'After 30 years, Taco Bell didn't even offer her any hot sauce'

[Oeditpus Rex]

Nine years ago, Winnie Shilson stopped a bullet for Taco Bell. Last Friday, the company that owns Minnesota's Taco Bell restaurants emptied the other barrel.

It fired her.

Shilson will be 64 next month, and her story may illustrate how a fast-food society treats workers, especially its most experienced ones. After 30 years working for Taco Bell and the chains that preceded it, Shilson was fired Friday as manager of the Edina Taco Bell, dismissed without severance pay or medical benefits.

"Not even a taco," says her husband, Doug. "They didn't give her a thing."

http://www.startribune.com/357/story/1538641.html

[derby378]

1. It's El Fenix for me from now on...

Shame on Taco Hell for doing this to one of their own. Soulless corporate jackass gibletheads.

[Initech]

2. Damn, this country is fucked up.

If I wasn't boycotting Taco Bell already, this would be the deal-breaker. :argh:

[Parche]

3. Tortilla The Hun

That is just not right........:hi:

[redwitch]

4. This is so sad.

I don't know what else to say, just awful. :cry:

[krispos42]

5. Taco John's for me

Mmmm... potato olés....

[quip]

6. JESUS H. CHRIST!!!!

I KNOW WINNIE-- I've known her for years! I go to that Taco Bell all the friggin time!!!!!!

Those complete fucking bastards! :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

[driver8]

11. You should go in and tell them what fucking assholes they are.

Sumbitches...

[quip]

13. You're GD right I will!

Hey, those initials look familiar.....

[Oeditpus Rex]

18. No

No one who works there fired her.

Contact Border Foods:

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Or by phone or mail:

http://www.borderfoods.com/contactus.cfm

[dpbrown]

7. She's right - it's so easy for employers to manufacture reasons to get rid of employees

The employers hold all the cards.

Fucking bastards.

[Rabrrrrrr]

8. I hope she sues their fucking company into banruptcy. That's unconscionable.

Her bad reviews sound entirely madeup for the sole reason of giving them reason to fire her.

Too many chains do this - Walgreens, Menards, WalMart, and others.

Thank Reagan for making it all possible. Long live Republican values-based governance.

:eyes:

[lost-in-nj]

9. Fuckers

cooperate america sucks.....

the customers are most important

bull shit

money is most important

that poor woman



lost

[Bucky]

10. I have eaten my last encherito. I will belch 5 minutes later and re-taste encherito no more.

What fucks.

[KamaAina]

12. I guess she'll just have to wait for Jacoby Ellsbury to steal another base

"Not even a taco," says her husband, Doug. "They didn't give her a thing."

:sarcasm:

What a bunch of ass carrots. :grr:

[racaulk]

14. She needs to pull herself up by the bootstraps and quit her bitching.

:sarcasm:

In all seriousness, this is a perfect example of capitalism in corporate America gone awry. All that matters, above all else, is the bottom line profit. Human capital is expendable and can be replaced in an instant.

This is such a sad tale, and I'm sure many others have experienced the same. :(

[ThomCat]

15. That is really mean and horrible.

:(

I'll bet they did it just to replace her with a young manager who earn half as much.

[racaulk]

16. You're right.

And she probably lost some retirement benefits as well.

Bastards.

:mad:

[Oeditpus Rex]

20. No doubt

A similar tactic was pulled on me and six co-workers at a newspaper four years ago. We all had the unmitigated gall to be over 40.

They "replaced" us with kids right out of college.

[ThomCat]

21. But how do you prove that it's age discrimination?

x(

And is it even illegal?

[Oeditpus Rex]

24. First, all seven of us being over 40 was a bit of a stretch

to be a coincidence — especially when our "replacements" were all under 25.

Second, some things were said to some employees that indicated age was the reason, such as "Your old ways aren't going to make it here anymore."

Anyway, you don't have to prove discrimination in a lawsuit. You just have to convince a jury that it took place, and a well-selected jury will usually side with workers over management.

[ThomCat]

25. But...

It sounds like you guys didn't pursue a lawsuit. :shrug:

[Oeditpus Rex]

28. We did

It didn't turn out as hoped, though. x(

[ThomCat]

29. I'm sorry.

Unfortunately, the deck is stacked in their favor, and there doesn't seem to be anything we can successfully do about it. :(

[Oeditpus Rex]

31. We would've done better

had the judge on the case not admitted to attorneys on both sides that he knew nothing about employee law. And, of course, he wouldn't recuse himself.

[DS1]

17. she was making more than me

:cry:

[SteppingRazor]

19. I have an idea! Maybe service-industry workers should get together...

and refuse to work if they're treated unfairly! We'll call it ... um ... a union! Boy, where do I get these things?

[Richard Steele]

23. You're some sort of visionary, obviously.

But the good hardworking folks of the USA would NEVER
go for such a wild idea. It smacks of communism.

Next you'll be saying everyone should be able to get
health care when they need it. That's crazy talk!

:( :( :( :( :(

[Rhythm]

26. I've talked with others where i work about this (which... according to the company handbook...

could get me fired on the spot)

I'm working on it anyway...

Anyone know for sure which union is best for handling food-service operations?
I'm in WV, so hopefully one with chapters already established in the region.

[SteppingRazor]

27. The IWW has been trying to get a Starbucks Union going.

So you might want to start there.

[BarenakedLady]

22. That is so sad.

:(

[Javaman]

30. back in the 90's I was out in LA and worked on the "run for the border"

taco bell commercials. I saw what that stuff was made of, I never ate it again.

[Oeditpus Rex]

32. My comment to Border Foods:

I trust the negative publicity you'll receive from Nick Coleman's column in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune will be worth the capital gain from giving Winnie Shilson's job to a kid who'll work for minimum wage — and quit after six months.

Here's hoping that by the next World Series, you won't even be able to give away your imitation Mexican food products.

Tell me — what's it like to be utterly heartless?


Post yours here: http://www.borderfoods.com/commentsgen.cfm