Sammy Jankis
Was it me?
Boy, i really shut up callinectes on this one. he slunked away with his head under his scrot.
Apropos of yesterday’s post on Costco, Wal-Mart and Trader Joe’s, Ira Stoll passes on the following piece of information, which I hadn’t known about:
On two recent visits to a Costco in Dedham, Mass., I found the aisles full of employees wearing badges, offering samples of food, and answering questions about where to find merchandise. They don't work for Costco, but for a company called Club Demonstration Services. (A similar company called Warehouse Demonstration Services handles the Costco work in some other states.) Posts on employment law bulletin boards (here) say things like, "I work for Club Demo Services within Costco. We are titled Sales Advisors and do all the demos in Costco. We are all part time, no benefits, @$11.00 per hour. Our shift is 6 hours - a paid 15 minute break and an unpaid 30 min lunch." The Warehouse Demonstration Services site describes it as "a perfect part-time job."
This article from 2008 tells more about the way that Costco treats these demonstrators who work in its stores as second-class citizens, or at least, with lower compensation than its regular employees, and, in some cases, wages so low that the employees qualify for food stamps.
...
I didn't know this about Costco, seems a significant number of the folks that work there, haven't any benefits and many qualify for food stamps:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/costco-s-second-class-citizens.html
I believe the young woman is mistaken about Sam's club. I believe they also outsource their food demonstrations.
It has generally been understood in our society that part time employees don't receive the same benefits as full time. It is also known that most subcontracted employees don't earn the same as employees who work for the company, at least in the oil industry.
The rub is they'd like to be full-time and work for Costco, seems that path is not open. Weird that Costco is supposedly so compassionate and all. Pay 'some more than competition' but hire fewer workers. Throw a Costco badge on all.
My husband wears a badge of the contractor, it is for security purposes. Working for a subcontractor, getting your foot in the door, you could then apply to the contractor for a job within their firm.
I don't understand why there is a problem with paying well and hiring less workers? My local Costco seems to have very little turnover, I have seen the same faces there over a long period of time.