EMPLOYEES DESCRIBE SLIPPING INTO HOMELESSNESS WHILE WORKING AT REI
"REI is known as a place of good-heartedness and quality, so it might come as a shock to hear that many of its employees are either on food stamps, working multiple jobs, or both.
When it comes down to it, REI may have bucked their principles as a co-op for a large corporate trend: Expansion at the expense of its workers. This came to light at a public forum for REI workplace rights yesterday evening, hosted by Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant."
“I like what REI could be, would be, if the reality matched the rhetoric,” said employee Ingrid Johnson. Instead, she said, the culture at the company’s headquarters is elitist and takes the form of an oligarchy.
Many at the forum raised issues of inconsistent working schedules, and the inability to reach enough working hours to sustain themselves, let alone on an insufficient hourly wage.
Tia Kennedy’s story indeed exemplified what travesties can befall an individual and their family when the job you love fails to provide adequate compensation.
“In January, my family was homeless with a baby,” Kennedy said. “I was oftentimes going to bed hungry and even though I was breastfeeding my baby, I wasn’t able to feed myself well. Sometimes a coworker would buy me a pastry, but that was all I would eat all day.”
Several REI workers at yesterday’s forum spoke of qualifying for and being on food stamps. However, for some, meeting the qualifications for food stamps is difficult even if they’re homeless.
Ash Crew has worked at Seattle’s REI since 2012. She said students are required to work 20 hours a week in order to receive food stamps in Seattle. But it’s impossible for her to work that many hours at REI no matter how hard she tries."
https://southseattleemerald.com/2016/07/12/employees-describe-slipping-into-homelessness-while-working-at-rei/
I'm glad the spotlight is shining but REI isn't the only company under employing their work staff.
= new reply since forum marked as read
