Why We've Decided to Organize
Some of us on the Gawker Media editorial staff have decided to try to unionize. Here's a brief explanation.
You Are Paying Billions Because McDonald's and Walmart Won't
This Wednesday will bring a nationwide wave of strikes and protests by low-wage workers and their supporters, calling for higher pay. For some context on why, consider this: you, the taxpayer, are already subsidizing these workers to the tune of billions of dollars.
New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman is investigating more than a dozen major retailers, including Target, Gap, and Sears, for their use of "on call" scheduling, which can essentially hold employees hostage to the employer's scheduling whims.
Workers Who Clean Our Government Offices Say They're Being Ripped Off
This morning, a group of low-wage contract workers who do jobs for the federal government are filing a complaint claiming wage theft. Even the janitor who cleans the Secretary of Education's office says she's not being paid what she deserves. [UPDATED below.]
A New York Nanny's Job Description Seems Kind of Psycho
Are you a parent? Have you hired a nanny? Have you given that nanny a written "job description?" Is it 22 pages long? You monster.
After years of protests by its low-paid employees, McDonald's said today it "will pay at least $1 per hour more than the local legal minimum wage for employees at the roughly 1,500 restaurants it owns"—which does not include the 90% of McD's that are franchisee-owned. Still, it's something.
Lowe's Anti-Union Training Video Walks a Fine Line
"Now, to put it in basic terms: Lowe's strongly opposes unions in our company." This is true!
Huge Corporate Layoffs at Flailing Target
Broken retail megalith Target is now just trying to reach its bottom, so that it may one day rise again. Yesterday, the company laid off 1,700 workers at its headquarters—not a big surprise, if you've been paying attention.
Tiptoeing Toward the End of Tipping
Yesterday, it was announced that New York state will raise its minimum wage for tipped workers by a hefty 50%, to $7.50 an hour. This is one small step toward ending the tyranny of tipping.
McDonald's Sued For Ignoring Racism: "Too Many Black People"
This morning, a group of McDonald's workers in Virginia filed a lawsuit against the company, accusing it of ignoring "rampant racial and sexual harassment" happening in its stores. Ugly details below.
Target's Dumb Internal Guide to Millennials (and Other Generations)
Retail monster Target has more than 360,000 employees. Some of them are oldies; some of them are Gen Xers; and some of them are the dreaded millennials. Fortunately, the company has a neatly stereotyped training guide for managers to navigate this generational minefield.
Christmas at Amazon: One Man's Story
What is it like to work at an Amazon warehouse during the annual holiday rush? One Amazon warehouse employee kindly narrated the "nonstop chaos" for us over the past month.
Do Not Listen to the Crazy Man Telling You to Quit Your Job
Noted media thinker Jay Rosen offers this advice to to working journalists: if you don't thoroughly understand your company's business model, then "you should quit." Allow us to offer this counterpoint: whatever you do, do not listen to this man.
A Brooklyn deli worker fought off a masked gunman who attempted to rob his store last weekend, then promptly quit his job. He is the best employee in America.
Amazon Workers Will Not Be Paid For All Their Time at Work
The Supreme Court has ruled that Amazon warehouse workers are not entitled to be paid for the time they spend standing in line waiting for company security guards to make sure they did not steal anything.
Report: Gyno Ditches Woman Giving Birth to Fuck Another Patient
The New Mexico Medical Board has suspended Dr. Christopher S. Driskill, calling the doctor "a clear and immediate danger to the public health and safety." The doctor is accused of frequently being drunk at work and having inappropriate relationships with patients, apparently once leaving a woman giving birth…
Down With Meetings
Many of you have jobs in which you are required to regularly attend "meetings." Meetings about budgets, or staffing, or strategy, or one million other arcane workplace topics. I would like to point out, to your boss: "meetings," as a practice, are an enormous waste of time.
Did you know that if your coworkers quit, your chance of getting a raise goes up? There's a "'very clear' correlation between resignations and pay raises." I beg my coworkers to quit each and every day.
What Whole Foods Employees Think of the Company's "Values"
Whole Foods has just launched its first national advertising campaign, featuring the slogan "Values Matter." It emphasizes not just quality food, but also the company's "fair labor practices." How do Whole Foods employees feel on that point?
Here Are Some Reasons Whole Foods Workers Might Want a Union
Whole Foods, a company that has lately been beloved by yuppies, the middle class, and Wall Street alike, is facing demands for a union. But Whole Foods hates unions! How much? An insider tells us more.
