I just Occupied. **Sacramento Grocery Store**

[Firebrand Gary]

I walked in to my local grocery store (very, very large US chain) grabbed 6 items and headed for the check out counter. I did not have to walk far as there were AT LEAST 30 people in line that stretched half way through the store into the bakery section. I was immediately outraged having just left my house from watching Michael Moore's interview on Lawrence O'Donnell's show.

People were clearly unhappy and halfway up to the front I realized there was one person checking out. So I whipped out my phone and decided to look up the 2010 revenue from the company in addition to the CEO's salary.

You can guess what I found. The company made over 35 Billion last year and the CEO's total salary including benefits, stock options, etc was 24 MILLION Dollars.

So I announced in my loud speaker voice to the 30 People waiting in line, Hey guess how much this company made last year? Guess how much the CEO made? Telling the string of people the jaw dropping amount of profits made by this organization.

I asked finally "How many people here think this company can afford to help this nice lady out up at the register by hiring another person to check out?"

The line drew big time applause. I encouraged everyone to attend Occupy Sacramento TOMORROW. As I was leaving someone in the line yelled back at me as I was walking out "We are the 99%"






I could have cried hearing that, I never said anything about the 99%.

Occupy.

Edited:Typo

[Missy Vixen]

1. Occupy Sacramento!

We are the 99%!

:woohoo:

[Firebrand Gary]

15. We are the 99%.

I wanted to make sure that what I said would give appreciation to the clerk, being the poor gal was the only one. But it signified something else for me. Here was 1 representative for 30 people.

In these terms I really understood the ratio of power. We, the 99% should find comfort in the fact that we hold the power.

[dkf]

2. Well now we know how you got your moniker.

:)

[Firebrand Gary]

22. *Wink

[tblue]

3. MY HERO!!!

[Rhiannon12866]

4. K&R!!!

:applause:

[chollybocker]

5. Well played.

Recently, I took an old box of bandaids from my medicine cabinet and wrote "This machine kills jobs" on each one, and stuck them in my pocket. Everytime I go to the grocery store, I surreptitiously stick one of them on the self-checkout machine, then go to the checkout with a human clerk. They haven't caught me yet! :)

[EdMaven]

8. another good one. I wish more people would do such things.

[Grown2Hate]

55. Well, you convinced me. I think I'll start doing that as well.

I'm always clear to make that point to anyone that tries to usher me to one. "There's no waiting here, sir." "Nah, I'm not going to contribute to a company giving jobs away to machines. Besides, you're not paying me to check myself out, so..."...

[kag]

62. I would, but...

I live in a very small town. The only grocery store (besides the local co-op) is owned by a really nice guy, and managed by another one. They hire locals to work there, including some of the high school kids, and some of the disabled folks in town. Not sure about the benefits, but there are several people who have worked there for at least ten years, and they seem very happy in their job. No self-service lanes. The owner is also very generous to local non-profits, the schools and PTO's, and such. The grocery store is a hub of the community and a part of the community.

This is how businesses SHOULD be run.

[bhikkhu]

67. Exactly, that's how it should be.

I shop at one in my town that's like that too - they have the best prices on things, and its always full of workers. Though its the best store around for groceries, last summer I went to one better when I was in Sacramento - a Raley's, where I had just stopped to pick up a few things. There were no self-checkouts, and I was only second in line when a cheerful manager immediately came up and took me to the next register over to check out. Before he'd rung up the first thing, another worker ran up to help bag things. It was amazing to get that kind of service in such a big city.

[anamandujano]

12. You gave me a good laugh.

"They haven't caught me yet!"

[Firebrand Gary]

17. Thats perfect. Loving it!

[aggiesal]

73. Very good.

I have never used a self checkout machine.

I have a harder time convincing my wife to do the same.
She finds them convenient.

[Iwillnevergiveup]

74. Great stories here

I like to pay bills by snail mail - helps the Post Office, keeps people employed. Besides, what's the hurry??? Mail delivery is still excellent.

[villager]

6. So.. not the Arata Brothers!?

;-)

[EdMaven]

7. Very skillful. Did the worker a good turn by deflecting their irritation with

the situation from her to the real causes & did a nice piece of labor education at the same time. Wish I could have been there!

[KT2000]

9. Well done!

:yourock:

[pacalo]

10. They build these gigantic stores with 20+ checkout lanes & generally there are only 2 or 3

that are open. So I say, bravo to you, Gary!


:applause:

[Firebrand Gary]

13. It makes me so crazy when I see those damn self check out lanes.

Ahhhh, That is a job someone could be doing.

[LibDemAlways]

26. At my local market people use the self check-out lanes because

there are 4 of them versus 1 human checker. A store employee has to monitor the self-check lanes, and it's sometimes the same lone checker. Cheap bastards.

[AnneD]

28. And this is the same reason why....

I never go through them.

1) I am not the store's unpaid employee. Their prices are not all that great and my time is worth more to me.

2) Everyone needs a job at a decent wage. Not everyone may have gotten a college degree and this little job may make a difference for them.

3) A happy checkout person generates more good will and repeat business for a store than any coupon program.

I love that one of my stores employs mentally disabled to stock and checkout and whatever else they are capable of doing. Many know me by name and they pack my groceries carefully and are proud to help me get them to my car. Wally World can keep the little bit of chump change I might have saved. They don't have anyone to help me get the groceries to the car.

[totodeinhere]

33. They claim that those automated lanes help them keep prices down. But I believe that's a lie. It

helps them increase their already obscene corporate profits, and all the while grocery prices keep going up. I suffer from sticker shock every time I shop there.

[AnneD]

36. And if you remember....

they said ATM's would lower the cost of banking when they fist came out. So how is that $5 fee to use your debit card working for ya?

The only bottom line that is expanding is theirs.

[Firebrand Gary]

71. "The only bottom line that is expanding is theirs." Excellent one liner!

Kudos

[lunasun]

39. Yea 'as if '

the money they save on payroll via automat check out is passed on to the buyer

:rofl:
Just more of the slave labor plan - bag this store owners

[The Gunslinger]

81. I never use them even if I have 1 item,

[malaise]

11. Most excellent

:yourock:

[Amonester]

14. It's called, ripple effect, if I'm not mistaken!

We, are, the 99%!

We, are, the 99%!

We, are, the 99%!

We, are, the 99%!

We, are, the 99%!

We, are, the 99%!

:grouphug:

[Firebrand Gary]

16. Touché on the bottom up!

It was really cool! I thought for a second when I was standing in that line if I should even say something. So rewarding!

[xchrom]

18. 99% coolness. Nt

[justiceischeap]

19. Great job! If only more people would do what you did.

A personal occupation within the local economy.

[greytdemocrat]

20. Excellent!

Cool Bouncy.

[PA Democrat]

21. Good job.

I keep hearing that one of the reasons that companies aren't hiring is increases in productivity. They are squeezing every ounce of work out of existing employees and also inconveniencing customers with their horrid automated phone systems where you have to go through 10 minutes of menu choices to get a simple question answered, self-serve checkouts, and longer wait times for actual human service.

Our time is not precious when there are profits to be made.

[anamandujano]

50. I always complain about the phone menus when I finally get

a real person on the line. I always have to apologize for my testy strained voice and tell them that I know it's not their fault.

When you're suffering through the AT&T menu (and swearing in a whisper) they always manage to pick it up. I get the robot voice saying "I'm sorry I didn't quite get what you said" or words to that effect.

I wouldn't have to call so often if they weren't so facking incompetent and getting paid for it. :mad:

[WillyT]

23. Most Excellent !!! - K & R !!!

:yourock:

:bounce:

:hi:

:kick:

[Kadie]

24. Awesome!

:applause:

[azul]

25. What the heck were you shopping at that store for?

Nugget markets is the local family-owned excellent service choice. Do you work at Nugget?

(Disclaimer: I no longer work at Nugget)

[Firebrand Gary]

60. Nugget is a great store, the closest location is 7 miles from me.

So when I only need a few items I try to stay close to home.

[varelse]

27. Well done

:)

[Throd]

29. Which store in Sacto?

[totodeinhere]

30. Can you give the name of the grocery chain? I want to know so I can be sure not to shop there.

Thanks.

[Desertrose]

31. This gave me goose bumps...the good kind!

:thumbsup: and thanks!!

[Muskypundit]

32. Why cant you say the name of the store?

[Brother Buzz]

34. Cool beens, and an off topic question

Do you know if the grocery store is a Union house?

[hfojvt]

35. I am having some doubts

Trying to find the name of the grocer, I find this "In 2000, H. Lee Scott became President and CEO, and Walmart's sales increased to $165 billion.<17> In 2002, it was listed for the first time as America's largest corporation on the Fortune 500 list, with revenues of $219.8 billion and profits of $6.7 billion. It has remained there every year, except for 2006." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walmart#Incorporation_and_growth

"In 2005, Walmart had $312.4 billion in sales, more than 6,200 facilities around the world—including 3,800 stores in the United States and"

So, taking an 8% growth rate, I estimate that wal-mart had $468 billion in sales in 2010. They made about 3% profit in 2000. If they made 6% profit last year, their profit would only be $14 billion.

If the largest retailer made less than $10 billion in profits, then your statement that this grocery chain made $35 billion cannot be true. Either you are talking about total revenues, or you meant million or something.

[Lucky Luciano]

41. We may have cross posted - see my post 40 below, but you are right. nt

[unapatriciated]

56. I'm thinking he meant millions.

and also guess it would be Safeway, Steve Burd CEO did make 24m last year and that doesn't include his stock options and perks.

In 2009 their third quarter profit was 128.8 million

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-14/safeway-profit-drops-4-7-as-competition-for-shoppers-escalates.html

Net income fell to $122.8 million, or 33 cents a share, the Pleasanton, California-based company said. A year earlier, third-quarter profit amounted to $128.8 million, or 31 cents.

[LittleGirl]

37. Brilliant!

we are the 99%

[Name removed]

38. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Lucky Luciano]

40. No supermarket made $35B last year, but I suspect this is Safeway based on revenues and not profits.

Apple made $24B or so.
Walmart made $15B or so.
Exxon-Mobil made about $37B.

Kroger made about $1.16B.
Safeway made about $0.679B.
SuperValue made about $0.212B.
Whole Foods made about $0.333B.

Maybe you meant revenues because revenues were:
Kroger $87B.
Safeway $42.8B.
SuperValue $40B.
Whole Foods $9.85B.

I checked the trailing 12 months of revenues and earnings on Bloomberg rather than fiscal years.
Safeway and Supervalue come closest to your profit number, but in the revenue category.

Safeway Chairman/CEO Steven Burd earned $11MM in 2010 and holds $21MM worth of SWY stock.
SuperValue CEO Craig Herkerty earned $10.8MM in 2010, but only holds $2.5MM worth of SVU stock. SVU has had some hard times.

I see three safeways in Sacramento. I think this is a Safeway. Do note that revenues do not equal profits! Supermarkets do have razor thin margins as you can see, so maybe they were being cheap for that reason. That said, they should have had at least one other person working the registers. Pissed off customers will just go to 7-11s or other convenience stores and pay a little bit more to avoid such shitty lines.

[Throd]

43. In Sac it would be a Safeway or a Raley's. Raley's is a regional player, so it must be Safeway.

[kestrel91316]

45. Sounds like Von's/Safeway. They just built a brand new Von's Pavilions store

across the street from my office and it never has more than one checker working in spite of about 10 checkstands in addition to the self-checkout. I REFUSE to use the self-checkout. And the sole checker is a mentally/physically handicapped guy of late, and he's sweet but extremely slow.

[Firebrand Gary]

64. Let's be clear.

These companies DO NOT have 97% operating cost. They are publicly traded, they choose to stick ridiculous profits in the pockets of bankers vs potential new employees.

[LeftyMom]

42. 30 people in line?

The only line I've ever seen near that long at a grocery store around here was on Thanksgiving. I mean geez, even the pre-2 am Saturday night booze run line at the midtown Safeway isn't that long.

I'm not sure what store's got a bakery department next to the registers, either. Wanna drop a hint?

[Firebrand Gary]

70. Serving Sacramento since......Is above most of their doors as you leave.

I would have posted the name, but after I thought about it, I really wanted people to ponder it rather than refer to one specific chain.

[eleny]

44. You're a rock star, FG

[woo me with science]

46. I heart this post. nt

[CrispyQ]

47. Hero!

"How many people here think this company can afford to help this nice lady out up at the register by hiring another person to check out?"

:yourock:

[Fire Walk With Me]

48. K&R!

:woohoo:

[L. Coyote]

49. REC & You just got X-posted

MUST READ = check out (pun intended) this story, grocery occupied
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=2122264&mesg_id=2123542

[Firebrand Gary]

59. Excellent! Thank You!

[deacon]

51. Awesome. +1

[unapatriciated]

52. Could the CEO in Question be good ole bush ranger Steve Burd?

That guy is pure slime. Before we voted to strike in 2003 he sold a lot of his stock while it was at top dollar and bought it back at a much lower price during the third month of the strike.
He was proud to tell all of us when he first became CEO his intentions were to break our union.

on edit: he is CEO of slaveway and before becoming Safeway CEO he bought small companies and liquidated them for as much money as he could squeeze out. He didn't give a damn about the families he put out of work.

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=SWY

Mr. Steven A. Burd , 60
Exec. Chairman, Chief Exec. Officer, Pres and Chairman of Exec. Committee pay 2.43M Exercised 4.34M

[Firebrand Gary]

61. =)

[proud patriot]

53. Now that's what I'm talking about

:woohoo:

[demmiblue]

54. Nice story.

Seriously... 30 people!? That is totally believable.

Lol!

[dionysus]

72. sometimes my tenant has me take him to a super walmart, because he doesnt have a car. inside,there's

at least 30, maybe even 40 registers. if lucky, maybe 5 or 10 of them are open. while i've never seen 30 people in a single line, there's usually about a dozen in each line. if only one register is open, i could see a line of 30.

[Javaman]

57. This is how it's done!!! Bravo to you!!

Thank you for the suggestion!

[Uncle Joe]

58. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Firebrand Gary.

[Initech]

63. That is a win.

$35 BILLION, fucking BILLION, the CEO makes $24 MILLION, and we have to take pay cuts? I call bullshit on this!!

[Balbus]

65. Bounce

:bounce:

[tammywammy]

69. +1 n/t

[Raksha]

66. K & R - We are the 99%!

Good job! :toast:

[Sherman A1]

68. K&R

Well Done!:toast: :bounce: :kick: :fistbump: :yourock: :applause: :woohoo:

[lunatica]

75. I love you

[Firebrand Gary]

80. I love you back!

[snappyturtle]

76. Super! and kudos to you!!!! nt

[hulka38]

77. They're going to have trouble getting the genie back in the bottle.

[Bryn]

78. K&R

Way to go!! I was stunned to get a letter from collection agency yesterday. Capital One (credit card) has turned over my cc account to there. Guess when the last time I paid it? Last month, Sept. 22nd! The minimum amt. should have been 188.00, but I was short on money due to many expenses so I paid 150.00. Wow!! This is how bad banks are now. Ugh! They're getting worse today.

[NYC_SKP]

79. Occupy Safeway!

K/R!

Or was it Raleys?

:hi:

[canuckledragger]

82. K & R

[bertman]

83. WE ARE THE 99 AND 44/100 PERCENT!!!! Oh wait. That's Ivory Soap. REC. nt

[roguevalley]

84. awesomeness is everywhere.

[chollybocker]

85. Just need to kick this thread.

Shop in your own neighborhood. If you pay 12 cents more, or even $1.12 more, it's still cheaper than driving out to the mall, or paying for parking downtown. When you shop within walking distance of your home, your local community will survive, and possibly thrive.

Shop at your local Mom & Pop stores, the ones that have struggled against the big brands and have survived corporate takeovers, or new businesses that are not part of a chain. Find out where they are and buy something there. The few cents extra you pay will eventually come back to you, tenfold.