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| Wednesday, March 28, 2007 |
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Hitting the Links
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Here's a couple of links that really sum up the story of America in the George Bush, Jr. era. First, this 2004 story from The Onion that I happened across again today on lunch:
Nation's Poor Win Election For Nation's Rich
Kaldrin added: "That's why I always vote straight-ticket Republican, just like my daddy did, before he lost the farm and shot himself in the head, and just like his daddy did, before he died of black-lung disease in the company coal mines."
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/30774
Hey, and did you hear this one? Circuit City is cutting over 3,000 top-notch, tenured salespeople and replacing them with know-nothings. $11 an hour? Who can afford to pay these kind of ridiculously high wages?!
March 28 (Bloomberg) -- Circuit City Stores Inc., the second-largest U.S. electronics retailer, will fire 3,400 sales people and replace them with employees willing to work for less. The company, which reported its first loss in six quarters in December, is eliminating jobs that paid ``well above'' market rates. Those who were fired can apply for the lower-paying jobs, company spokesman Bill Cimino said today.
``Firing 3,400 of arguably the most successful sales people in the company could prove terrible for morale,'' Colin McGranahan, an analyst with Sanford Bernstein & Co., wrote in a note today. ``The question remains as to whether Circuit City can rebuild in time for the all-important holiday season.''
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The sales people being fired weren't given an option of taking a pay cut, spokesman Cimino said. He declined to give the pay rate for fired workers or the expected wages for new hires.
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Circuit City pays about $10 to $11 an hour, on average, Weinhart estimated. Entry level pay probably is close to $8 for inexperienced workers, he said.
Bloomberg story.
I'm eager to read your comments. |
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Posted by Art | 9:32 PM EST |
23 comments
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doesn't this reconfirm what you say about the disenfranchised? they're the same as the ceo, contribute the same, just the same as the guy in the middle. so now they get the fruits of your/our labor. that is, no skill = is the same as some skill.
i remember when this story came out. the salespeople were getting more commission dollars, not more salary, just for being good at moving product. crazy.
it's actually more humane that the company didn't offer lower wages. by getting laid off, workers got to pick up unemployment for a year and spend some quality time with jerry springer.
this labor stuff is like reading HuffPo! i like when you pick on co-workers (and you certainly aren't the typical liberal in that department.)
-lxdbmy
-crzurot
Clearly you haven't been in their jam if you think they're going to get to kick back and have a blast with Jerry Springer for a year. Unemployment insurance will likely pay them no more than $225-$250 a week. Rent=$600 for the crappiest of apartments, car payment=$250, utilities=$?. Heat could could be as much as $200, they're lucky it's not winter. That everyone on unemployment is ordering an in-ground pool is the great misconception of those who fall for the Republican line.
a 6-month claim was okay to resubmit for an additional 6 months' coverage. (federal coverage.)
i don't know the laws where you live. UI breakdowns are based on quarterly earnings. personally, i don't know anyone who didn't get 6 months' of state money... with that one-time federal extension.
if workers do accrue seniority, that means they should enjoy the benefits of moving up the ladder.
people want what's ahead of them. a bigger apartment. a better house. the means to start their own company and control their own future. in general, liberals want voters in a senile or infantile state.
brad & angie's next child:
little mndwhaed
wrong. not in Fulton county!
you not only can stay on for a year, you dont even have to go to the unemployment office. You can 'phone in' your 'attempts' to 'find work'.
I know this for a fact. My old roomate did this exact scenario~ and at night he would go out to bars and 'ask for applications', tell his buddy the bartender to say 'he was looking for work as a bartender, phone in his 'attempt', and wait for the check in the mail.
And~ he was getting 600$ a month in 1994!
sorry, Art, you are wrong.
From the DOL site: "The number of weeks established for any claim (a minimum of seven up to a maximum of 26) may be paid ONLY during the benefit year period for that claim."
Four-and-a-half months MAX. It's on page 26 of this book: DOL. Find someone to read it to you and sound out the big words for you. Maybe one of the people you have to hide behind to appear talented would work.
And no, George Bush SHORTENED the amount of time you could get unemployment benefits even as the unemployment rate was at a high! I'm searching for links now but it's hard to find articles that go back that far without a subscription.
anyone who's worked the max hours/wages qualified for about $1,000 a month.
it's not a pissing match thing. just examples from a different part of the country and different decade (the 90s to 2000ish).
Yes, I'm sure those people who have now been laid off for doing *well* will certainly be getting a bigger house and moving up the ladder thanks to Circuit City. How about some job security and being treated fairly? Oh -- that's "infantile," right?!
Wanting a fair shake and to not have the rug ripped out from under you -- for doing what you were supposed to be doing, of all things -- is what people want. That's not unreasonable.
I know -- I think we should let corporations like Circuit City do their employees and consumers any ol' way they want, with no oversight from anyone, ever. Who's with me? Any other retards in the room? Ooh, think I see some hands!
Brad & Angie's next bundle:
Disdqhafq - born in a hut to a crack mother
Read the preceeding sentence (carefully) of the DOL link you sent.
The link says 'one claim per each benefit YEAR, maximum 26 weeks'. That does not mean after 26 weeks, if you have been filling out the forms, calling the DOL, and looking for work, your screwed. It simply means that 'claim' is done for the 'benefit year'. So you can open another 'claim'. At least that was my understanding.
I dont know who this guy is you hate, but he obviously gets under your skin. I found your site searching for info on Anthony ( of VH ).
As for VN's other post...it sounds like somebody's got a bottle of merlot. Maybe two?
as for your other points, well:
The household employment survey of Americans indicates that there are 1.9 million more Americans employed since the recession ended in November 2001. There are 138.3 million workers in the U.S. economy today—more than ever before.
Not only is the unemployment rate low in historical terms at 5.6 percent, but the workforce has been growing—there are now 2.03 million more people in the labor force than in late 2001. Without a higher rate of unemployment or a shrinking workforce, there is no evidence of growing discouragement
(Bureau of Labor Statistics, smoothed Household Survey. The 4-month moving average of CPS employment totals reached a peak in February 2004, the latest data available.)
and, 26 weeks to find a job seems pretty decent to me. It seems our immigrant friends ( legal and otherwise) dont seem to have these kind of problems, they just go take another job!
I like it when you talk more about music and popular culture, instead of whining.
the guy looking for van halen is right... it's automatic with unemployment. when the claim runs out, you fill out a new form that shows names and addresses for the job search. they don't care how the money's being spent... nobody's buying an indoor pool... just food, bills, medical. when the account zeros out, no more checks. unemployment can go well past the 26 or 52 weeks, as long as you report earnings within your claim. obviously, they withhold your money but it's still there. if someone gets a 3-month job assignment, it pushes the claim forward (on the calendar).
global competition sucks, technology enables cheaper faster labor... we all hate it. that's where the mind wanders. no one's in disagreement with you about circuit city.
That may also be why you call it "whining," the same way you could call a legless vet a "whiner" because you haven't have to deal with the issue yourself.
If any of this is too "one-dimensional" or "whiny" for anyone, feel free to read any of the tens of thousands other blogs out there. I'm not getting paid so I don't take requests.
Wow...a guy passionate about Van Halen who never comments on the VH posts but can't say enough on the political ones. Why does that seem odd?
I'm not whoever you think I am, and I will not bother reading your blog anymore, if that makes you feel better.
Regardless of where the info came from, it's not 'untrue', it comes from the BOLS. You may not agree, but unemployment is low, more people are employed now then ever, and most people dont use UI for more then 26 weeks. If that's been the case with you, that's pretty sorry.
If you havent used UI for over 26 weeks, and asked for an 'appeal' for a new claim, then you dont have any more insight into it's workings then I do. No matter that you used it 3 years ago for a brief period or not.
I would also disagree that "Circuit City is cutting over 3,000 top-notch, tenured salespeople and replacing them with know-nothings." Sales people dont earn 'tenure' in a right to work state, and it seems pretty callous that you call thier replacements, 'know-nothings'.
See you in the VH forums, I wont be back here.
the economy probably isn't as robust as some statistics claim. people simply fall off the radar after the UI $$ runs out. when they can't nail down an offer, they fall between the cracks. by no means are they back on the books and doing well.
the funniest damn thing about circuit city... which is not funny at all... is that they encourage their workers to do volunteer work. pretending to be a good corporate entity, they have something like 4 umbrella companies that they work with. (katrina efforts, united way, boys and girls club stuff, and some others.)
it was just kind of appalling to read. first, they cut commission-based workers simply for selling the product so well. then, they cut workers down to salary with no overtime. then downsizing jobs altogether. but to press workers into volunteer work and donate time and resources -- what they probably need is a part-time job just to meet the bills. it's the new wal-mart.
i volunteer and it's good for me, good for the group i help. but hell if a company cuts a job or salary and then tries to act all philanthropic.
He lost his previous job as a sales guy at Dell one day when a truck showed up to pack up their store. Nobody knew it was coming. Just "I'm here for the stuff. You're closed."
Corporate America at its finest!
"Well it seems as if circuit city is being a pain too. If you stay with the company for any length of time, you get canned because you make too much money. If my last two trips to Circuit City are any indication, they won't be around for long. I went there last month with full intention of buying a new laptop.
I wandered around for 20 minutes in the computer department...and not once did I get asked if I needed help or could they answer any questions etc. NOT ONCE! I wont shop at best buy after the microsquash mess so I had frequented Circuit City for computer stuff.... I left after that 20 minutes, went next door to Staples and got a hell of a deal on a new laptop. I went back to CC looking for a head cleaner for the mini dv camcorder I had bought from them a while back.....again, no one to wait on me and when I did buy the item, the cashier didnt thank me or even acknowledge me other than to hand me a pen to sign for the purchase. So I am guessing that CC will be toast pretty soon. Poor customer service is the first warning sign that you are headed out the door in retail. The second sign is empty shelves, they have that too, and have had empty spots since Christmas.
A word of warning, if you are looking at a major purchase of that big screen HD tv etc soon, you might want to avoid CC incase they go under and then you have an issue with the product. It stinks out loud that they are riffing the most reliable and knowledgable workers too."
medialine's open line:
http://www.medialine.com/medialineUBB/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=054327
I used to buy DVDs and CDs at CC on release-day Tuesdays (they're on sale at the lowest price point then) but I find that Target sells new stuff at the same low price, and they actually have the title I'm looking for!
I say CC will survive Chirstmas 2007, but if they do poorly over the holidays (and they will if their customer service doesn't step up) then they'll start closing more stores and probably die by Christmas 2008.
How do companies get in spots like this? Like K-mart, for instance. How in God's name did K-mart have money problems? Remember, their bankruptcy happened before Wal-Mart became I-T at retail. Somebody should have looked in the CEO and board of directors' pockets for that K-mart money. Dirty, shitty businessmen with their dirty, shit-stained hands in where they don't belong.
Funny your friend said that. When I was 16 and ready to buy my first CD player, Circuit City didn't have the model advertised in the paper but a model a step up that *didn't* come with a remote control like the one in the paper! I guess that tactic has been in place for a long time.
Then in my early 20's I applied for a job there, and they make you sign a form saying you won't sue the company for any reason. What were they anticipating? Then during the interview they also pull up your purchase history! They didn't want me and I quickly found myself not wanting them, either!
your original post included NONE of the following information. it was simply a rant we already agree with: workers perform well and get screwed by the man.
but this thread MAY serve as a lesson in how you COULD present an idea. no charge. as usual.