General Discussion

wickerwoman

(5,662 posts)

158. And if you don't have a car

Wed Jul 11, 2012, 02:59 AM

Jul 2012

and the "other" grocery store (if it exists... and in many place in the US that's a very big if...) is a forty minute bus ride each way and the fare is $8 a day and they don't offer you the extra dollar an hour to cover additional transport costs and you have to pay for extra childcare to cover the commuting time...

Bully for you that you have a skill set that qualifies you for an in-demand job and that you have geographic mobility and apparently few family commitments like aging or disabled relatives. Telling other people how easy it is to uproot and get another job is really ignorant and insensitive when you obviously know absolutely nothing about the struggles of minimum wage income Americans.

Yes, in some cases people could better their situation (if they weren't so exhausted and/or had adequate resources to explore their options rationally) but in some cases they genuinely can't and telling them they are responsible is bullying, not motivating.

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My co-worker got an Outstanding evaluation at the grocery store where she works. Want to guess what [View all] raccoon Jul 2012 OP

Du rec. Nt xchrom Jul 2012 #1

Let's say your frined makes 13 bucks an hour... trumad Jul 2012 #2

I think she's saying it was a 10-cent raise. Chan790 Jul 2012 #6

$4 more a week? She'd better be careful it doesn't kick her up into a higher TAX bracket! TrollBuster9090 Jul 2012 #26

Making more money only potentially pushes that additional money into a higher bracket Kennah Jul 2012 #160

She makes about 8.00 /hr. Raise will be all of .10 /hr. nt raccoon Jul 2012 #7

So, people who work in grocery stores now earn a whole $16 000 per year? TrollBuster9090 Jul 2012 #29

Well...the woman got ripped off, IMO. Talk about not getting your money's worth! nt MADem Jul 2012 #37

True, but that's part of the whole "money to burn" image. TrollBuster9090 Jul 2012 #118

Yes, and those Rolex's are heavy and ugly too--the counterfeits look better, actually! MADem Jul 2012 #119

Thorsten Veblen explained this in 1899 dragonlady Jul 2012 #147

Thorstein Veblen NYC_SKP Jul 2012 #155

There was a DUer with the username Thorstein Veblen at one time Art_from_Ark Jul 2012 #170

Also long fingernails and "trophy wives" incapable of doing a lick of work. /nt TheMadMonk Jul 2012 #173

You can get a Rolex for around $1000 HotRodTuna Jul 2012 #166

Bravo! Emphasis on the 'GILDED' - n/t coalition_unwilling Jul 2012 #50

And a grocery store worker would have to work 32 years to match the 'charge account' TrollBuster9090 Jul 2012 #162

be careful here.....Mrs. Obama wears designer clothes too grasswire Jul 2012 #103

She wears shit from Target and I doubt her entire wardrobe, even without discounts, MADem Jul 2012 #120

Shhh, shhhh! Scootaloo Jul 2012 #159

I don't believe President Obama's suits are off the rack either HotRodTuna Jul 2012 #167

Southern state? Does the store start with a W? and has 2 names? dixiegrrrrl Jul 2012 #140

Its not just walmart, its almost all grocery stores both chains and independants. cstanleytech Jul 2012 #144

dixiegrrrl doesn't mean Walmart tkmorris Jul 2012 #145

Ah, well Bi-Lo just bought them so dont expect them to change much in that regards. In fact cstanleytech Jul 2012 #146

So if she is working 40 hours a week undeterred Jul 2012 #3

$4 a week. "Now I can afford a latte on Fridays! Whooppee!!" (n/t) klook Jul 2012 #12

Back in the day, you could go to the movies. By yourself: Hassin Bin Sober Jul 2012 #151

Sadly most retail places don't offer 40 hours anymore Marrah_G Jul 2012 #60

In the DC area, Giant cut hours for its supermarket workers some years ago LiberalEsto Jul 2012 #139

Sad, like the "Employee of the Month" award where TheCowsCameHome Jul 2012 #4

My husband once got employee of the year award once........he got a 3 day 2 night stay a kennedy Jul 2012 #15

My husband got that once - the employee parking space. noamnety Jul 2012 #55

ouch! shanti Jul 2012 #57

Such ingratitude jberryhill Jul 2012 #5

self-delete. nt raccoon Jul 2012 #9

jberryhill was being ironic. redwitch Jul 2012 #10

thanks, I edited the post. Hard to tell these days. nt raccoon Jul 2012 #11

Oh come now jberryhill Jul 2012 #13

I couldn't keep me in oatmeal for $.80 a day. Fuddnik Jul 2012 #41

We buy 50 lb bags. We've estimated the cost at 25 cents a serving. TalkingDog Jul 2012 #85

Damn, you had me there for a second. Please throw in a sarcasm smiley or something! Zalatix Jul 2012 #20

The sarcasm smiley's for amateurs! n/t backscatter712 Jul 2012 #66

Compensation involves much more than salary. FBaggins Jul 2012 #8

That sucks Proud Liberal Dem Jul 2012 #14

10 cents an hour. barbtries Jul 2012 #16

I had an excellent review... awoke_in_2003 Jul 2012 #68

Like the song in the 1954 musical "Pajama Game" - seven and a half cents - haele Jul 2012 #98

i never watched it. barbtries Jul 2012 #100

I spent the first part of 1977 working at a BurgerMaster while I was a senior. haele Jul 2012 #105

maybe she is topped out unapatriciated Jul 2012 #17

My daughter also works at a chain grocery store and LibGranny Jul 2012 #18

Right-to-Work-for-Peanuts state is more like it. My, my, how they can spin those lies. Stardust Jul 2012 #157

Why stay there? In 2009 I quit a job after three consecutive years of excellent reviews, zero raises slackmaster Jul 2012 #19

Well said. She or he could just move right into medical IT, right? Zalatix Jul 2012 #21

I've been working for more than 30 years, and found that things go a lot better for me when I... slackmaster Jul 2012 #23

Or we could support unions.... daleanime Jul 2012 #32

IT for some reason doesn't think they need unions. Zalatix Jul 2012 #35

Um, congress/legislators decide if IT can be in a union Paulie Jul 2012 #44

Wait, what? Zalatix Jul 2012 #92

Precisely Sherman A1 Jul 2012 #127

Moving to a new employer doesn't improve your standard of living if no one's hiring. Zalatix Jul 2012 #34

You're right. The more people choose to stay in dead-end, low-pay jobs, the better for... slackmaster Jul 2012 #48

Yours is not exactly an 'alertable post,' but it is certainly reprehensible and coalition_unwilling Jul 2012 #54

The issue is locus of control, not "human agency" slackmaster Jul 2012 #59

I feel so little empathy for you or interest in anything further that you have to say coalition_unwilling Jul 2012 #63

Pearls before swine slackmaster Jul 2012 #64

Or white-painted lead balls. Zalatix Jul 2012 #78

I appreciate you viewpoint HotRodTuna Jul 2012 #169

Agreed Sherman A1 Jul 2012 #131

I know several IT people who are looking for work. Arctic Dave Jul 2012 #71

*crickets* Zalatix Jul 2012 #79

Send them my way. I'm not afraid of competition. slackmaster Jul 2012 #80

And there lies the fallacy of your logic. Arctic Dave Jul 2012 #99

lol Dokkie Jul 2012 #130

I don't see how any of that relavant to my post. Arctic Dave Jul 2012 #182

In your rush to be insensitive and condescending, you didn't answer my questions. Zalatix Jul 2012 #77

There is a shortage of IT workers in my area. Job pickings are good here. slackmaster Jul 2012 #81

You're still not answering my question. Zalatix Jul 2012 #89

Where did I say that there were enough IT jobs for everyone who needs a job? slackmaster Jul 2012 #106

Yes, there are job openings at the company where you work. Zalatix Jul 2012 #115

I'm just speculating here becauese the OP doesn't have a lot of information but unless that store... slackmaster Jul 2012 #49

And if you don't have a car wickerwoman Jul 2012 #158

We don't know whether the person has a car or not slackmaster Jul 2012 #164

Yes, prejudice (seriously, WTF?) against willfull ignorance is something I will absolutely keep. wickerwoman Jul 2012 #178

The thread is about raccoon's friend getting a stingy raise. We don't know much else about her. slackmaster Jul 2012 #180

And that's the point caraher Jul 2012 #43

Bingo. TalkingDog Jul 2012 #90

My advice is simply to look around and see if there is a possibility of getting another job slackmaster Jul 2012 #108

Think about it from the employer's standpoint--why pay more if they don't have to? MADem Jul 2012 #40

You do understand that the person works in a supermarket, right? Marrah_G Jul 2012 #65

Yes. My first job was at a small neighborhood grocery store. $2.35 per hour in 1975. slackmaster Jul 2012 #82

"You always have other options"? Hahahahahahahaha. Yup. Quit a low paying job to join the unemployed uppityperson Jul 2012 #91

Let me rephrase it so you might understand - You always have the option of LOOKING AROUND to see... slackmaster Jul 2012 #109

I have the option of looking around to see if I can be an astronaut or president! uppityperson Jul 2012 #124

People do just that for a lot of reasons, uppityperson. The most common is low self-esteem. slackmaster Jul 2012 #165

In this economy, many are happy to have any job at all, and employers can easily abuse them. uppityperson Jul 2012 #177

The scales, hopefully, will fall from a lot of eyes concerning "right to work." AngryOldDem Jul 2012 #22

My GF, she also works at a grocery store, told me last night... Javaman Jul 2012 #24

There you go! Who ever SAID hard work and dedication doesn't pay off? TrollBuster9090 Jul 2012 #25

We're on four years now without a raise. Robb Jul 2012 #27

welcome to the world of minimum wage. part man all 86 Jul 2012 #28

Very interesting glimpse into the world of fast food prep. MADem Jul 2012 #42

welcome to DU, in the nicest way grasswire Jul 2012 #110

by the way i went to the great big orange screw called the university of tenner'see knox vegas. part man all 86 Jul 2012 #116

I probably eat that stuff two or three times a year, if that. MADem Jul 2012 #121

She needs to find another job badtoworse Jul 2012 #30

your co-worker, where she works? You aren't there as well or you share another job together? snooper2 Jul 2012 #31

She works part-time at the job where I work and part-time at the grocery store. raccoon Jul 2012 #83

I proved I was working ten extra hours a week once and got a $25 per week raise. brewens Jul 2012 #33

My wife is going through her yearly review. Thav Jul 2012 #36

Unfortunately, that's the way it is for a lot of people Cairycat Jul 2012 #38

"Right to Work" warrprayer Jul 2012 #39

$4 a week. Ugh. Yeah, thanks a lot. stevenleser Jul 2012 #45

coupla years ago, I won an award -- and got a zero increase that year, like everyone else. spooky3 Jul 2012 #46

I was told that back during the Reagan Recession of 1982 Art_from_Ark Jul 2012 #74

The job market really sucked in those days. Took me months to find a job. People that had been raccoon Jul 2012 #87

Funny story about the Reagan Recession (if there is any humor to be gleaned from it, even coalition_unwilling Jul 2012 #95

Same here: I came out of grad school in the Reagan recession, and the only place Lydia Leftcoast Jul 2012 #96

Interesting Art_from_Ark Jul 2012 #148

That meshes with my experience. I finished my Master's at UMKC in 1986 and, still coalition_unwilling Jul 2012 #149

"Social interaction products"? Art_from_Ark Jul 2012 #150

LMAO. Your post prompted me to remember my favorite all-time interview Q&A coalition_unwilling Jul 2012 #168

At one time, I was actually considering going to the University of Wisconsin Art_from_Ark Jul 2012 #171

I think the 'liberal paradise' idea was pretty much a relic of the 60s. When I coalition_unwilling Jul 2012 #172

Come to think of it, Art_from_Ark Jul 2012 #174

I had a couple stellar reviews in my last job and got a pay cut for my problems Posteritatis Jul 2012 #152

In Canada 20 years ago 12AngryBorneoWildmen Jul 2012 #47

You know what my daughter got for her "raise"? She got madmom Jul 2012 #51

My spousal unit recently got his first raise in 2 years. $3.40 PER YEAR. TalkingDog Jul 2012 #52

Ain't the "new" America just the best place in the whole wide world! n/t RKP5637 Jul 2012 #53

Hey, if she doesn't like her raise, she should quit and get a job as a Wall Street banker. tclambert Jul 2012 #56

The bosses need more cars, gold and land Marrah_G Jul 2012 #58

The bosses need to be shown that people won't put up with their crap slackmaster Jul 2012 #62

That's one of those "Woo Hoo. In three days I'll be able to afford a Miller Lite draft!" moments. HopeHoops Jul 2012 #61

Wow, one unanticipated benefit of your OP is that it's bringing coalition_unwilling Jul 2012 #67

I also added to my ignore list Marrah_G Jul 2012 #70

All of the threads I see are asshole-free. OnyxCollie Jul 2012 #72

I'm working on it. Threads like this one are helping me in my pursuit. - n/t coalition_unwilling Jul 2012 #76

It's worth the effort. nt OnyxCollie Jul 2012 #88

Or at least the lowered blood pressure. On a quasi-humorous note, it coalition_unwilling Jul 2012 #93

I live my life on the razor's edge. OnyxCollie Jul 2012 #111

IMO, if you can't demonstrate empathy, you really do not belong on this board. There coalition_unwilling Jul 2012 #73

Ha! I got a .16 an hour raise after my last evaluation. OnyxCollie Jul 2012 #69

That's a pretty specific amount.. (nt) Posteritatis Jul 2012 #154

A raise in wages per hour tends to be specific. OnyxCollie Jul 2012 #175

No, just curious as to why they chose sixteen instead of, say, fifteen or twenty. Posteritatis Jul 2012 #176

The store was allotted $3.20 in wage increases OnyxCollie Jul 2012 #181

I worked for a company where Arctic Dave Jul 2012 #75

well it rightly don't make a difference if you are from ... bayareaboy Jul 2012 #84

Union clerks at Vons, a typical chain grocery in Southern California, average a little over $8/hour slackmaster Jul 2012 #86

My boss fired me on the BEST DAY of work I've ever had. no_hypocrisy Jul 2012 #94

One of my brothers (in sales) turned a territory around and made it profitable again Lydia Leftcoast Jul 2012 #97

1.2% raise for the top grade is less than pitiful TheKentuckian Jul 2012 #101

Clark Griswold has the best reaction to this... backscatter712 Jul 2012 #102

"spotty-lipped, worm-headed sack of monkey shit he is" Lifelong Protester Jul 2012 #143

Tell her the squeaky wheel B Calm Jul 2012 #104

They'll fire her, claim for cause, and deny her unemployment. Sirveri Jul 2012 #117

My father also received an excellent work review SOS Jul 2012 #107

If that is all doing a good job gets you then slack off as much as possible lunasun Jul 2012 #112

A dime an hour. Wow. Brigid Jul 2012 #113

The broken social contract that nobody want to talk about anymore. Egalitarian Thug Jul 2012 #114

omg Liberal_in_LA Jul 2012 #122

It's a pretty typical raise siouxsiecreamcheese Jul 2012 #123

In the mid-1970s I had a short-term job at a very small manufacturing plant struggle4progress Jul 2012 #125

We have been living top-down Reganomics for the last 30 years... giant fail lib2DaBone Jul 2012 #126

That is all I got in 4 years at public school district in Florida HockeyMom Jul 2012 #128

I had an "outstanding" evaluation in March Myrina Jul 2012 #129

They're dropping a dime on her. Spitfire of ATJ Jul 2012 #132

What's her hourly rate? Need to know what % the 10 cents is of her hrly rate. Suffice to say... Honeycombe8 Jul 2012 #133

Is employee theft on the rise at the grocery store? Ineeda Jul 2012 #134

If I were her cyglet Jul 2012 #135

I got a $.10 per hour raise at a corporate job back in 2003 Orrex Jul 2012 #136

Sound like she works for the Walto......er Dukes thelordofhell Jul 2012 #137

I got a raise like that once rickford66 Jul 2012 #138

That's why they call it "trickle down"... livingonearth Jul 2012 #141

Like a frakking grocery store has trouble making enough profit. Shame!!! patrice Jul 2012 #142

sad thing is, she got a better pay raise than did I Skittles Jul 2012 #153

My girlfriend worked at a clothing store and was a top notch employee. Evoman Jul 2012 #156

And they'll probably levy an .11$ an hour processing fee on each of her paychecks. Ken Burch Jul 2012 #161

Umm...I can attest that this has been going on for years. Just sayin. Ship of Fools Jul 2012 #163

Well, she got a raise. Xyzse Jul 2012 #179

And the CEO gets a $4.6 million raise. Initech Jul 2012 #183