I didn't want to deal with the WaPo paywall, so I Googled a bit and found this, and I'm nowhere near my limit of free articles for a local Pennsylvania paper.
Yet another member of management in the McDonald's, who also asked not to be named, stated, "Staff was so bothered by the unwarranted blame placed on their managers that a petition was drawn up and signed by the entire staff and some customers, with more than 100 signatures, and sent to executive management."
Rural Pennsylvania is really a dystopia, but with good scenery and hiking trails.
I am a terrible person. My first thought was wondering how this will affect my travel plans, because the availability of fast food with bathrooms and/or drive-throughs in PA is a strangely key part of possibly driving to see my parents for Christmas.
You can drink the water, but don't eat the food. Pack some snacks.
There are woods that will serve as bathrooms I presume, but maybe you should get a trial lyme disease vaccine first.
Pee on the road to stay safe from ticks.
I mean, not the Turnpike. That's what the shoulder is for.
One of the weird things the article brings out is that the same owner was paying much higher wages in New York, even above their higher minimum wage. I'm assuming these stores are in the parts of New York nearest Bradford, which is to say still rust belt.
two thoughts:
1. I remember when I worked fast-food in '80-'82, the same was true: all the "shift managers" and the assistant manager were hourly. I don't remember about the store manager.
2. as bad as this is, it can be worse. I remember reading that Wal-mart had a practice of moving store managers to salary, and then .... well, y'know, it's your store, you're on salary, and you gotta work the hours that need to be worked -- no matter how many. So they took an effective hourly pay cut.
two thoughts:
1. I remember when I worked fast-food in '80-'82, the same was true: all the "shift managers" and the assistant manager were hourly. I don't remember about the store manager.
2. as bad as this is, it can be worse. I remember reading that Wal-mart had a practice of moving store managers to salary, and then .... well, y'know, it's your store, you're on salary, and you gotta work the hours that need to be worked -- no matter how many. So they took an effective hourly pay cut.
The salary level for being overtime exempt is low and one of the things that Obama did that the courts and Trump undid first was trying to raise that level.
Last night I tried to order pizza from the local regular old pizza place that lets you order via the web, but for the first time ever I was denied by a "No Drivers Available" message.
12 is right, I don't understand why this isn't higher on the Democratic priority list.
Also why doesn't overtime law apply to teachers? Lets get that changed!
Maybe someone did a poll and lower managers are Republicans?
So, my son's school bus got in a non-injury accident. I'm guessing this isn't going to make the driver shortage get better.
15: I suspect the fact that school board is often an entry point into a political career has some pernicious effects on the worldviews of the people who go on to fill higher-level roles.
I assume that the original reason is that rules for adequate pay were only intended to apply to white male heads of household, and teaching was for young women who don't need to pay for a family. I haven't fully confirmed this, but it dates back to 1938 so it seems very likely. (See also professions exempted from Social Security.) The question is why it hasn't changed.
17: Thanks be to God there were no injuries, but that's more than a little bit scary. And yeah, school bus drivers earning little more minimum wage are not going to stick around for the lawsuits.
I'm wondering if the bus coordinator is going to send something to the parents about it or if they're just going to be like when my grandma crashed my parents' car and never told anyone?
One time the pizza place we usually use for delivery told us it would be an hour and 45 minutes for delivery, so I just went and picked it up.
When my mom's intestinal wall ruptured, the ambulance didn't come and after 30 minutes my dad just canceled it and drove her in. Which I realize has been a systemic problem for vulnerable groups since always, but it was surprising that it had become universal.
Yikes. Glad he was able to get her there.
My dad had a stroke that paralyzed half of his body and he hopped to the car and made my mom drive him to the ER. My mom was not happy with that decision and, as far as I can tell, there was no need.
My mom was team "stay on the floor and let me call 911."
My dad, who suffered from diabetic neuropathy, absolutely totalled a car in the underground parking lot at my parents' condo building, when he thought he was slowly backing up, but instead hit pedal to the metal, only to violently crash into the car (thankfully empty of driver and passengers) parked just across from him.
The thing is, his family doctor should have reported his disability to the Ministry of Transportation at least six months earlier, as required by Ontario law; but doctors are extremely reluctant to be the bad guy, to play the bad cop, and so they just sort of let these things go...
27: We we're dealing with this with my parents and my Dad - who managed to have his license taken away in MA and get it back in Maine. Tim always noted that in Ontario doctors have a duty to report. in MA they do not, but when I reported they can agree that it's unsafe, or they can let the person go for specialist evaluation. Maybe they can also say it's totally safe in the event of a total lie about someone's competence. All that being said, they have so many opportunities to avoid alienating/or confronting their patient.
Tim always noted that in Ontario doctors have a duty to report. in MA they do not,
Yeah, Ontario doctors have a duty to report; but I can attest that they do not always do so.
Admittedly, it's a very complex and stressful situation for all involved: given our car-based culture, taking away someone's right to drive is basically taking away his/her independence; and who wants to be the baddie who does that to some sweet old lady who makes shortbread for Christmas/some grand old man who used to be a sturdy yeoman of the province?
school bus drivers earning little more minimum wage
When I was a little kid, the schoolbus drivers were often high school students, which seems utterly insane in retrospect. But also everybody smoked everywhere and kids were constantly riding loose in the backs of pickup trucks at highway speeds so I suppose it really was a different world then.
Today, if a teacher tried tipping a high school student with loose cigarettes and a slug of bourbon for helping scrape the ice off their car, it would be a whole thing.
I can remember getting a ride home from school with the neighbor. Like seven kids in the seat of a pick-up and the youngest on the driver's lap doing the steering.
Considering 60% of the cars these days are pickup trucks, people don't ride in the back like they used to. Instead you get those stupid crew cabs.
And the cowards still won't bring back the El Camino.
The real treasure is the Happy Meals you hand out along the way.
"There are better ways to go about this," the regional supervisor replied. She had been thinking about boosting pay at the Bradford McDonald's, she said, but she was not going to give into threats or give up control. Because of the petition, no one was getting a raise. If the workers did not like it, they could quit.
What bad timing! Gosh wow, the smell of bullshit is strong with this one!
It's up there with "I only started being racist because someone called me racist."
This is bananas: https://www.wweek.com/news/2021/11/03/who-poisoned-joe-gilliamtwice/
37 is revealing of the class consciousness shared by owners. If you *can* endure the pain of a labor action, it's your ethical obligation to do so. If you accede to *any* demands, maybe even *especially* reasonable demands, who knows where it'll stop?
It's no El Camino, but the Ford F-100 Eluminator has similar vibes: https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/pictures/ford-mustang-mach-e-gt-electric-crate-motor-f100-concept-sema/
I am... not a pickup truck person but I would not be sad to see retro lines take the place of the stupid two-story angry grille design.
It's probably a homeowners association thing.
I would really like to buy something like an early 80s Mercedes with an electric motor/battery pack installed.
42: I'd go further: My oh my!
He seems to have been on the side of the bloodsucking capitalists, but poisoned by someone he screwed over personally.
Seconding Moby's vehicle choice. Though what I most want, I think, is an old-fashioned Saab 9000 electrified.
We fought those alcohol sales initiatives in 2014 and 2016. I didn't know the damn thing was coming back again.
Counterpoint: Having alcohol available in the store is really convenient.
Counter, counterpoint: A lot of people drive to Oregon from Washington to buy their booze. It seems the grocery stores have a reduced selection at higher prices except maybe a five gallon jug of Kirkland tequila.
It would be irresponsible to point out how much easier it is to shoplift from a grocery store than a liquor store.
I'll have to take your word for it, I haven't actually tried at either one.
I'm working from a process of pure reason.