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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums7 Ultra-Rich Companies Rake in Profits While Paying Workers Peanuts
http://www.alternet.org/story/156390/7_ultra-rich_companies_rake_in_profits_while_paying_workers_peanuts/_640x477_310x220
1. Toys 'R' Us
The friendly face of Geoffrey the Giraffe, recognizable to kids all over the US, hides a low-wage empire controlled by another familiar name: Bain Capital. That's right, the second-largest toy supplier in the country is owned by a group of private equity firms that includes Mitt Romney's former company. And as often happens to companies bought out by private equity, 75 Toys 'R' Us stores closed shortly after Bain took over, putting some 2,250 people out of work.
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2. Walmart
The majority of people in our job carry three cards -- thats our Walmart associate card, our discount card, and a welfare card. New York does not need a retailer that will take sustainable, quality jobs away from these neighborhoods by creating low-wage jobs, Girshriela Green, a member of OUR Walmart (Organization United for Respect at Walmart), told United NY and ALIGN. It's a common refrain that you hear repeated from Walmart employees around the country AlterNet heard the same story recently from workers in Los Angeles. Walmart is by far the country's largest low-wage employer, with a US workforce of 1,400,000 people, according to NELP. And last year its highest-paid exec took home $18.1 million, or $9,066 an hour.
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3. Con Edison
New York's energy company is in the headlines right now for its lockout of 8,500 skilled workers, the folks who keep the city's power grid running and keep the air conditioning flowing during record heat. And they say we have to cut costs, to keep the stock profitable... They don't answer to us, they don't answer to the customers out on the street, a Con Edison mechanic told AlterNet's Michelle Chen.
4. Lage Management Corp Car Washes
For a city that runs on public transit, New York still has a lot of car washesand they're some of the worst offenders when it comes to abusing low-wage workers. New York's Department of Labor investigated the industry in 2008 and found that over 78 percent of the city's car washes were violating minimum wage and overtime laws, 39 percent had managers pocketing workers' tips, and a quarter didn't provide meal breaks for workers. When ALIGN and United NY surveyed 5,000 car wash workers this year, they found that only 23 percent of them were offered protective gear to keep them safe from the harsh chemicals they use to leave customers' vehicles sparkling.
***MORE AT LINK
Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)DainBramaged
(39,191 posts)Rhiannon12866
(205,532 posts)RedstDem
(1,239 posts)these companies are run like their goal is to bring down the country.
traitors...
CurtEastPoint
(18,650 posts)annabanana
(52,791 posts)valerief
(53,235 posts)bomb the life out of others. That's why not-rich people food is iffy and not-rich people have to bear EVERY BURDEN for rich people. EVERY BURDEN. EVERY SINGLE ONE.
abelenkpe
(9,933 posts)The rich so if one is expendable...
BrendaBrick
(1,296 posts)Wow. Starbuck's CEO took in 65 million in 2011?
Incredible
Egalitarian Thug
(12,448 posts)HopeHoops
(47,675 posts)They cross-bill between departments, so an employee can work in the same department for over 40 hours per week and still not qualify as a "full-time" employee. It's beyond disgusting.
LittleGirl
(8,287 posts)progressoid
(49,991 posts)Romulox
(25,960 posts)Initech
(100,081 posts)Fuck them - this is what happens in an unregulated economy.
raouldukelives
(5,178 posts)Just doing their part to ensure these practices expand and proliferate as much as possible.
Lifelong Protester
(8,421 posts)it did 'encourage' me to click the link.
Just my thoughts, but I HATE IT when posts have just a link. Please, post a little of the information to get folks to proceed to the main course.
BTW, good info. I don't eat at fast food places (I'm a rural dweller!) but when I travel, these places (also check out the "5 Fast Food companies run by right wingers" will be off my list, even for a salad.
Sorry to see Starbucks on the list. Here I thought they took better care of their employees. Guess not.
Voice for Peace
(13,141 posts)shared on FB.
ErikJ
(6,335 posts)How ya like that? Walmart makes us taxpayers buy their employees their groceries.
OnlinePoker
(5,722 posts)Or use the services of any of the other listed companies for that matter. If you do, does that mean you're giving tacit approval to the companies for their policies? I'm sure it's not only Republicans that are keeping these leeches in business.
12ZTR
(92 posts)I'll be setting a date for a free conference that will explain: BOYCOTT.
phylny
(8,380 posts)I work in a pediatric therapy clinic, and we are attached to a daycare. We see lots of kids at the facility. It is the most chaotic environment for children I've ever seen for a daycare facility. I talked to one of the employees when I was over there yesterday. I was joking that I can never find the kids in the same room twice, and that I have difficulty remembering what kid has which teacher because kids and teachers are shuffled around so much.
The teacher replied, "Well, the management will do anything to save their 725." I was confused, thinking that 725 was some regulation that they had to adhere to regarding child/teacher ratio. She clarified: $7.25 per hour they pay the employees. They "haul cots" from one room to the other to get the numbers just right. Then they tell teachers, "We don't need you for two hours because it's nap time, go home and come back later." There is no ability to have any structure in the classrooms because children are moved from one class to another to shuffle the numbers just right so that someone can be sent home.
This teacher told me she had a job interview this week at a healthcare facility that would pay her double what she's making. I told her not to worry, that I would not say anything to anyone. She replied, "Oh, they know. They tell anyone that comes to them with a concern that they're 'replaceable.' The conditions are terrible, the turnover is constant, but they just got themselves a new Jaguar." The last thing she shared is that parents are upset, too, because when the facility was closed earlier this month due to a six-day power outage, the facility demanded that parents pay for the whole week. "They weren't paying us, because they were closed, but wanted their money from parents anyway."