A day in the life of a wage worker

[Harmony Blue]

I will provide you a glimpse of what is like for me to work in a right to work state (Florida) and working at a Super market chain as a part time wage worker.

I am scheduled to go to work from 5:30 PM to 10:00 PM, a Thursday evening, as this is considered a closing shift for a bagger. But closing time is 11:00 PM, so to save money they send the baggers home one hour early leaving the cashier alone (my job is a bagger) till that time for an hour. I arrive early to work to see two cash registers open (only one express lane), but long lines of customers (most off work wanting to buy groceries for dinner). Customer service desk is swamped with people. This is a good sign that people are shopping and generating revenue for the store. But it hasn't translated into more hours for the front end workers (cashiers and baggers), or more employees to help out. Clearly our staff is understaffed to handle such a load of customers, but that is the trend in the industry (eg Walgreen's model). The difference is the floor size of our store is four times the size of a standard Walgreen's. So, if a customer requests an item like milk, it is in the far corner of the store unlike Walgreen's where the frozen food, and refrigerated items are a few steps away from the photo lab and front of the store. I am capable of walking to the far end of the store as I have no ailment or disability as the young lad I am. But I have to leave the front end unattended as I am the only bagger scheduled to work on the front end. Meaning, I have to leave a full service register (no limit on number of times) for the cashier to handle (average is one full cart I would guess) and an express lane. Not only that, but the shopping carts outside start to pile up, and very few remain in the store.

When I return, the long lines persist, and I must make a choice. Do I stay to help bag groceries for the full service lane, or go to pick up carts where we have only three left inside and two customers just walked in taking two leaving only one cart? I am put in a lose lose situation. I know this because I have tried both approaches in the past, so when this happens I usually go with my instincts. This time I choose to stay inside and help the cashier on the front end. Eventually the full service cashier is fed up and calls for help on the intercom. The managers, who are in the office with the video monitoring system can clearly see this, but only come when they are called upon. Finally help arrives and a register is opened up by the store manager, and the Customer Service Manager helps by bagging some groceries.

Once it subsides, the managers leave the front end. The Store Manager leaves at 6:00 PM but the lines are picking up again. The cashier on the express lane wants to take a 10 minute break, but can't, so she has to wait. It is like this for another hour, meanwhile I am juggling between bringing in carts and bagging for the front end. The Customer Service Manager leaves at 7:00 PM and it is still busy on the front end. In other words, other than the closing manager there is no cavalry this time around. The Closing manager has to stay at the service desk because the office assistant has to take a lunch. While bagging one customer is asking for an electric cart, I go to see if there is any outside, but there isn't any. So, I politely tell the customer that I will go around the store to see if any are in use. I do so, and I find that all are in use. So, I go back up front to inform the customer.

Eventually a customer comes up to cash out their purchases leaving the cart behind, so I bring the electric cart to the waiting customer. As soon as I do that I notice that the shopping carts are gone inside. As I am rushing to go bring in shopping carts from the outside another customer complains that there are no carts. I inform the customer I will bring in one for her personally and apologized for such inconvenience. I go to one of the collection bins for the shopping carts outside, grab seven as fast as I can, and put them all together. I start pushing them towards the entrance of the store, but I have to suddenly pull the carts in a perpendicular direction (only way to stop them) because someone decides to run the stop sign. Averting disaster, I personally hand the cart to the lady, and she seems regretful that she complained about the carts earlier, but thanked me. As soon as I look up the express lane cashier is asking for a price check. I immediately head on over, and I am asked to find the price of some Iodized salt. I go to the back near the meat department and find the price. But I discover a trail of sugar all over the store. My guess is that a customer picked up some sugar from the baking section, and did not notice that it was perforated somehow. So, I quickly go back to the front (the full service cashier that is swamped is giving me the stare) give the price, and rush back to the store to clean up the mess. Reason being sugar can spread pretty quickly and eventually cover the entire floor surface due to how it can become sticky. I clean up the mess, which relieves me.

But I realize the time is 8:30, so I have to take a 10 minute break. I clock out, and go to my ten minute break in the employee breakroom. It is too busy to buy anything and have to time to snack on as I only have a ten minute break not a 30 minutes lunch given I was scheduled to work less than six hours so I do not even entertain the idea of food. When I return at 8:40 not many customers are on the front end as it has subsided. But I now have to contend with the closing responsibilities of a bagger. I have to clear out the front end trash (two large bins outside), trash from all 10 cash registers, three trash bins in the customer service office, and the two trash cans in the managers office. Then, I have to pick up the trash from the two bathrooms up front, the two in the back, and the two trash bins in the breakroom. After I have completed those tasks I must clean the bathrooms, and mop them. I successfully clear out the trash, and I have cleaned the bathrooms, but the front end is busy again. This time though, the express lane cashier is gone, and the closing manager is on a break. The office assistant in customer service has closed down. As a result I stay to help the closing cashier and the time is 9:30 PM. Eventually 9:45 comes around, and I go to make a last sweep of the shopping carts outside before I go home. When 10:00 PM comes around I stick around five more minutes to help the cashier out, but then I have to leave. I clock out, and then I see the schedule to see that I am scheduled to return 7:00 AM Friday morning.

Now to give you some perspective, it wasn't always like this. We used to have 2-3 registers open (full service), and 2-3 baggers helping on the front end. There were more shopping carts so we didn't have to go outside constantly, rain or shine (good weather in Florida fortunately except for the brutal summers). Now, we have more parking spots for the store than shopping carts, so it makes harder on me (especially when I am alone).

We also used to take 15 minute breaks, but now it has been cut down to 10 minutes, and we have to clock out for 10 minute breaks.

I used to be scheduled to work 6-8 hour shifts. Now, I am scheduled to work 4-5 hour shifts, and even though my availability is five days a week (any time for those days), I average about only 20-22 hours per week. My pay is $8.50 per hour, and we have had no review this year for an increase of pay (probably not coming).

I have complained to corporate about the situation worsening, but my complaints seems like are ignored. Even when it seems the economy is improving the company is happy with the status quo, and are not budging an inch. I clearly do not have the power to sway them, or if I do it openly in a newspaper I would be fired immediately.

As my hours are cut, and a pay raises seem like a foreign concept, the cost of school and goods are increasing at scary paces. I am trying to finish school, and I am near completion of my B.S. college degree. But I fear that this may be the future of America, and honestly it may be already here. I am concerned about others, especially those that have to rely on a wage salary pay check to pay check. Most people I know at work have another wage salary paying job. One cashier that is 78 years old works at our store, but also at a Burger King nearby. To have a living wage these days, it seems like you have to work two jobs.

[Starry Messenger]

1. k&r

[PATRICK]

2. Isn't this true of most retail?

It certainly is the same in the Northeast with the added twist of firing or laying off of employees simply to forgo even the imagining of benefits or wage increases. Then they turn around and REHIRE those same employees! Often, very often, corporate seems unconcerned with the health of the business itself as they squeeze the rind dry for the benefit of the top. At least slaves aren't forced on and off the merry go round. Free men however do have other powers and options to change the system, but most would continue to swallow the crap until they have absolutely nothing left to lose.

Meanwhile the anger and the knowledge stores up and the community of the oppressed grows.

(On edit) And good luck with this "flexible" short time schedule trying to piece together two or three such jobs without conflicts. Even that route for those willing to take on more cheap wages and hard work
is almost completely insecure.)

[Cresent City Kid]

3. Sounds like the Winn Dixie I worked at in New Orleans

Except there, the clientele walked to the store and took the carts home, so there weren't even any carts in the parking lot to retrieve when we ran out.

Your excellent snapshot of your workday describes the result of the system we have that creates 99 losers for every winner. I hope the situation for you, your co-workers and customers improves.

[Taitertots]

4. They give you mutually exclusive goals so they can complain no matter what you do

Then they make you keep 50 hours a week available, but only give you 20. That way you can't get another job.

[lonestarnot]

5. When I see this happening, and it does every time I get groceries,

I call out the fucking managers. If a throng of shoppers would call out the managers and make them uncomfortable on every shopping trip, maybe you could get some relief. I'm sorry. :hug:

[marew]

6. I have a good friend who is a cashier...

She said it is heartbreaking also to see people on limited incomes who have to decide what to put back when they can't afford even the essentials. There is an entire underclass who are truly scrimping to get by. Food? Medicine? Electric? Which can they do without? Oh, but the rich must not pay too much in taxes. They never realize they have gained their wealth through a system skewed strongly in their favor. Greedy bastards!
When do we give the poor, the sick, and the needy a voice? The rethugs want to make sure that never happens. They are truly disgusting. I so hope there is karma.
For those of us with compassion, who really care about others, this is a really painful time both for them and for us.
My friend, a very hard worker, also talks of how difficult and stringent things are in the store. Basically, many employees are now serfs, nothing more.

[Omaha Steve]

7. When your ready to leave because of your education

Try organizing a union for the others first. :-)

K&R!

[Dappleganger]

8. Which grocery store?

Our son works at Publix and things would never go down as you described at his store.