CNET reports:
Apple's San Francisco flagship store temporarily became a scene of confusion and arrests on Thursday because of a sit-in held inside. A gathering of roughly 50 protestors were demonstrating against Apple for allegedly underpaying contract employees that work at its retail stores.
The protestors reportedly belong to the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and said Apple routinely underpays contractors, such as security guards. The union also alleged that Apple hires contractors for part-time jobs to prevent paying employee benefits.
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Apple Flagship Store in San Francisco Fills with Protestors
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The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 30 2014, @01:09AM
A company founded by someone who would regularly not pay for the tags on his car wants to pay as little as possible to its employees? A company that has cut deals with other companies to lower wages and not 'poach' wants to pay as little as possible to its employees?
The hell you say... I dont believe it for one second.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Zz9zZ on Saturday August 30 2014, @01:36AM
I would like to call for this community to coin a new phrase for people who point out facts to make a story sound worthless. The ac above, while adding interesting info, simply inspires a cynical apathy. We need to stop saying "why is anyone surprised by this?" At least wait for someone to express surprise before pulling this card, and hesitate on saying it because it diminishes from the real facts we should be outraged about!
To you good ac, I say nay, no one is surprised on this forum but it is still a worthwhile piece of information. Next time highlight your insights with a format that makes people care more, not less.
~Tilting at windmills~
(Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 30 2014, @02:09AM
Union gets "protestors" to appear inside of high-visibility venue attempting to
get people to join their union.
Nothing to see here..
They pulled the same crap years ago picketing in front of Apple buildings to get
the janitors unionized. The only thing the janitors got was paying union dues.
(Score: 4, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 30 2014, @02:37AM
They pulled the same crap years ago picketing in front of Apple buildings to get
the janitors unionized. The only thing the janitors got was paying union dues.
Maybe that's true in fantasyland silicon valley.
But in the real silicon valley janitors were paid minimum wage and had no health insurance or other benefits before SEIU came along in the 90s.
As recently as 2008 they went on strike in order to negotiate a 22% wage increase. [seiu.org]
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 30 2014, @05:11AM
Unions are the last line of defense between people working for capitalists and a $0 minimum wage.
...and when the baseline drops to zero, that will drag down EVERYONE'S wage.
A rising tide does NOT lift all boats, but a falling one will certainly put them all aground--with the ones barely staying afloat going first.
10 More Things America’s Unions Should Be Doing On Labor Day [21cpw.com]
-- gewg_
(Score: -1, Troll) by Ethanol-fueled on Saturday August 30 2014, @05:47AM
What a bunch of myopically liberal horseshit.
You have to raise other wages between the minimum and the C-level, otherwise, they say they threw you a bone with a new minimum and use that to justify not giving everybody else the regular merit raises they'd deservedly get in any civilized country.
You're just another useful idiot in championing a higher minimum wage and nothing else, they sate you while continuing to fuck the rest of us and your butthole gapes open in anticipation, quivering like a nostril anticipating a nosepick.
Sheesh, it's like Cold Fjord converted to born-again liberalism and joined Soylent News.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 30 2014, @06:07AM
mod parent up!
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 30 2014, @06:59AM
eth, you will never convince a liberal of anything logical because they simply don't understand how the world really works.
try telling them that minimum wage raises the cost of employing low skilled workers to the point where none might be hired at all... deaf ears
try telling them that young kids don't need a 'living wage' to start their climb up the job ladder, and that minimum wage raises the bottom rung of the ladder making it impossible for many kids to reach... deaf ears
try telling them that businesses need to make a profit to exist, and that most skilled workers are paid much more than minimum wage due to competition in the labor markets... deaf ears
try telling them that government regulations are the reason why jobs are being chased offshore... deaf ears
try telling them that profit becomes capital investment used to lend to businesses to grow and hire, and comes from not only the 'greedy fatcats' that they despise but also the superannuation funds of the working class... deaf ears
try telling them that in almost all cases throughout history monopolies have been caused by government privilege, though tariffs, tax breaks, licensing, barriers of trade, etc... deaf ears
try telling them that mainstream media is a bunch of lies and bullshit... and they can't answer cos they're too busy watching tv with the mc'ds that they wouldn't dare pay an extra dollar for even if that dollar went straight to the employee that served them
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 30 2014, @08:32AM
I don't think a new category is required. I rated grandparent "Informative", because he summarized some information which would have been appropriate to directly add to the article as well. I would not rate it "Insightful" for the reasons you mentioned, and maybe you are right that it plays down the value of the article. Nevertheless it was informative to me.
- q.kontinuum (532)
(Score: 2, Interesting) by SunTzuWarmaster on Saturday August 30 2014, @05:02AM
... Yes, indeed, this is the case. People are now protesting about it... which is why it is news... because it is a new development in an ongoing story...
I sympathize with the other poster in the thread. Cynically/Sarcastically summarizing facts in response to unposted outrage contribute little.
In an effort to contribute: the protesters claim to have been denied final paychecks, lunch breaks, and worked 1+ hours/shift in unpaid/unclocked time. This seems like unfair wage practice in general.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Tork on Saturday August 30 2014, @05:25AM
"A company founded by someone who would regularly not pay for the tags on his car wants to pay as little as possible to its employees?"
Today I learned that the desire for an executive to maintain the profit margins of the business he's in charge of manifests itself by compelling him to not get the tags that his car doesn't legally require.
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 31 2014, @12:03AM
Today I learned that the desire for an executive to maintain the profit margins of the business he's in charge of manifests itself by compelling him to not get the tags that his car doesn't legally require.
You joke, but it is true. In both cases he exploited loopholes for his own benefit because he's got so much wealth and power that he can do things normal people can't do.
In the former case, he used the market power of Apple to bully other companies into cooperating into not recruiting from Apple's ranks. In the later case he bought a brand new car every six months because california law lets you go without plates for the first six months after purchasing a car - because it used to take a long time to get new plates, but it doesn't any more and the law hasn't been updated.
(Score: 2) by Tork on Sunday August 31 2014, @12:17AM
In the later case he bought a brand new car every six months because california law lets you go without plates for the first six months after purchasing a car - because it used to take a long time to get new plates, but it doesn't any more and the law hasn't been updated.
Right, he didn't do something he wasn't required to do. BFD.
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 31 2014, @03:35AM
> Right, he didn't do something he wasn't required to do. BFD.
Are you one of those dumbass geeks who thinks that morality is defined by the law rather than the other way around?
(Score: 2) by Tork on Sunday August 31 2014, @03:53AM
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 31 2014, @04:24AM
> Nah. I'm just not so obsessed with Apple that I blow frivolous things out of proportion.
Proportion has nothing to do with it.
It is about a pattern of using wealth and power to get your own set of rules.
(Score: 2) by Tork on Sunday August 31 2014, @04:58AM
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 31 2014, @05:00AM
> You sought a pattern, your lack of proportion satisfied your desire.
Are you denying there is a pattern?
If so why focus on the letter of the law as an excuse instead of bring out your proportionality defense?
Looks to me like you are just pissy about getting called out for saying something obviously dumb.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 31 2014, @05:10AM
(Score: 2) by Tork on Sunday August 31 2014, @05:14AM
Nah, just saying that's a piss-poor example. Even your own choice of words betrays you. You've got several lower-hanging fruit, no pun intended, than that.
I'm sorry, didn't mean to post anonymously. Posting to verify my identity and to see that you responded.
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 31 2014, @05:18AM
Ah, I get it now.
Your schtick is to tell people what is inside their own heads particularly in contradiction to their own words, and then act like they should be able to read your mind too.
Well, enjoy that sense of superiority because that's about all that's in evidence here.
(Score: 2) by Tork on Sunday August 31 2014, @05:45AM
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 30 2014, @01:23AM
By chance are the protesters singing that old WWII era song?
(Score: 1) by Username on Saturday August 30 2014, @05:17AM
It’s kind of nice hearing stories about unions being useful instead of negotiating employees out of a job.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 30 2014, @09:56AM
This union is negotiating its employees out of a job. The amount these employees make is their value to the employer. If they want to make even more money than they are worth, then their employer is better off firing them and replacing them with other workers who accept the conditions. There are plenty of Americans, especially recent college graduates, who would be very happy with a part-time, no-benefit job, because at least that is something.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 30 2014, @06:06PM
The amount these employees make is their value to the employer
No. Their pay is THE ABSOLUTE MINIMUM the employer can get away with paying.
It's just amazing the number of people living under a capitalist system who don't understand capitalism in the slightest.
Members of cooperatives doing the same work get better pay, better benefits, and better working conditions.
How America's Largest Worker-Owned Co-Op Lifts People Out of Poverty [googleusercontent.com] orig [commondreams.org]
States and especially localities have been raising the minimum wage and the (massive) migrations of businesses and (giant) layoffs predicted by the reactionaries HAVE NOT HAPPENED--because it's all propaganda.
Companies show up to the bargaining table with their lawyers and accountants.
Without a union, capitalists pick off the workers one by one.
Unions attempt to level the playing field for Joe Average.
E pluribus unum.
-- gewg_