Yelp Employee Fired After Public Post To CEO Saying She Can't Afford Food

[Eugene]

Source: Huffington Post

Yelp Employee Fired After Public Post To CEO Saying She Can't Afford Food

"Here I am, 25-years old, balancing all sorts of debt and trying to pave a life for
myself that doesn’t involve crying in the bathtub every week.”

02/21/2016 04:47 pm ET

Nina Golgowski
Trends reporter, The Huffington Post

A Yelp employee who was fired shortly after posting an open letter to the company's CEO about not being able to afford food with her entry-level salary is sparking an online debate, not only about fair wage but "entitled" millennials.

Talia Jane, a 25-year-old recent college graduate, announced her termination shortly after rattling off her complaints Friday in an article posted to Medium titled, “An Open Letter To My CEO.”

In the letter, addressed to “Jeremy,” or Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman, Jane blames her daily hunger and the lack of heating in her apartment on the bi-weekly $733.24 wage she earned while working in customer support in the San Francisco Bay Area. The letter also describes Jane's crushed expectations after learning she wouldn't be promoted to another department in less than a year’s time.

[font size=1]-snip-[/font]

“Coming out of college without much more than freelancing and tutoring under my belt, I felt it was fair that I start out working in the customer support section of Yelp/Eat24 before I’d be qualified to transfer to media,” she wrote. “Then, after I had moved and got firmly stuck in this apartment with this debt, I was told I’d have to work in support for an entire year before I would be able to move to a different department.”

[font size=1]-snip-[/font]

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/yelp-employee-fired-after-complaints_us_56ca00bee4b041136f1760eb

[Rex]

1. She makes what a local grocery clerk makes sacking groceries around here.

So how is that Yelp thing working out fer ya Mr. CEO?

[Vinca]

4. How's that 6 figure college degree working out for her?

[Rex]

8. I didn't see where she said she had that much in debt.

Sounds like she really needed a better place to live since she cannot afford it. 80% is way too much for her net income.

[Vinca]

23. Her net income is way too low.

I made that amount of money right after graduating from high school (decades ago). Chances are, if she's a college graduate, she has debt. If not, her family must be well off enough to send her a few bucks until she finds another job. In any case, her generation is going to live hand to mouth for a good part of their lives unless there's a change in status quo politics in this country.

[Rex]

31. Agree 100%, unless there is a status quo change all future generations

will me living hand to mouth. However, most working families already live paycheck to paycheck. Just because you made a certain amount, does not equate into the overall story of this young girls life.

What we make, is where we find ourselves at that point in our lives. Age doesn't always enter the equation imo. She knew she could not afford something that was 80% of her overall net pay.

I hope she finds a much better job.

[Hortensis]

43. This stuff FORCES change. Look at Jane --

she is a worker cum political activist working for that change. All future generations will NOT live this way.

They will think very poorly of us for allowing things to arrive at this point, however. At least Jane will have a better story to tell her children than that it was all someone else's fault.

[Rex]

74. I hope you are right.

I just hope she can find a place to live and a job she can be content with.

[Hortensis]

88. She's had a couple lessons in life.

But, no excuses for Yelp's Stoppelman. Yelp vastly underpays its customer service staff - @$730 every 2 weeks for - presumably - full-time work. Even out of the city, the only place anyone could afford would be in a slum or a bedroom in a very modest unit shared with one or preferably two other renters.

When I left high school in the 1970s with a typing class for a "skill," I easily found work for a living wage -- very modest, but I could afford a one-bedroom apartment in a respectable neighborhood and classes at the nearby community college.

That was at the beginning of large numbers of women going out to work, though, and eventually two-income households became normal. Two incomes in a "what the market will bear" environment meant that wages could be dropped and housing prices could practically double.

The Stoppelmans these days know their entry-level jobs are being taken by those who can live with family, need a second income to allow them to scrape by, and/or are willing to rent basic shelter in low-income areas and commute in to work.

Innocently or otherwise, we allowed the Stoppelmans to divert our national prosperity into their own pockets in the first place. We are a fabulously wealthy nation. We owe Jane a lot more than an apology. This is our problem to fix.

[wordpix]

76. you are so right BUT Jane needs to learn to go through channels

first and to media later if those channels don't want to help her.

And to you younger folk, from my older worker standpoint: if a job won't pay your way, don't take the job. At some point, too, you might have to accept a better job in a more affordable place. San Fran is known for sky high housing prices. There are other nice places that don't cost as much.

[Rex]

79. Well young folks need to make sure they know the basics about their living style

and adjust accordingly to their paycheck. We all do. If any single item takes up 80% of your income, you are doomed to fail. Be it food, shelter or entertainment. Got to be dollar savvy at any age in this global economy.

[Logical]

10. Making fun of her?? Wow. nt

[Vinca]

22. I'm not making fun of her.

I'm making the point that going to college has become the expected norm and young people are charging up debt that will follow them their entire lives. I'd love to know what the young woman's degree is in. It's likely both she and the grocery store clerk mentioned in the post I responded to have degrees with no marketable skills. I feel sorry for all of her generation who are unlikely to get ahead unless there are dramatic changes in who government works for in this country.

[EL34x4]

24. Her degrees is in English Literature

http://www.buzzfeed.com/davidmack/talia-jane-vs-yelp#.symNNBJQWq

[Rex]

32. Also a very good idea to try and not accrue huge debt while going to college.

I paid for college with a job, but tuition was not the outrageous prices they be today. Part of the problem is the media and our culture pretending education is about landing that great job with the house and 2 kids thrown in for good measure!

[Vinca]

44. That's the problem, it's not even remotely affordable to pay as you go anymore.

Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth and I was checking the price of a good school it was about $3,500 . . . a year. Today they call that one class in one semester. And, back then, you could always move to California or a handful of other places, become a resident and go to school for free.

[Rex]

73. Same here, that is where I was too.

I look at today's in-state prices for tuition and my jaw drops.

[wordpix]

77. banks, etc. getting rich off those student loans---it's a scam

[Rex]

80. And state and federal officials turn a blind eye to it while getting kickbacks for their districts.

It is so far down the rabbit hole, might as well be the abyss.

[MH1]

82. A pretty good degree can start with 2 years at community college,

which is a lot cheaper. Also in some ways community college is better (from my personal experience). I went back for my college degree after a stint in the military. For convenience I took some lower level courses at community college. The classes were smaller and more personal than the freshman sections at a large university. Instead of just sitting through lectures in a huge lecture hall, the classes included actual group discussions. In every way the classes were at least as good as the corresponding university classes would have been, in my opinion.

Of course it isn't fair that some people by luck of birth get to go to a prestigious, 4-year school from which a diploma with good GPA will open a lot of doors that a more pedestrian degree won't. But that's just one of many unfair things in this world, and not near the worst, in my opinion.

[TBF]

42. College should be free -

and before you hyperventilate I will add these deal makers -

- not everyone needs to go to college; should be some sort of system (like UK) where folks are streamed towards careers suiting natural abilities
- easier road is to start with free community college - that is where most folks should be headed
- if we can't cut defense enough to make it free then drastically reduce the interest rates on the loans (after all main street did bail out wall street)

Disclaimer: Personally I believe people should always come before profit. But as long as we have capitalism we will have these discussions.

[Vinca]

67. You must have responded to the wrong post because I agree with you 100%.

[katsy]

63. Educating oneself is never the problem.

It's the amoral way labor is marginalized and squeezed by the greedy that's the problem.

When the fuck did this meme about not getting an education to avoid debt become a "thing" in this country?

Maybe if she were born a slave she'd be better fed?

No. She was right to pursue her dreams and the oligarchy should be put on a guillotine for not valuing labor.

[msanthrope]

2. Fuck you, Jeremy...I just deleted the Yelp app. nt

[madville]

3. It's always easier to find a better job

When you still currently have a job. Maybe a little GoFundMe campaign could get her out of her lease and she could move to a more affordable city?

[Warpy]

5. Maybe the problem is a cheap ass CEO paying less than subsistence wages

Ever think about that one?

Any job that needs to be done needs to support the person doing it. It doesn't sound like she wants a salary fit for a penthouse dweller with expensive tastes in wine and sports cars, it sounds like she wants a wage that will support her in safe housing with adequate food and allow her to service the debt load she incurred in order to qualify for the job.

Jeremy can go fuck himself.

[madville]

7. What did she think would happen?

Any company would react the same way. She learned a valuable lesson, don't burn your bridges until you have something else.

[Wilms]

12. I think there's a much more important lesson here.

I'm glad she spoke up, and I wish her well.

[kcr]

85. Yes! I'm so disappointed by the responses shaming her.

And somewhat surprised, especially here on DU. It was a brave thing she did.

[Sherman A1]

14. Agreed

[whatthehey]

19. So she took the job without knowing location and pay?

I've been offered low paying jobs in high cost areas before. I said no thanks. I've also taken less than ideal jobs when I needed to, then kept looking and moved on when I could without getting fired. Wonder why neither of those basic options seemed less sensible to her than skipping Christ knows how many layers of corporate hierarchy to make a doomed petulant empty gesture?

Of course these days with as many knee-jerk Barnum quote vindicators as there are, maybe she's actually cleverer than I am and is hoping to leverage the gofundme gravy train like so many other shysters.

[Warpy]

30. How much did you know about real life living costs when you got out of college?

Face it, wages are DEPRESSED and they are especially depressed for women starting out in tech. Wages are the problem. CEOs who remember what it cost to live 30 years ago but have no clue about now are the problem.

This young woman, while I'm sure most of us could give her tips on what to eat and what to cut out of her budget, is NOT THE PROBLEM.

[SammyWinstonJack]

41. +1000000.

[leftstreet]

72. +1

[Initech]

6. What would Ayn Rand do???

Fuck Yelp, I'm done with them after this.

[lpbk2713]

9. Another casualty in the GOP war on the Middle Class.

[newthinking]

11. No longer just the GOP unfortunately.

[Octafish]

18. That does seem peculiar.

Now that Wall Street owns both parties, unions, pensions, economic justice, and prosperity for ALL have no place among polite company, apart from passing mention during election years.

[Dirty Socialist]

13. Exploitation Wage

$733 for two ekes work averages out to less that $10 per hour...in expensive San Francisco. That is exploitation pure and simple.

[Blasphemer]

20. I agree... I earned more than that doing similar work in San Fran 20 years go... nt

[Trekologer]

21. It should be noted that the bi-weekly pay amount quoted in the article is take-home (after taxes)

The Huffington Post article left that part out. So her actual pay rate is likely around $13/hour. Not great but also not really unheard of for an entry-level job. Yelp also pays for the health, dental, and vision insurance, a point also left out of the Huffpost article.

[Xithras]

15. Well, her career in tech is over.

All tech companies Google their applicants as a standard part of the hiring process. Every single one of them. Calling out your boss online in a public forum isn't just a great way to get yourself fired from your current job, but permanently brands you as a "troublemaker" and assures that nobody else is going to hire you either. And because Internet articles NEVER go away, this will be haunting her for a very long time. She won't be working in tech ever again.

[B2G]

59. Or possibly anywhere else

This was an incredibly stupid thing to do.

[gyroscope]

16. Lots of poverty in SF Bay Area and Silicon Valley

I visited last month and was amazed to see literally every fast food restaurant had a big sign like this advertising their acceptance of food stamps, even in the better areas. I never saw anything like it before. I thought the Silicon Valley was supposed to be a place of great prosperity, but there was also a great deal of visible poverty everywhere you go.

[Retrograde]

35. The minority that do very, very well get the press

I've lived here for 40 years (yes, I remember when Googleland was still all farms): the consistent rule of thumb was that of every 10 startups, 7 would be gone within 5 years, 2 would be doing OK, and one would take off spectacularly (and I've worked at companies at both ends of the spectrum). Jobs come and go: I think I know maybe 2 or 3 people who have not been laid off or otherwise lost their jobs sometime in their careers: it's the boom and bust cycle of the area that's been going on since the first Gold Rush (and IMHO we're about due for another crash). What I'm seeing this time is a lot of young people with scant technological skills (and don't get me started on calling any old app a technology) who hear about the few people who make it big moving to the area and finding that the old caution "slightly higher west of the rockies" applies to just about everything except their pay.

[romanic]

17. I do empathize with her.

Those wages at Yelp are woefully low for the Bay Area. Hell those wages would be kind of hard here in the Metro Detroit region; can't fathom living on that in one of the most expensive cities in the U.S.

However I did roll my eyes at her asking people for money after being fired. That is tacky as hell.

[GaYellowDawg]

25. Why does she have to be representative of millenials?

I think it's pretty stupid to condemn an entire generation based on one person.

[My Good Babushka]

26. If there is a job to be filled, that job should pay a living wage.

I think there is a pervasive, inexplicable, pathological hatred of labor in this country, and it comes from the top down. It comes from the left and the right. Our government sets the example that only the wealthy are worthy of human dignity, and if you have to work for a living, you are beneath contempt. It started with the minimum wage workers, and now it's creeping up, to teachers, nurses, welders, customer service representatives, really through every pay scale. The fact remains, countries that make sure their workers live well, are healthy and prosperous, are ranked as the better places to start and run businesses.

There's never any shortage of people, even on the left, ready to scold the worker for their perceived shortcomings. We can't say there is dignity in work, but not *your* work, we didn't mean you, you're just some kind of stupid asshole. This sort of attitude, from the party that is supposed to be on the side of the working class people, makes me sick.

[Xyzse]

33. I've missed reading your posts.

I completely agree, by the way.

[CharlotteVale]

51. +1000000

[leftofcool]

27. It was stupid of her to move to the most expensive city in the US

How about moving to a more affordable city, get a good start, some experience, then move to SF?

[Jim Beard]

28. Even more stupid of the employer expecting anyone to live in San Franscisco

on those wages. Pay more or move the business.

[KamaAina]

29. She's almost as far away from SF as I am

down here in San Jose.

She found an apartment about 40 miles away from work, but her $1,245 rent gobbled up about 80 percent of her paycheck -- leaving her barely able to afford food or her $11.30-a-day commute. She does note that the company provides “great” benefits, though she says she couldn't afford the $20 copays.

Hell, I have lower copays that that, and I work for a nonprofit!

And might I inquire to ask, what self-respecting tech company does not have a corporate cafeteria with celebrity chefs for its employees?

[Prism]

34. $1,245 rent and 40 miles away? Well, I've spotted her first mistake

She is paying way, way, way too much. Move to nearish East Bay, nab some roommates, and she could cut that rent bill in half if not more.

I have tons of sympathy for college students with debt who have entry level jobs paying jack shit. Especially for employers who are clearly exploiting.

But let's introduce a little personal responsibility here. At no point should she have taken on a $1,245 rent tab. And while the Bay Area is purely insane when it comes to real estate, I see UC Berkeley students find housing for roughly $500/month every single semester. I make way more than this young woman, and my rent tab is still sub $1000 for a one bedroom near Berkeley.

I sympathize with her, but that rent thing is purely her own fault. That was grossly irresponsible.

[greymouse]

36. I got a bachelor's and masters degree

fifty years ago, and graduated with $3000 in debt. All of that was for medical bills, because I had scholarships and assistantships. $3000 was about a third of my first year's salary.

Something has gone terribly wrong with the cost of college.

Of course, a degree in English lit has always been worth bupkis unless you combine it with teaching credentials.

[Omaha Steve]

37. ???

K&R!

OS

[cbdo2007]

38. She doesn't sound like the type of employee that gets promoted and gets raises.

She sounds like the type that complains and probably thinks all her work is super important and thinks she deserves this and that just for them being honored with her presence.

I've worked with lots of people like that, we all have them in our companies, and they are rarely the ones chosen for promotions or big raises. People put up with them and give them work to shut them up hoping they'll be miserable and leave quietly so they can hire someone better.

Employees and their concept of "getting a promotion every year" is one thing I've noticed about a lot of people that just doesn't make sense in most companies. You should probably be getting a promotion about every 3 years on average if you are doing a good job.

[gyroscope]

39. I thought the city of SF had a $12 minimum wage?

I don't think you could live on $8 an hour anywhere in the country

[Trekologer]

45. It does and she was being paid over that

The pay amount quoted in the article is take-home pay. So she's probably getting $14-$14/hour, plus benefits (health, dental, and vision insurance). Not exactly great pay but also not the slave wage it is being portrayed as.

[gyroscope]

46. Your math is off

how did you come up with $14 an hour?

the article says she was getting $733 bi-weekly, or $360 per week.
that's $9 per hour at 40 hours per week. working about 42 hours a week with OT that would be $8 an hour.

if her job was within city limits she could sue Yelp for paying her far less than the legal minimum of 12 an hour.

[Trekologer]

50. The key words are take home pay

In other words after taxes. Combined Federal and state tax deductions are likely around 30%. $9 / .7 = $12.86

[gyroscope]

52. Show me the quote

I read the whole article, it says nothing about take home or net pay.

First you said she was grossing $14 an hour, now you say its $12.86 LMAO
You're just pulling random crap from your butt as you go along.

[Trekologer]

53. Read the original blog post

It is linked in the article but here's the direct URL:https://medium.com/@taliajane/an-open-letter-to-my-ceo-fb73df021e7a#.z43trr29f

[bighart]

66. This is from her original blog post:

"Will you pay my phone bill for me? I just got a text from T-Mobile telling me my bill is due. I got paid yesterday ($733.24, bi-weekly) but I have to save as much of that as possible to pay my rent ($1245) for my apartment that’s 30 miles away from work because it was the cheapest place I could find that had access to the train, which costs me $5.65 one way to get to work. That’s $11.30 a day, by the way. I make $8.15 an hour after taxes."

[hfojvt]

54. no, you are figuring gross pay

and not take home pay.

Of course, take home is what you have left to pay your expenses, but it is NOT equal to "what you are making".

I am not sure how to get from take home to gross pay, that depends on what gets taken out of her paycheck. I know she is losing 7.65% for FICA taxes and who knows what else. My own bi-weekly pay went from $703 to $559 on this last paycheck, but I also lose 6% for my retirement.

[FLPanhandle]

40. She is an English Lit major and landed a job in Tech company.

She should have been thanking her lucky stars instead of complaining that she wasn't promoted in less than a year.

Most English Lit majors would be happy to have that opportunity she threw away.

[gyroscope]

47. Most people would be happy making $8 an hour starvation wages?

Get out of here with that right-wing BS and go back to Freerepublic where you belong.

[Scout]

48. mayb she should get a job in her field?

English Lit major, what kind of jobs do you get with that degree?

She is making more than $8/hour. That is net take home pay quoted, not her gross pay.

[gyroscope]

49. Show me the quote where it says that

I read the whole article, it says nothing about net take home pay.

(not that it makes much difference. $8 an hour net pay is bad no matter how you look at it)

[1939]

55. Damn, the $78 a month I was making in the Army in 1960

must have been pretty bad. Of course the rent was free (upper bunk in a 52 man open bay barracks built in 1940 to last five years). I wonder how this special snow flake would have liked that?

[LanternWaste]

70. Your free food, free rent, free healthcare...

Your free food, free rent, free healthcare...

Snowflakes indeed, lacking the subsidies you received.

[FLPanhandle]

69. She was happy to take it and move there for it.

It's about having the chance to progress and get better pay. She is complaining because she has to work an entire year before being eligible for promotion.

And, yes, there will be a line of young people waiting to take her opportunity.

I'll ignore your childish insults, it reflects on your intellect more than my post.

[Atman]

56. Young people have to learn some basic etiquette.

Full disclosure: I've been a Yelp! Elite for five years now. I am not an employee and I don't get paid. Yeah, we get invited to private parties and "soft openings" and lots of fun perks. It's not a bad gig. That being said, this is obviously being discussed on the Yelp! message boards. My personal opinion is that young people have been so entrenched in "social media" that they've never learned some basic social etiquette.

It's perfectly fine to post selfless of you in your underwear, or Tweet about your lousy date, or post a picture of your awesome nachos on Facebook. But be serious about your work. Never, ever, like ever ever, under any circumstances, post on social media about how bad your employer sucks. It doesn't matter if it's Yelp!, or Little Sisters Of The Beloved Orphanage…don't do it. That is why your employer has an HR person. There are ways for you to address these situations without making it a public spectacle.

Sorry, the Yelper got what she had coming to her.

[gwheezie]

57. I think this is why young people want a revolurion

It's a different world out there than when I was young. Education used to be a way out, now you go from middle class to poor when you graduate.
At a point in my life I was homeless and had no skills to advance my situation. Going to school changed everything and I was able to find a job that paid off my tiny school debt when I contracted to work for them. That is rare today.
Big business expects the tax payer to provide them with a fully trained work force and they don't even feel like they need to pay entry level workers enough to live on. It's a racket.

[Atman]

60. ^^^ THIS

Perfect. Big biz wants free labor so they can make more money for their shareholders and CEOs. They don't look their own employees as a potential market, they're looking toward developing countries who've never seen a tv or an iPhone. America is turning into the third-world labor camp for Corporate America.

[gwheezie]

61. It didn't used to be this way

Your job trained you. You could get into a union. You could apprentice. You got a pension. They paid your insurance. They wanted you to stay with the company. They rewarded decades of work. And they still made money.
I remember being astounded when one of my jobs said we had to pay for health insurance.

[Atman]

64. Now, with trade deals, they've found cheap labor elsewhere.

Why pay for insurance and health care if a five year old in India will work for 12 cents a day?

Capitalism eats itself. We are approaching the end of the life cycle. The last surviving corporations, top heavy with tax-free cash, just a handful of them, will buy each other out, and we'll be stuck with a MEGA-USA SUPERSTORE which will provide everything from GMO corn to Chinese Melamine Baby Formula, and iPhones.

Perfect capitalism is recipe to total collapse. If it works as planned, one company will own everything. That "Company" will be the USA. Then it's no longer capitalism. It's something else.

[gwheezie]

65. Oh and don't get me started on welfare to work

Now in order to get even more low wage workers they came up with welfare to work scams. In order to keep the measly assistance you get you have to work low wage jobs and the employer gets a kick back from the government and the tax payer still has to foot the bill for food stamps and childcare. It's a racket. I never ending pool of low wage workers.
And how does that help society? You got single women having to leave their children to go to low wage jobs they can't even support themselves on. This is the breakdown of the family right here. I'd rather my tax money go to letting people raise their children.

[Katashi_itto]

58. Vote Hillary. She take care of this. Wages will be managed so the rabble will be to weak from

hunger to write nasty letters.

[gwheezie]

62. I don't think Bernie can get his plan passed

Not that I think Hillary will do much better. But I do understand why people want the revolution.

[Katashi_itto]

68. Maybe not. But at least Bernie wouldnt be actively working against us.

[TeamPooka]

71. Fuck Yelp and other tech companies that don't pay a living wage for their area. nt

[greymattermom]

75. in the bay area, most folks her age live in group housing

and don't expect their own place. It runs about 700-800 a month for a room in her area. Almost affordable.

[LuvLoogie]

78. She should have gotten a roommate or contacted

San Francisco community social services to help her find more affordable housing. And she should not have called out her CEO. Dumb thing to do.

[Texasgal]

81. This is what pisses me off about this situation!

Why...WHY would you run your business in a known expensive city and NOT pay a living wage?

This is the same for other types of work as well... If you want a McDonalds in your city then you as a business owner should atleast have the gumption to pay a living wage. No one is asking for shit loads of money... just a basic living wage!!

ARRRG!

[tammywammy]

84. Isn't it standard to stay in a job 1 year before being allowed to transfer to another department?

She was upset because she took the job and had to stay there a year. She has an English degree but wants to be in social media, which is usually a marketing type job. And from th comments on her original post, there was a link to her "rice" dinners. http://alotofrice.pixieset.com

I feel bad that the original OP made poor decisions. Didn't she know what the pay was? Why not have a roommate instead of spending 80% of your take home on rent? And somehow she complains that her health insurance is fully paid for.

[threethirteen]

86. I think the point most missed is she didn't know.

I've worked at companies that didn't have that one year rule. I thought that was dirty pool. That detail she have been told to her before she moved here (and going into debt to do so). I would have been spitting nails too.

[tammywammy]

87. Or she should have asked.

I wouldn't expect a company to mention that during the interview, "oh hey you can transfer any time!"

She should have asked during the interview instead of assuming she could work in the call center a few months then land a job doing "media".