[Lalalally]

I’m curious to see what happens to grocery store workers who have *actual* skills —- like the butchers. I know they’re paid well above minimum wage right now — I did a quick google search and came across something indicating that the national average salary for a supermarket butcher is $30k/year, so I’m sure it’s slightly higher I CT than national average.

But let’s say average is $30k here too. That’s almost $15/hour. When $15 MW is rolled out in a few years, should a brand-new-to-the workforce, skillless 16 year old who is stocking shelves at stop and shop make the same hourly rate as the butcher does? Wouldnt the skill of the butcher in essence be devalued overnight? Or does the butcher now need to be paid $20/hour?

[JimG2]

That's just it. When the bottom gets bumped up, everyone else wants to get bumped up. Prices go up to reflect the increase in wages. Buying power goes up zero.

[AtkinsonDan]

Originally Posted by JimG2

That's just it. When the bottom gets bumped up, everyone else wants to get bumped up. Prices go up to reflect the increase in wages. Buying power goes up zero.

And for those who don't succeed in getting bumped up, the buying power goes down.

[MrGompers]

Originally Posted by Lalalally

I’m curious to see what happens to grocery store workers who have *actual* skills —- like the butchers. I know they’re paid well above minimum wage right now — I did a quick google search and came across something indicating that the national average salary for a supermarket butcher is $30k/year, so I’m sure it’s slightly higher I CT than national average.

But let’s say average is $30k here too. That’s almost $15/hour. When $15 MW is rolled out in a few years, should a brand-new-to-the workforce, skillless 16 year old who is stocking shelves at stop and shop make the same hourly rate as the butcher does? Wouldnt the skill of the butcher in essence be devalued overnight? Or does the butcher now need to be paid $20/hour?

Most butchers in CT are unionized. They used to have their own union named something like "amalgamated meat cutters" but have since merged with a bigger union like the "UFCW"


I don';t know the entire history.


I do know that the average wage for meat cutters is far higher than $15 an hour. Probably in the $22-$25 an hour range. In 1990 I worked in an independent grocery store and the butchers were making at least $50k a year (with over time). I'm sure the wages have gone up since then.


The union also had a 1 year apprentice program to become a butcher. Don't know if that still exists. I know this because the meat manager at that grocery store liked me for some reason and asked if I would be interested. He checked with the union but all the spots were filled up. So I went to college instead.


A fun side note. Butchers in the State of Texas unionized in Walmart so Walmart closed their meat depts in the entire state in retaliation.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

Nope.

The minimum wage is $12/hour in Massachusetts. It is increasing to $12.75, $13.50, $14.25, and then $15 in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. Higher than the inflation-adjusted 1968 minimum wage. California has similar law. Washington State is $12 going to $13.50 next year. States like New York have a variable minimum wage. Portland is $12.50 and moving up to $14.75. The rural parts of Oregon are $11 moving to $12.50. Less rural parts of Oregon are $11.25 moving to $13.50.

According to the link I saw Massachusetts is $11. I guess it is wrong. Jay

https://paywizard.org/salary/minimum-wage

[BobNJ1960]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

Except that some people don’t have the choice. Forest Gump is never going to progress beyond unskilled repetitive task labor.

98% can get past Forest Gump. 2% can be taken care of via social welfare.

But lets focus on the 98% that can do better than entry level jobs.

[BobNJ1960]

Originally Posted by MrGompers

A fun side note. Butchers in the State of Texas unionized in Walmart so Walmart closed their meat depts in the entire state in retaliation.

Wise move by Wal Mart. Its not retaliation, but rather cost avoidance to maximize shareholder value, and that is management's job.

[7 Wishes]

Originally Posted by BobNJ1960

98% can get past Forest Gump. 2% can be taken care of via social welfare.

But lets focus on the 98% that can do better than entry level jobs.

Problem is that if all of those 98% try to do better there are less openings for those jobs than there are people looking for them. So what do you do then, "survival of the fittest" and the ones who don't fill the limited spots and can't improve to a "liveable" salary just starve and die off?

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

Ah okay - I didn’t realize minimum wage Stop and Shop employees were required to have a smartphone for working remotely. Now that I know this, it changes everything.

I know it sounds crazy, but it's true though it depends on who you work for. Yes, at the retail chain my wife works for even the cashiers are expected to have smartphones or at least some ability to view the employee scheduling database on the web and they are expected to check it at least once/day for scheduling changes and do get "written up" if they claim they didn't know of a shift change even if it was made only 24 hours earlier. They are also expected to be able to get texts from management about shift changes, etc.

That said, it does not require an iPhone X or a Samsung Galaxy S9 or S10. And most of the carriers now have no-interest payment plans where instead of paying $500 or $1000 up front, you pay just a few $$$ per month added to your cell phone bill (or with the most expensive phones about $25-30 per month), so there are ways for it to be affordable to lower income people.

Originally Posted by BobNJ1960

Wise move by Wal Mart. Its not retaliation, but rather cost avoidance to maximize shareholder value, and that is management's job.

No, mean move by Wal-Mart that says that people mean crap to them. Also says that they don't care about worker rights at all, from the company that got sued by several states for having so many full-time employees getting government assistance!

[BobNJ1960]

Originally Posted by 7 Wishes

Problem is that if all of those 98% try to do better there are less openings for those jobs than there are people looking for them. So what do you do then, "survival of the fittest" and the ones who don't fill the limited spots and can't improve to a "liveable" salary just starve and die off?

Not going to occur. We do not have tens of millions dying of starvation now.

The typical mw employee is either very young (1/2 25 under) or a senior, and this income is tiny part of their household income. By and large, mw come from middle class households, of which they are a minor part of total income.

[MaryleeII]

Originally Posted by KEVIN_224

They had the money to remodel the greater Hartford stores and waste money on "Marty", as my Berlin picture (store #614) showed a while back:



Still talking to a few Facebook friends that work for the Evil Ampersand (TM), a.k.a. Stop & Shop. One friend lives in New Britain, yet she drives to one of the three stores in Waterbury. Yep!


I wonder if this will affect Ahold USA's other northeast division: Delhaize and their Hannaford supermarkets in northern New England (base is Scarborough, ME), northeast MA and upstate NY.

Who--or what--is Marty?