Seattle just passed a $15 minimum wage...

Discussion in 'The Red Room' started by Volpone, Jun 3, 2014.

  1. Shirogayne

    Shirogayne Gay™ Formerly Important

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    This.

    It's why comission based sales is one of the few remaining industries one can get into without much experience. Mine is one of the very few car dealerships with a hourly rate on top of that but in most others it's based on how much you sell and they can get rid of you far easier if you don't sell, unlike a corporation like Target. I had one bitch that would call out half her shifts (usually on days where she knew that either myself or the other food Avenue trained cashier was off) and they still had to wait nine months to get rid of her. When you've gotta pay $15 an hour, you're not gonna take a chance on such problem children.
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  2. Ancalagon

    Ancalagon Scalawag Administrator Formerly Important

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    Hotel and Hospitality Industry has been gutted by the wage increases due to their reliance on low wage workers (cleaning staff, laundry, cooks, etc).

    Oh wait...

    2015 was the strongest year ever for Seattle in terms of hotel occupancy,” said Chris Kraus, managing director for CBRE Hotels, a consulting and real-estate services firm. “Seattle was one of the strongest- performing hotel markets in the country.

    http://www.seattletimes.com/busines...ing-more-money-lift-hotel-and-convention-biz/
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  3. Dinner

    Dinner 2012 & 2014 Master Prognosticator

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    I wonder if they have cut back on the amount of cleaning time or number of staff or something. Instead of expecting two cleaning people to do the job they now expect one clea ing person to do it or otherwise increase the workload.
  4. Ancalagon

    Ancalagon Scalawag Administrator Formerly Important

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    This presumes that until labor costs rose managers weren't looking at increasing labor productivity. As that flies in the face of decades of evidence and all for-profit business practices, do you have any evidence of this or is it just idle supposition in the face of no evidence of negative impacts due to the wage increases?
    Last edited: Apr 27, 2016
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  5. gturner

    gturner Banned

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    There are negative impacts due to wage increases. All those Japanese cars you see on the road? They got here due to lucrative UAW contracts in Detroit that made the Japanese vehicles highly competitive in a market that had been totally dominated by domestic manufacturers except for a few niche markets that US automakers didn't even care about, such as boutique European offerings.

    To save shipping and other costs, many of those Japanese companies make their vehicles here now, but they don't use union labor.

    High wages are one of the reasons we call our former manufacturing base "the rust belt."
  6. Dinner

    Dinner 2012 & 2014 Master Prognosticator

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    I believe my previous post already mentioned that most companies have probably already maximized their operations for efficiency. Why indeed it did.

    This why I said it would be interesting to see if they can come up with new efficiencies or if higher wages would tempt more skilled/productive workers to these jobs.
  7. Tuckerfan

    Tuckerfan BMF

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    :bump:

    What's it at now?
  8. MikeH92467

    MikeH92467 RadioNinja

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    Hillary's emails...Hunter's laptop...
    :ohnoes:
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  9. Tuckerfan

    Tuckerfan BMF

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    And now I haz a sadz. I keep thinking how wonderful it would be to have Phil Hartmann doing his Admiral Stockdale while screaming "Benghazi!"
  10. Ancalagon

    Ancalagon Scalawag Administrator Formerly Important

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    $17.27/hour for all companies with 500 and for small companies that don’t pay for health insurance.

    $15.75/hour for small companies that do pay for health insurance.

    However it is irrelevant. As our friend @Volpone has so dutifully reminded us with his thread over the years, Seattle has killed off all its jobs. :(

    On a serious note, while going back to school I am working part time at Lowe’s slinging paint. No experience with mixing paint since I got my painting merit badge 25+ years ago and no retail experience since I waited tables in college.

    I was offered $22.25/hour five minutes into my ‘interview’.
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  11. Steal Your Face

    Steal Your Face Anti-Federalist

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    I’ve been thinking of getting my masters. Good for you, man.
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  12. Bickendan

    Bickendan Custom Title Administrator Faceless Mook Writer

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    Good luck, man.
  13. Tuckerfan

    Tuckerfan BMF

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    Like when Dayton talked about getting his from a company that advertised in Armchair General magazine?
  14. Steal Your Face

    Steal Your Face Anti-Federalist

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    No. Like George Mason or George Washington university.
  15. Ancalagon

    Ancalagon Scalawag Administrator Formerly Important

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    Just got this ad in my FB feed:

    BEDC9324-73D4-4346-BB39-198D6E27BF61.jpeg

    100% of management and corporate (with exception of their legal team) come from their crew members.

    Here’s the menu w/prices:

    https://www.ddir.com/menu/
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  16. Ten Lubak

    Ten Lubak Salty Dog

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    Is that the place where there’s massive lines of people late night to get a burger? I remember being there just shitfaced after a Seahawks game and ordering like 4 burgers and then almost throwing up in a taxi on the way back up to Capitol Hill. Great fuckin night
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  17. Shirogayne

    Shirogayne Gay™ Formerly Important

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    Gonna go put some Dick's in my mouth the next time I'm in Seattle :yes:
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  18. Bailey

    Bailey It's always Christmas Eve Super Moderator

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    But I don't understand, surely if they pay 50% more than other places their prices should be 50% more expensive! We've been well informed by people like Volpone that's how it works right?
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  19. Ancalagon

    Ancalagon Scalawag Administrator Formerly Important

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    Yeah, I don’t get it either.

    Must be something about the ‘Seattle Anarchist Jurisdiction’ that allows them to just ignore the ‘Laws of Economics’.

    Check out their benefits:

    $28,000 Scholarship
    All employees have access to a $28,000 scholarship benefit as soon as they pass their first skills test. This training takes the average employee 12 weeks, but some complete that training in as little as 6 weeks. Employees can use this scholarship for any college, vocational or self-improvement program.


    Childcare Assistance
    As an extension of our Scholarship Program, childcare assistance of between $5,000-$9,000 per year is available to employees as soon as they pass their first skills test. This training takes the average employee 12 weeks, but some complete that training in as little as 6 weeks.

    If an employee doesn’t use any or all of their available scholarship fund for tuition, they can use it for childcare.


    Free Health Insurance
    Dick’s offers 100% employer-paid health insurance for all employees. Children are covered at 75%, spouses at 50%.

    Dental coverage is 100% employer-paid for non-smoking employees, 50% for smokers.


    Raises & Bonuses
    Merit raises: the more opportunities you have to increase your hourly wage.

    Employee Referral bonus: $400 after the referral has worked for two months, and an additional $600 after the referral has worked for six months.

    Retention bonus: $200 bonus once an employee has continuously worked for 16 weeks and if the required training is completed.


    Paid Community Service
    Any volunteer hours performed at any pre-approved local charity will be paid your regular hourly rate (without overtime) for up to four hours of volunteer time each month.


    Free Dick's Food While on Shift
    During breaks, grab a Deluxe, Fry and Chocolate shake for yourself.


    Free Unlimited ORCA Card
    An ORCA card will the issued to crew members working at either the Broadway or Queen Anne Dick’s locations.
    [Anc: This is our transit pass, good on all buses trains and ferries in the three county area.]

    EAP (Employee Assistance Program)
    The EAP is a tool for our employees that can help when you’re facing issues that interfere with your health, well-being, and productivity at home or work. It covers employees, spouses and children up to age 26.


    401k matching
    Dick’s offers a 401(k) Tax-Deferred Retirement Savings Plan for all employees who are at least 18 years of age, one year of seniority and 1,000 hours of continuous service in a one-year period.

    https://www.ddir.com/employment/
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  20. Bailey

    Bailey It's always Christmas Eve Super Moderator

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    That's crazy good conditions for a fast good place, what's the background on the founders?
  21. MikeH92467

    MikeH92467 RadioNinja

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    Obviously foreign communists. :chris:
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  22. Ancalagon

    Ancalagon Scalawag Administrator Formerly Important

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    LOL.

    I don’t think there is anything particularly special except for it is a private company owned by one family (Dick Spady bought out his other two partners in the late 70s).

    The family is rich enough to live more than comfortably.

    I also wonder if having your family name on it helps. I’ve read that both the Ford and Nordstrom families have taken short term financial hits that many majority shareholders wouldn’t in order to ensure long term growth in a large part due to the companies being more than just investments but family legacies.

    The CEO of Dick’s is one of Dick’s granddaughters. Having your family’s restaurant be considered a community treasure probably provides some non-monetary compensation.

    Also, it doesn’t have to spend anything on marketing or any kind of market research.

    New locations are picked by contest. The announcement will be front page news/leading local TV and radio news.. Groundbreaking will be front page news with all local politicians there. Opening will be front page news with all local pols there.

    It’s menu never changes. It serves hamburgers, cheese burgers, Dick’s Specials and Dick’s Deluxes. No substitutions. Condiments can be purchased but you put on yourself. Fries are one size. Shakes are one size.

    Seems like a pretty simple formula but not sure how easy it would be to replicate it whole cloth today.
    Last edited: Aug 16, 2022
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  23. Ancalagon

    Ancalagon Scalawag Administrator Formerly Important

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    In case you think I am exaggerating:

  24. Bailey

    Bailey It's always Christmas Eve Super Moderator

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    That seems like the ideal of what libertarians purport to espouse, business that people in the community have awareness of in a wide sense and judge and reward based on its actions. Shame that such things generally (with some notable exceptions) don't seem to scale.

    A great example of what could be.
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  25. Ancalagon

    Ancalagon Scalawag Administrator Formerly Important

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    The greatest trick the oligarchs pulled off was convincing folks that corporations = capitalism.

    Corporations are required by law to be anti-capitalist.
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  26. Jenee

    Jenee Driver 8

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    Not disagreeing, just asking for clarification. What would be the purpose of a corporation in a socialist/gift/resource based economy?
  27. Ancalagon

    Ancalagon Scalawag Administrator Formerly Important

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    First off I should have been more clear. I am talking about for profit publicly traded companies.

    By law they have a ‘fiduciary duty’ to maximize returns to shareholders. That is their only purpose.

    Maximizing return often means engaging in anti-free market activities: rent seeking, monopolies, cartels, etc, etc.

    In other situations the purpose of say a consumer owned co-op could be to keep prices low for consumers. In a worker owned co-op it could be to maximize wages. Other kinds of non-profits could make say environmental stewardship or social justice their main focus.
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  28. Jenee

    Jenee Driver 8

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    Thank you.
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