Sick leave? You don't need no stinkin' sick leave!

[Crazedclerkthe2nd]

Meet a lobby group fighting fervently for the right of restaurants to deny their employees sick leave.

Opponents of paid sick leave, like opponents of raising the minimum wage, tend to keep their arguments data-free, sticking to vague claims of how bad it would be for small business, no evidence offered. But every now and then they decide to try to make their arguments look factual. Look being the key word. That’s the story with the latest from one of Rick Berman’s many front groups, the Employment Policies Institute, a laughably weak (PDF) “pilot study of businesses’ responses” to Connecticut’s paid sick leave law that completely ignores the actual facts of what’s happened in Connecticut’s economy since the law was passed.

These people make me sick (no pun intended).

It's just amazing to me these businesses out there that slave drive their employees as much as they possibly can then have the audacity to complain about very reasonable regulations that keep them from doing so even more.

[bara]

Reality: When you treat your employees like they are humans they will work hard, be more productive and be more loyal.

Fiction: Treating your employees like slaves will make them work harder, be more productive, and be more loyal.


When I get a paycheck I am happy. When I get my paycheck and it is missing 2 hours of overtime and the GM says 'ill look into it tomorrow' I am pissed off. An oversight on the part of the owner, its the GMs response that got under my skin.

[Greenday]

So these people want restaurant workers, who don't even make minimum wage as it is, to not get sick leave? The selfishness people act on just to save a few bucks that'll starve other people barely hanging on as it is disgusts me.

[MrsEclipse]

So, to strip it down to its simplest terms, they want people who handle and work near food all day to come in even when they're sick? That's the best idea I ever heard!

[Andara Bledin]

So, to strip it down to its simplest terms, they want people who handle and work near food all day to come in even when they're sick? That's the best idea I ever heard!

That's the first thing that came to my mind.

If you don't pay for sick leave, then your employees are going to come to work sick. It's just that simple.

And if you're in the food service industry, that's the last thing you want to happen.

^-.-^

[MadMike]

So, to strip it down to its simplest terms, they want people who handle and work near food all day to come in even when they're sick? That's the best idea I ever heard!

Apparently the guy who managed the pizza shop where my ex worked thought so. Back when we were dating and she was still living with her parents, she had to cut our date short because she was feeling sick. She had hoped to sleep it off and go into work, but she woke up feeling even worse -- coughing, sneezing, and I think she also had a fever. She tried to call off, but her manager was trying to make her come in anyway. I heard both her parents get on the phone. First it was her mother, asking the guy, "Do you really want your customers to see her coughing and sneezing all over their food?" Then it was her dad telling the guy off. I can't remember if she ended up going in or not, but she ended up quitting shortly after that.

[mikoyan29]

Just find out which Restaurants are behind this and have people stop going there. I mean seriously, the last thing I want is some sick person coughing or whatever else on my food. Heck, they don't even need to do that, since their hands are probalby already full of germs.

[Mr. Anubite]

So, to strip it down to its simplest terms, they want people who handle and work near food all day to come in even when they're sick? That's the best idea I ever heard!

That's immediately where my mind went, too.

My best guess at the thinking (or lack of thinking) behind this idea is this;

If every restaurant got rid of sick leave, customers would not have a choice. You couldn't say, "I'm not going to X Restaurant, because they make their sick employees work with food," if every restaurant makes their sick employees work with food.

[MrsEclipse]

My best guess at the thinking (or lack of thinking) behind this idea is this;

If every restaurant got rid of sick leave, customers would not have a choice. You couldn't say, "I'm not going to X Restaurant, because they make their sick employees work with food," if every restaurant makes their sick employees work with food.

"Man. I can't believe every single restaurant makes their employees work when they're sick. I don't know which one to eat at tonight now they're all on level playing ground. I just really don't want to get sick. Sigh. If only there were some way for me to not have to have someone prepare my food for me... perhaps if I there were a way for me to get my own ingredients, someplace I could go and purchase them... and prepare dinner for myself, like, in a special room in my own house... oh, well. Too bad such a thing doesn't exist."

You want to tell them, or should I?

[mikoyan29]

How come In N' Out can pay their workers a decent wage (and benefits?), sell their food for about the same price as McDonalds and still make a profit? A couple weeks ago, I saw an article about their owner and it doesn't seem like she's going to the soup kitchen anytime soon.

I realize this isn't the minimum wage thread but it seems like these things go hand in hand.

I mean hell, Henry Ford paid his workers pretty well and the Ford's aren't exactly poor either.

[AccountingDrone]

You know how my family's knitting mills didn't get unionized? We treated them like human beings, paid them a living wage. When the end of the depression was nearing, for the last couple of years [until the WW2 fabric contracts kicked in] my Grandfather paid the employees wages out of the family savings because from 1938 onwards there had been no sales at all. He still bought the raw cotton and wool, and paid the employees to keep working. Not a single employee in 12 mills went unemployed for over 3 years.

Treat people like equals, be courteous, be honest with them and they will go to the ends of the world for you.

[mikoyan29]

You know how my family's knitting mills didn't get unionized? We treated them like human beings, paid them a living wage. When the end of the depression was nearing, for the last couple of years [until the WW2 fabric contracts kicked in] my Grandfather paid the employees wages out of the family savings because from 1938 onwards there had been no sales at all. He still bought the raw cotton and wool, and paid the employees to keep working. Not a single employee in 12 mills went unemployed for over 3 years.

Treat people like equals, be courteous, be honest with them and they will go to the ends of the world for you.

Imagine that, you treat people like people and they reward you.

[AccountingDrone]

Imagine that, you treat people like people and they reward you.

Pretty much. I can remember being invited to weddings, christenings and such [the workers families were mainly polish and italian, having immigrated in the 1880s through 1920s - we were on the second and third generation by the 60s.] A couple of families that my dad liberated from a concentration camp ended up being sponsored and moving to town as well.

It sort of sucked for the union organizers - they kept coming in and doing the usual rally parties and entertaining to entice people into forming a branch of the ILGWU and nobody ever wanted to join - but a lot of them liked the parties! Does make me wonder how much money they spent between whenever they started trying to recruit and 1966 when we sold off to Pendleton

[gdsunshine]

How come In N' Out can pay their workers a decent wage (and benefits?), sell their food for about the same price as McDonalds and still make a profit? A couple weeks ago, I saw an article about their owner and it doesn't seem like she's going to the soup kitchen anytime soon.

I realize this isn't the minimum wage thread but it seems like these things go hand in hand.

I mean hell, Henry Ford paid his workers pretty well and the Ford's aren't exactly poor either.

Happy employees work harder and happier. It attracts more customers and rakes in more profit. It probably helps that In N' Out puts their employees through a more thorough training than the other chains, too. They're well trained, well payed, and healthy. Why wouldn't they do the best job they can?

I used to work at a restaurant. They wouldn't let you call off unless you could find someone to cover your shift. If no one was available, you were SOL and had to come in. It didn't help that most of the shift leads were complete jerks when it came to checking your side work so you could finally leave. You didn't get paid for it and had to find another shift to pick up for the difference. You're already getting paid crap, so missing a shift can break you.

[bara]

I mean hell, Henry Ford paid his workers pretty well and the Ford's aren't exactly poor either.

Funny you should mention Ford. He is credited with pretty much getting the middle class in this country started.