to escape this miserable unlife is to become the slaveowner. I am a slave to insurance companies. I am a slave to Big Pharma. I am a slave to my hitlerite managers. I am a slave to ungrateful piece of shit geriatrics who are upset they had to wait 5 minutes longer for their viagra than normal because insurance is trying to charge another customer $800 for their life-preserving medication and I’m trying to convince them fucking not to. Nobody is grateful or ever will be for your labor and all of your labor is in service of capitalist slaveowners. this will never change.”
etc. etc. It’s maybe a bit worrisome that I remember that feeling so intensely, I don’t know. At the same time, those thoughts and my internal battle against them were instrumental in creating a fundamental understanding in me that wages are not worth your sanity, your ability to take breaks, your ability to call in, your ability to take or leave more work at your request.
I am so grateful for my new job tbh, cringe as it may be. I am learning to enjoy labor for labor’s sake. Making actual, meaningful connections with people. And I get to take breaks, in fact I am forced to take a break. This is because we have a union.
I don’t know if Walmart conditions have improved generally… but every time I’ve been inside a Walmart, I’ve thought to myself *If I ever find myself working here, I am going to redacted myself. I’ll have to."
I don’t know. I’m having a strange time with it all. Unions are good, and I’m beholding a part of the struggle in real-time. Thanks for reading or even skimming 🫡
Don’t work at Walmart if you don’t have to, kids.
You’re in a labor union, eh? How is it, outside of the breaks and all that?
And yeah, enjoying your job and career is a thing we forget that we should enjoy and do.
There are very obviously concessions that have been written down on paper that are not followed to a T, and it’s no good witnessing those benefits not actually materialized.
Like something very obviously won by the union is the necessity of comfort mats underneath people in the check lanes - standing still like that for hours on end is killer. But according to my coworkers and management we haven’t had them in months because they keep getting dirty.
Well figure something the fuck out! Put a disposable tarp over them or something! This was a concession won by the workers and it’s fucked that it’s not being met.
There is a meeting soon. I will be attending and getting involved however I can. It’s also a large Amerikan union, so it has a plethora of problems ofc. My coworkers feel comfortable contacting the NLRB and the union any time some shit happens though, which is good, and the union seems more than happy to approach management with these complaints with the implicit threat of a potential strike underlying their demands.
I feel much more comfortable in my position than I ever had anywhere else. It used to be mostly “my employer’s not going to fire me for anything because they’re desparately understaffed and I’m typically a hard worker”. Now, it’s “my employer’s not going to fire me because I’ve got the backing of a national labor union”. It’s a good feeling despite the issues - there is an air of solidarity there that I can’t help but appreciate greatly.
Management also likes to act slippery to avoid some shit. They’ll give you a shift that’s technically 30 minutes shorter than it otherwise would be, but that’s because they’d have to give you two paid breaks instead of one, or god forbid an unpaid 30 minute lunch. It’s like watching class war in action on the micro-scale - finding ways to circumvent worker-won rights legally.
I usually have to stay late because I close and people love coming in right before close and taking 20 minutes to finish their shopping lol. I get it, but also fuck them I wanna go home. A second break should be given as I’m never able to leave on time anyway.
Perhaps a major focus or driving force of mine wrt union activism should be in finding ways to close these loopholes.
Then they said Walmart of all places had started hiring at 17 an hour, all positions, so that was still their first choice.
Ah, monopolies, being better to kill competition, so later they can be worse
One thing that’s sometimes overlooked about working in a unionised place with a union presence is the feeling of working with people who have your back.
$17/h and the inability to speak up is much worse than $13 and having a union behind you. I understand that some people don’t have a choice – they feel they need to get the higher paying job and keep their head down, always saying yes, so their kids aren’t homeless, etc.
The mental (and physical) health boost from working in the unionised place will be worth $4/h for most people. There is a gap between unions and revolution, but even being in a union and around other members does something powerful to undermine the alienation of capitalism.
(This is all assuming that the union doesn’t arrange for career progression, with wages surpassing the non-unionised places with years’ service.)
Great points!
(This is all assuming that the union doesn’t arrange for career progression, with wages surpassing the non-unionised places with years’ service.)
I will have to read into it more but I actually believe it does. I’m not entirely sure to what wages you can reach, where the ceiling is and if it surpasses non-union “competitors”. However I do know that I was repeatedly told that the 13 something was my “starting pay” and there are expectations for it to increase. Not sure when or by how much tho lol
I have so much in common in the first part lol, I also work at a union store and unfortunately Idk how much I make lol. Also just gotta say: Walmart can afford to pay workers a bit more now bc 1.) they fired SO MANY cashiers to make room for SCOs(Self-Checkout) 2.) They have such a huge market share. The worker’s rights haven’t changed there
