ECONOMY  
AlterNet / By Barbara Ehrenreich
comments_imageCOMMENTS: 140

Circuit City Slaughter: Seniority Means a Pink Slip

Not so long ago seniority was rewarded with higher pay and other perks. But that higher pay now carries a lethal risk, as Circuit City has just demonstrated.
April 10, 2007  |  
 
 
LIKE THIS ARTICLE ?
Join our mailing list:

Sign up to stay up to date on the latest Economy headlines via email.

 
 
Advertisement
 
Columnist Bill White of the Allentown Morning Call pictures Circuit City CEO Philip J. Schoonover getting a warm welcome to hell -- very warm. Satan tells him, "This place is full of overpaid, outsourcing, golden-parachuting, employee-abusing worms like you."

Schoonover's sin? Laying off 3,400 employees because they had been around for too long and needed to be replaced by minimum wage workers. His punishment? Having a choice of Dick Cheney or Nancy Grace as a roommate and spending eternity listening to Sanjaya's Greatest Hits.

The New York Times took the Circuit City slaughter with much greater equanimity. In his economics column last week, Times columnist David Leonhardt showed some pious sympathy for the laid-off, who will, after a 10 week cooling off period, be able to re-apply for their old jobs at much reduced pay. But he goes on to explain that Circuit City's employee abuse is just part of the larger corporate demand for "efficiency." Wal-Mart, after all, has capped employee pay and taken the stools away from its elderly employees. Sadly, Leonhardt notes:
It's probably not possible to halt these changes. It may not even be desirable. The flexibility of the American labor force seems to be one reason that recessions have become less frequent and unemployment is less of a problem here than in Europe, notes Jason Furman, a leading Democratic economist.
Furman, by the way, is a pretty flexible guy himself. An advisor to John Kerry in '04, then an NYU professor, and now a project director at the Brookings Institute, he's made his mark as a "liberal" defender of Wal-Mart's anti-worker policies. It's fellows like Furman who put the "ick" in the word "Democratic."

But from Allentown to Times Square, no one is commenting on where the new flexibility may be taking us. Time was, not so long ago, when seniority was rewarded with higher pay and other perks. But that higher pay now carries a lethal risk. As a friend who writes software for a major multinational explained to me: "If you ask for a raise, the boss is going to say, 'Why would you want that? It would be like having a bulls-eye painted on your back.'" The more you make, the more tempting it is to fire you.

I experienced this myself a few years ago when I lost a lucrative writing contract with a major media outlet. "Why?" I asked my agent. "They said they were paying you more than any of their other outside writers," she told me, as if that were a sufficient explanation. Foolish me, I thought the raises I had gotten meant the bosses were pleased with my work. What they meant was that I was doomed.

Once you fire the high-performers and experienced workers, the next step will be to demand that employees pay you for the privilege of working. Why not? Most workplaces provide air-conditioned environments and bathroom facilities, complete with soap and paper towels. These are things you'd expect to pay for in a hotel, so why should workers get them free? Having busted his $10-20 an hour senior employees down to $7 and change an hour, Schoonover's bound to see that the best route to higher profit margins is negative pay.

I know what Schoonover's defense will be when he gets to the Pearly Gates: "The market made me do it." He'll be confident about getting in to the Good Place, because for men like him, as well as Leonhardt and Furman, whom he'll bring along as character witnesses, the market is in fact the deity, determining who will starve and who will eat, who will work and who will beg.

But if the deity is someone other than "the market," if He or She turns out to be a moral entity, capable of distinguishing right from wrong, then poor Schoonover -- it'll be Sanjaya for all eternity.


Barbara Ehrenreich is the author of 13 books, most recently "Bait and Switch: The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream."
Email
Print
Share
Post on reddit
Post on stumbleupon
Post on facebook
Post on digg
Post on twitter
Post on delicious
LIKED THIS ARTICLE? JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST
Stay up to date with the latest Economy headlines via email
See more stories tagged with: circuit city, layoffs

comments COMMENTS ( 140 )
READ COMMENTS
LOGIN OR REGISTER TO POST A COMMENT
 

Comments are closed-

For some ex-Circuit City employees. their best times are ahead.
[Report this comment]
Posted by: HughScott on Apr 10, 2007 12:40 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
In 1983 when I was a captain for Continental Airlines, our tyrannical CEO, Frank Lorenzo, took the company into Chapter 11 bankruptcy because of "onerous" labor contracts -- a corporate codeword for "your wages are too high."

Rather than serve like sheep under Frank's arbitrary rule, Continental pilots, mechanics and flight attendants went on a two-year strike, resulting in numerous divorces, lost homes and three suicides.

The whole time, as unsympathetic passengers flooded across our picket lines for cheap fares, we, the strikers, told them, "Just wait, your time in the barrel will come." And it certainly has -- except I didn't imagine back then how bad corporate greed would get.

On the plus side, for those Circuit City employees who tell Schoonover to shove it like I did to Lorenzo in 1985 (I didn't return to work when the CAL strike ended), many will find the unexpected departure incredibly liberating.

Hugh E. Scott, editor of King-George.biz -- the only website with hardcopy proof of White House corruption.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» I might add... Posted by: vangogh69

Comments are closed-

*sigh*
[Report this comment]
Posted by: dkstwin on Apr 10, 2007 12:46 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Yet another corporation to add to my "Corporate Rat Bastards" list. And my, but hasn't it become quite a long list? I wouldn't mind furnishing them with a lovely handbasket to carry them to hell.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: *sigh* Posted by: drmflorida
» RE: *sigh* Posted by:
» RE: *sigh* Posted by: jellison45013
» add them all to your list Posted by: psychochurch

Comments are closed-

Look for a "Short Circuit" in some disgruntled long timer . . .
[Report this comment]
Posted by: MAD on Apr 10, 2007 1:47 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Who got shitcanned after 15 years of pushing everything from Beta-max to Plasmas, and on top of everything else, was compelled to cap each sale with a humiliating display that goes something like this:

"Now, *sigh*, can I interest you in one of our (superfluous and generally dishonest) protection plans which will cover the product in case it stops functioning? Yes - even if you drive over it with a steamroller. No, really - smash it with a hammer, bring it in and we'll *sighs and continues lying* give you a new one - just like that".

We're going to start seeing Circuit slaughters and Target tirades with increasing frequency as corporate scum downsize conscience and outsource humanity. I just hope they get to the dildos at corporate who make policy instead of taking it out on the poor sap working the counter for $6.85.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: Yep Posted by: ateo

Comments are closed-

It's up to the public to stop this sort of thing.
[Report this comment]
Posted by: jwc on Apr 10, 2007 2:57 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Consumers have a right to choose not to shop at circuit city. If a company fires it's most experienced workers and replaces them with inexperienced ones, the loss will show in their profits... assuming that the profits resulted from the experienced workers in the first place. If the idiots doing the hiring and firing at circuit city don't know it's in their own best interests to keep the best staff available, screw 'em.

If profits are the same as before, then it is simply a smart business decision to fire the top paid employees. Businesses, after all, exist to make money by the means of providing a service, not to provide other people with income. I highly doubt that that would happen though.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

one word
[Report this comment]
Posted by: SekhmetsatRa on Apr 10, 2007 3:39 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
UNION.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

Right
[Report this comment]
Posted by: hillstar on Apr 10, 2007 3:41 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I was in the market for a new TV. Circuit City will not get my business..

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: ight Posted by: dangerouslysane
» what I find really weird... Posted by: JoshuaLudd
» Oh, come one . . . Posted by: jacquesclouseau

Comments are closed-

I used to work there...
[Report this comment]
Posted by: gregoireb on Apr 10, 2007 4:11 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I worked at CC after I lost my mental health job here in Michigan (that's another story) and found that I knew more about the products I was selling than the other sales associates and the managers. Going there, I went from my old pay of $20+ an hour (for a MA level position) to $9 an hour. By the time I left CC, I was up to a whopping $9.50 an hour after 10 months! The local McDonald's was starting folks at $8.25 an hour... Oh and they offered no benefits either.

I've since taken another retail job as I grew tired of the push to sell service plans which apparently provide most of their profits while providing little benefit to the consumer.

My old friends at CC are now gone and will not likely return. And I'll never shop there again as the firings/layoffs have finally totally soured me on them!

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

"The market made me do it."
[Report this comment]
Posted by: Lincoln fan on Apr 10, 2007 5:10 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
IMHO - There is more truth here fhan meets the eye. Does a CEO have control of a corporation? I don't think so. A corporation is a legal construct created for one purpose, to make a profit. If it doesn't make a profit it dies. All corporations are in competition with each other to make the highest profit by any legal means. This severely limits the manager's options. I picture the situation as a bunch of jockeys on runaway horses. The only thing they can do to keep from being trampled is to go faster than the pack.

The only thing that can control a corporation is another artificial body. They are beyond the control of individuals. The customers could unite and boycott to stop this injustice. If we had strong labor unions they could stop it. If we had a government that was controlled by the people instead of by the corporate establishment we could stop it.

Until the people take control of both parties, we will continue to live under the rule of mindless artificial monsters that have ton amok.
Bob Reichenbach,
Director, The Lincoln Initiative.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: "The market made me do it." Posted by: VisionQuest
» RE: "The market made me do it." Posted by: Lincoln fan
» RE: "The market made me do it." Posted by: Lincoln fan
» RE: "The market made me do it." Posted by: blitzmesser
» RE: "The market made me do it." Posted by: VisionQuest
» There's a fairly simple answer: Posted by: AdamSelene40

Comments are closed-

I have been boycotting Wal-Mart for 30 years
[Report this comment]
Posted by: UnEasyOne on Apr 10, 2007 6:00 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I've been in there a few times (less than 10) over that period to compare prices and I am amazed that people think their prices are so cheap. I can get almost anything they sell cheaper elsewhere - usually better quality. They do have some cheap prices - usually on junk. They also have some items you want - not at lower prices - I've done the comparisons. What they do have is a big box where you can get most anything in one trip - with "loss leaders" spread around to give the impression of low overall prices. Same story for CC and all of the other retailers mentioned here. They squeeze at both ends to maximize profits. Low wage employees and "bait and switch" tactics on the sales floor. (Yeah, that TV is really cheap, isn't it - but it isn't the one you really want, is it? That one is gonna cost more - and you could get it for less elsewhere. But you're already there...)

Before you're done, you wind up spending more and saving zip.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

But keep on telling me...
[Report this comment]
Posted by: JoshuaLudd on Apr 10, 2007 6:20 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
.. that all you have to do to succeed is work hard.

Now to even survive,much less succeed in this nation you have to work hard (meaning work overtime.. if you are lucky enough to have a fulltime job... or work two jobs if you aren't so lucky), pay exorbitant often predatory student loans (cause you can't even hope to get a decent job without a degree, though it is nowhere near a guarantee), hope you never get sick, though industrialism has given us a 1 in 3 chance of getting cancer at some point, pray whatever you save for retirement if anything doesn't get wiped out in one way or another for corporate greed of the wealthy... and now... hope and pray that you don't get fired for simply making a little more money than a new hire would.

Well, we now know these were true McJobs... as one of McDonald's policies and now of others as well is near 100% turnover every year outside of management.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: Well.. Posted by: ateo
» Lying is for the weak. Posted by: ssmit355

Comments are closed-

It's all about lower wages
[Report this comment]
Posted by: Aimee on Apr 10, 2007 6:21 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I am 65 years old and have seen this happen many times when I was a worker. I learned long ago how employees are treated.

I have seen valuable employees canned and replaced by younger inexperienced workers. I have seen customers at their bank take their money elsewhere because of the change in employees. I have seen companies fail because of the replacement of older employees. My father was forced to retire in order to hire younger engineers. He was quickly hired back on board when they realized he was valuable.

Solution: work as temporary contract workers. Take care of yourself. To hell with believing that you are taken care of by your employers/government/military.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: It's all about lower wages Posted by: QuestionAuthority
» RE: It's all about lower wages Posted by: vangogh69

Comments are closed-

circuitcity.com, scroll down, click on "contact us"
[Report this comment]
Posted by: Beck on Apr 10, 2007 6:22 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I was surprised they made it so easy. Just try that with Target or WalMart. Elected officials supposedly consider every letter received by a constituent to represent 2,000 others. Maybe some of these corporations think along those lines, especially if you tell them the appliance or whatever you are NOT going to buy there.

It also would not be a bad idea to write our elected officials about these companies, if the companies are receiving tax breaks.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» direct link Posted by: JoshuaLudd
» RE: direct link Posted by: wwarner

Comments are closed-

observer1
[Report this comment]
Posted by: Job2 on Apr 10, 2007 6:25 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Where's the UFCW?- sounds like a good time for rallies

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: observer1 Posted by: SekhmetsatRa

Comments are closed-

Been there, done that, got shafted.
[Report this comment]
Posted by: QuestionAuthority on Apr 10, 2007 6:57 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
This is actually an old story, depending on what industry you have worked in. I was in the airlines....

Several years ago, though we were union, my ex-employer started a "purge the senior people" binge. Human Resources (We called them "Human Remains," because that's what you'd be if they got a hold of you) and management started manufacturing 'incidents' to put in employee's files, preparing for the day that a senior employee slipped up for real, then they had a ready-made list of "offenses" to hang you with. Everyone makes a mistake once in a while...so it was inevitable that we would get nailed to the cross.

The union fought back, but it was a losing battle. All the company had to do is wave these files of "offenses" in the air and the union was on the defensive before the battle was hardly joined. I was one of the many highly experienced, senior people that fell victim to this scam. That was the day that I went from Republican to independent liberal. I realized that the "left" was "right" about some things. So now, you know one of the dirty little reasons Customer Service has gone in the toilet in the US airline business. They canned all the "too expensive," experienced people that were the ones that really knew how to keep things going.

As far as I'm concerned, business and government need to be closely monitored by the people. Business and government need to monitor each other, too. The potential for the abuses we have seen since the Ronnie years is just too great to allow them to go unwatched and unregulated.

Human greed and the lust for power is just too great a threat to the average person. We have to watch out for ourselves, because we can already see what will happen if we don't.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» aww, c'mon... Posted by: JoshuaLudd

Comments are closed-

So Who's Making the "Circuit Sh*tty" T-shirts for the Concert Season?
[Report this comment]
Posted by: loon879 on Apr 10, 2007 7:41 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
talk about an easy propaganda slap-back...

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

market forces and efficiency
[Report this comment]
Posted by: Trazom on Apr 10, 2007 8:08 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
It's probably not possible to halt these changes. It may not even be desirable. The flexibility of the American labor force seems to be one reason that recessions have become less frequent and unemployment is less of a problem here than in Europe, notes Jason Furman, a leading Democratic economist.

Furman is an idiot, along with all the other morons who champion market efficiency and marvel over the flexibility of the American worker. How about once, just once, these tunnel-visioned myopic miscreants consider the possibility that nothing in life, in the entire history of the universe for that matter, sustains an unaltered path without undesirable consequences as a result of previous action. In other words, every action has a reaction, equal and opposite, to borrow from Sir Isaac Newton. The fact that modern day capitalism (at least in the US) has gotten us to the point where we are now while trampling on worker's rights without a significant perturbation to the corporation's bottom lines, means that they are only delaying the inevitable implosion that awaits us all. Everything has a breaking limit, and no matter how elastic the American labor force is, it will break eventually. Economics is no different than physics in that regard. Why the leading economists and politicians don't see that is beyond me.

Could it be that we are nearing the end? Could it be that Walmart was and is too successful for its time? By raising the bar (or lowering depending what angle you're viewing it from) to such an unprecedented level through its penny pinching price techniques and streamlined computer driven shipping and inventory systems, how can anyone else compete without taking drastic measures such as slashing benefits, laying off thousands of workers, and so on? Even after taking these measures they still find themselves trailing the big box stores. So what are they (the big box stores) to do when there is less competition? Simple - raise prices and yet continue to slash more benefits (because they can). If this is the result of market forces then it must be good.

I further worry that efficiency has gotten completely out of hand. You can only rid so much waste from a good or servce after all - that is another universal certainty. What happens when efficiency cannot be further improved upon? In our greed is good and ever higher profits system, it means higher prices. This won't be a problem because there will only be 1 or 2 stores left and we all will be their slaves.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

Endangered species list
[Report this comment]
Posted by: veive on Apr 10, 2007 8:33 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
We need to put rapacious management on an endangered species list and then do everything we can to expedite their permanent departure from our midst. Greed is far more of a danger to America's viability than any outside terrorist threat.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: Endangered species list Posted by: LeftCoastProgressive

Comments are closed-

Circuit City's Schoonover
[Report this comment]
Posted by: LeftCoastProgressive on Apr 10, 2007 9:56 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
According to Forbes, Circuit City's chairman and CEO Philip J. Schoonover tasked to lop 3400 employees, pulls in some $2. 17 million per year. That's a lotta greed, from where I'm sitting. Even more if you're a retail clerk making less than $7 an hour. What if, in the name of improved bottom line, the board of directors fires Schoonover, then rehires him at a lower, salary. Say, $980K a year, plus benefits and stock options. He'll probably still be able to make his house payments, drive a Mercedes, and send his kids to Brown or Yale. Don't ya think?

So why is the company pulling this stunt with its rank and file?

Let's examine the numbers.

3400 employees fired x $10/hr average pay x 40hrs/wk x 50wks/yr = $68,000,000 per annum. Jeez...Loiuse! that should make Circuit City appear really profitable! Can you imagine the cash the CEO and Board would get after the first year since they vote in their own bonuses? Greed Pays.
Greed = Corporate America!

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: Circuit City's Schoonover Posted by: SubAquaHead

Comments are closed-

What was that job security thing again?
[Report this comment]
Posted by: mmeetoilenoir on Apr 10, 2007 9:58 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
This is why I'm struggling and starting my own thing. I laugh at people when they say, "Get a job working for someone! You'll be secure!" Hahahaha! You've got to be joking! No matter how hard you work, suck the boss' dick, whatevs, they will STILL get you in the end. And, oh, a degree don't mean jack, neither. :P I'm sure some of these poor souls have their papers, and they're still getting shafted.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

you get what you paid for!!
[Report this comment]
Posted by: eosrk on Apr 10, 2007 10:13 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Okay, you pay a person say 17 to 20 dollars an hour, more likely that person will probably bust their asses really hard to give the best quality of service, and you can tell by the extreme cleaniness of the place, knowledable staff, and what not, most of the time.

now pay that same person 5.50 to 7.00 per hour, and they pretty much won't give a shit, the work will always be substandard, and the business is paying more for that low-wage person that they would be for that high-wage person.

As I said, you get what you paid for!

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

Does anyone else see the irony here?
[Report this comment]
Posted by: Sunfell on Apr 10, 2007 10:14 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
We're living in a world where you almost can't get a job flipping burgers without at least a bachelors degree, and kids go into deep debt going to college to get that precious degree. They're told that their degree will get them better paying jobs, and they believe it, and put themselves into hock to get that degree.

Yet, our workplaces are signaling to us that all that education is pretty much worthless, because if you are actually an educated and valuable person, worthy of a high wage, you're going to lose that job-and that wage- sooner or later to a youngster (or several) who needs your job to pay off their own educational debt.

Can anyone see the self-destructive path we're on? An earlier poster remarked that before we know it, we'll be paying for the privilege of working.

Aren't we already? What do you call the high educational debts many people are still paying? What are they actually earning? It almost seems like a racket. Something is going to give someday soon, and it's going to be very ugly.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

Workplace Amenities
[Report this comment]
Posted by: Ms. DuFontagne on Apr 10, 2007 10:25 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
---------------copy/paste--------------------
Once you fire the high-performers and experienced workers, the next step will be to demand that employees pay you for the privilege of working. Why not? Most workplaces provide air-conditioned environments and bathroom facilities, complete with soap and paper towels. These are things you'd expect to pay for in a hotel, so why should workers get them free? Having busted his $10-20 an hour senior employees down to $7 and change an hour, Schoonover's bound to see that the best route to higher profit margins is negative pay.

------------Snip----------------

I further predict that companies will take a tip from NASA and require employees to wear diapers on the job - and not take bathroom breaks at all! It's only a matter of time in this race to the bottom.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

New Paradigm
[Report this comment]
Posted by: brainvib on Apr 10, 2007 10:32 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I am 70 years old. Looking back over those years I see the 1950s thru 1970s
as the bountiful years of prosperity and security for working people. Even during
this period there was an almost subliminal anti-organized labor campaign. Unions
are greedy, lazy freeloaders whose only purpose is to screw corporate america
and the american consumer. Worst of all, there is no status in union membership.
Then along came Ronald Raegan who broke labor's back by firing the air traffic controllers. It has been downhill ever since. Of course, the absence of meaningful
leadership within organized labor augmented the sad condition. Take time to look
at the numbers of union members in the years 1950 to the present. Now chart real
wages, in comprable dollars, and note how income drops or stagnates as union
membership erodes. To this picture add corporate profits. Guess who is winning.
NAFTA, GAT, WTO were pushed as hard by Dems. as Reps, Mr. Clinton worked hard
to get NAFTA passed and described how it would create jobs. Too bad those jobs
weren't in the US. So american worker you are screwed. Both parties are extensions
of the Plutocracy that really controls the country and until an American version of the
Solidarity movement that freed Poland surfaces in this country, Good Luck!!!!!!!
What do you tell your kids? Used to be, "work hard and you'll get ahead", really don't
work anymore. Not even is "get an education" advice that will assure a good life.
I would strongly suggest, "JOIN A UNION, If there isn't one, start one!"

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» Thanks Posted by: Beck
» RE: Thanks Posted by: dangerouslysane

Comments are closed-

They did the same thing at Kinkos - look what happened...
[Report this comment]
Posted by: Colton on Apr 10, 2007 10:38 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
They did the same thing at Kinkos in 1999. Fired all the experienced workers that made 12$ an hour and hired all new workers at minimum wage. Of course they could not 'fire' you for being paid too mutch; they just started documenting every little mistake you made then fired you once they had their 'excuse' on paper.

Most of the people I worked with had been there for 10+ years and were paid accordingly, they could take a steaming pile of shit and squeeze diamonds out of it - because c'mon - nobody goes to Kinkos unless it was due YESTERDAY.

Once they could "post a profit' by cutting their labor costs in half...guess what? ... the quality of work went into the toilet. The average new worker was 'McDonalds' grade mentality and as of this post, Kinkos no longer exists (It went to shit and was bought out by Fed-Ex before it finally folded)

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: Ditto Home Depot Posted by: Sushi
» RE: Ditto Home Depot and... Posted by: vangogh69
» RE: Ditto Home Depot Posted by: babs

Comments are closed-

If you don't like it, don't shop there
[Report this comment]
Posted by: lamar on Apr 10, 2007 10:53 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
If you don't like CC's policies, then don't shop there. And I don't mean that sarcastically. There are two (2 and 1/2?) reasons why you shouldn't shop at Circuit City. First, no kid making minimum can possibly be as experienced as the salesman who knows the history of a particular piece of consumer electronics. As the consumer, YOU are the one who pays for the kid not knowing anything. Sure, he'll tell you what the manufacturer wants advertised, but don't expect any insight. It's that insight that can be the difference between a good buy and a piece of crap. Second, the more we line up to shop at these troughs, the more industries will adopt them. Can you imagine if every store you shopped in had clueless clerks and screw-you customer service? Shopping at Circuit City is a small contribution to that fund. Second and a 1/2: Consumer electronics are not needs. Loving your family doesn't mean spending 12 hours a day at work to buy them a big screen TV. It means leaving work early to play catch. Just a little perspective.

So when I say "if you don't like it, don't shop there" I actually mean it.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: If you don't like it, don't shop there Posted by: Chickensh*tEagle

Comments are closed-

What is a corporation?
[Report this comment]
Posted by: mom'z the word on Apr 10, 2007 10:59 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I was of the opinion that it was the fictitious non-entity we called a corporation that was the root of all the evil in our capitalistic society. This article and these posts have changed my mind. What is a corporation but the sum and substance of the shareholders? Shareholders, individuals, buy shares in a corporation and that is what sustains it.

Without shareholders looking to make a profit, in this case getting something for nothing which is why people buy stocks, corporations would not exist in they way they do today. The bottom line, profit, is he only reason why people invest in stocks.

The fact that shareholders do not care how they make a buck, whether it is by cutting benefits, low wages, no health insurance, is of interest to them. All they care about is the bottom line. Whoever has the biggest gains in the shortest amount of time is where they are going to put their money. They do not care that making profits means people will suffer, that the company is making bombs, and poisons to kill and destroy other living things. None of those factors are of any consequence to the shareholder when it comes to making a profit.

Stockholders make policy not the executives. They control where the money goes by investing in companies that post (legally or illegally it doesn't matter) the highest quarterly gains. Why do the Enron’s and Halliburton’s exist? Because shareholders, not a fictitious person, or the CEO’s, will take there ill gotten gains elsewhere if they profits are not consistently on the rise. So companies do whatever it takes to keep the profits within the profit range that will attract more shareholders. There is just so much money to go around so that means if sales are down someone has to pay shareholders a hefty profit anyway or they will go elsewhere.

That someone, of course is the worker who loses benefits, wages, and an opportunity to succeed. Quality is compromised as it becomes more profitable to cut cost by cutting materials.
Safety of products (cars, food) is compromised as things become more cost effective if safety is no longer a factor. Money spent on these factors can now go into the profit margin so the shareholders always profit the most.

So the next time you see all those people on the podium cheering and clapping at the end of a hard day of profit taking on the stock market it means some poor workers somewhere are getting screwed. And guaranteed quality and safety are compromised because those things cost money that would otherwise go to the shareholders in profits. And this is what America has become. This is our legacy.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: What is a corporation? Posted by: mom'z the word
» RE: What is a corporation? Posted by: henderson
» RE: What is a corporation? Posted by: mom'z the word
» RE: What is a corporation? Posted by: Lincoln fan
» RE: What is a corporation? Posted by: mom'z the word

Comments are closed-

What is a corporation?
[Report this comment]
Posted by: mom'z the word on Apr 10, 2007 11:17 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I was of the opinion that it was the fictitious non-entity we called a corporation that was the root of all the evil in our capitalistic society. This article and these posts have changed my mind. What is a corporation but the sum and substance of the shareholders? Shareholders, individuals, buy shares in a corporation and that is what sustains it.

Without shareholders looking to make a profit, in this case getting something for nothing which is why people buy stocks, corporations would not exist in the way they do today. The bottom line, profit, is the only reason why people invest in stocks.

The fact that shareholders do not care how they make a buck, whether it is by cutting benefits, low wages, no health insurance, is of NO interest to them. All they care about is the bottom line. Whoever has the biggest gains in the shortest amount of time is where they are going to put their money. They do not care that making profits means people will suffer, that the company is making bombs, and poisons to kill and destroy other living things. None of those factors are of any consequence to the shareholder when it comes to making a profit.

Stockholders make policy not the executives. They control where the money goes by investing in companies that post (legally or illegally it doesn't matter) the highest quarterly gains. Why do the Enron’s and Halliburton’s exist? Because shareholders, not a fictitious person, or the CEO’s, will take their ill gotten gains elsewhere if they profits are not consistently on the rise. So companies do whatever it takes to keep the profits within the profit range that will attract more shareholders. There is just so much money to go around so that means if sales are down someone has to pay shareholders a hefty profit anyway or they will go elsewhere.

That someone, of course is the worker who loses benefits, wages, and an opportunity to succeed. Quality is compromised as it becomes more profitable to cut cost by cutting materials.
Safety of products (cars, food) is compromised as things become more cost effective if safety is no longer a factor. Money spent on these factors can now go into the profit margin so the shareholders always profit the most.

So the next time you see all those people on the podium cheering and clapping at the end of a hard day of profit taking on the stock market it means some poor workers somewhere are getting screwed. And guaranteed quality and safety are compromised because those things cost money that would otherwise go to the shareholders in profits. And this is what America has become. This is our legacy.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: What is a corporation? Posted by: Trazom
» RE: What is a corporation? Posted by: mom'z the word

Comments are closed-

We're all on a race to the bottom...
[Report this comment]
Posted by: vangogh69 on Apr 10, 2007 11:36 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Circuit City's story isn't unusual and expect to hear more such stories. Bottom line, the plutocrats/politicians/aristocracy who really run this country (and global finance, let's not limit this critique to the US) view workers as expendable and could care less. They all are on the search for the cheapest labor possible in order to gain the maximum amount of products. Because the world is globalized (in terms of the "market", capitalism, etc.), it will take a world-wide movement to get things changed. That being said, all US workers would do well to put their foot down, en masse, and halt the greed of the bigwigs. Of course, our gov favors the bigwigs and (if history is any guide) has no compunction about using weapons against its population if need be (thinking of the Haymarket Square Massacre, as an example, though there are many). This is a serious issue and I don't have one answer for the problem, but the place to start is education.

2FY!

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

short term memory
[Report this comment]
Posted by: shaynafay on Apr 10, 2007 11:56 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
When I entered the workforce twenty some odd years ago, everyone started at minimum wage. Then if you were still there after 3 months sometimes you received a pay increase to whatever everyone else was making. After that, unless some management job opened up, the only pay increase anyone saw was when they raised the minimum wage. This was true throughout the retail and food service industries. These corperations had an unending supply of teens ready to work for $1.65 an hour. When the economy took a nose dive and the baby boom wore off, all of a sudden adults with families were forced to take these jobs - immigrant or not. Of course people who have worked as an associate at Circuit City for ten years is upset by this, but that position was never meant to last for 10 years.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

Not only all of the above,
[Report this comment]
Posted by: Chickensh*tEagle on Apr 10, 2007 12:02 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
but CC doesn't even have a quiet space where you can hear the loudspeakers you're thinking of shelling out for over all the noise. No class at all. :-(

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

Voices from the street
[Report this comment]
Posted by: fanny666 on Apr 10, 2007 12:27 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Electronics retailer Circuit City recently fired over 3,400 workers, stating that they were going to replace them with new hires willing to work for less. What do you think?

Circuit City

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

robv39
[Report this comment]
Posted by: RobNLA on Apr 10, 2007 1:22 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The laugh is on Circuit City though. They are losing business and having to close some stores.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

Hebrewnomics strikes again
[Report this comment]
Posted by: Wassermann on Apr 10, 2007 4:53 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]

Comments are closed-

"Good old days"
[Report this comment]
Posted by: willymack on Apr 10, 2007 5:19 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
In the good old days, you took a job with the expectation that you'd "get ahead" through hard work, recognition of your worth from your boss, and promotions, so that at the time of your retirement, you could expect to relax and do the things you couldn't do while tied to your job. That's all gone, now. Our elected leaders in the state capitals and Washington have been bought off by a group of greedy bastards who care absolutely NOTHING about the welfare of their employees, and EVERYTHING about how much worth (profits) they can extract from them at a minimal cost. These people have always been there; it's just in the past they've been kept in check by pro- labor laws and pro-labor politicians. It's time to get the pro-labor laws and pro-labor politicians back, and break the stranglehold the neocon scumbags have on every facet of our lives.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: "Good old days" Posted by: Lincoln fan

Comments are closed-

GawkingGeezer
[Report this comment]
Posted by: jbwestwood on Apr 10, 2007 10:20 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I'm old enough to remember the Depression and realistic enough to know that US capitalism will fail only from the economic consequence of global warming or from internal violence sparked by middle and lower class discontent--maybe both. Two party duopoly, duplicity, and political whoredom will keep big money in charge of congress despite all efforts for "clean elections".

One could hope that the spread of opinions now shown in the profusion of internet blogs would create enough popular demand for fundamental changes in governance, including impeachment of miscreants, that past social offenses would be revealed and corrected. But it would be a slim, probably forlorn, hope. Reagan's hatred of big government living on in the stridency of Rush Limbaugh and Grover Norquist ilk makes the birth and well being of a progressive third party very doubtful. And a robust third party is crucial for making changes such as reversal of the 1886 Supreme Court application of 14th Amendment personhood to corporations, simplification of the nation's tax code, and removing Social Security from life support.

One could also hope that existence of the super computers that permit science to monitor climate change might also allow real time monitoring of such social matters as public health, population trends, land and ocean status, etc. Unfortunately, such a hope runs face on into the same greed and stupidity that are largely responsible for our current plight.

And that is why I despair for my grandchildren!

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: GawkingGeezer Posted by: politicky

Comments are closed-

At the San Mateo CA CC store last summer
[Report this comment]
Posted by: greekTowner on Apr 10, 2007 10:22 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I was looking for a Media MVP to watch movies from my computer to my TV. The kid who was trying to assist me had no clue.

Coincidentally (or not), he was going back to college in the Fall and wanted to know if he could watch TV on his computer (small rooms in campus I guess)

I pointed to him the device right there and told him how to use it and how it worked.

Priceless

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

It's Time to Stop Being Such Consumers
[Report this comment]
Posted by: ebishirl on Apr 11, 2007 7:23 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The "success" (to CEOs and stockholders, anyway) of companies like CC, Walmart, etc. is due in large part to all of us consuming far more than we really need (because that's the message we receive 24/7 from every imaginable media source ... even the mini-billboards in public bathrooms). So here's a suggestion that won't help the poor folks who've been culled by corporations like that, but it will hurt the corporations' precious bottom lines: stop buying so much crap.

Use dishrags instead of paper towels. Compost your kitchen scraps instead of buying synthetic fertilizers. Make your own household cleaners with vinegar, baking soda, salt and lemon juice instead of buying all those poisons at the big-box stores. Shop resale stores for clothes and accessories (you can find some really nice things at some resale shops), join the freecycle list, and on and on.

Of course, the downside to this will be a drastic slowdown in the mighty U.S. economic engine ... but it's not really benefitting many of us that much already. Become as self-sufficient as you can, and we won't NEED big-boxes.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

Check This Out!
[Report this comment]
Posted by: armadillo17 on Apr 11, 2007 8:07 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I went to the Circuit City website and posted my wrath and indignation about how they had treated their older workers.

Here was their response:

Dear Valued Customer,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We value our customers' feedback.

As we stated in our news release, we are taking a number of actions to improve our cost and expense structure. We are holding ourselves accountable to our associates, our customers, our communities, and our shareholders to build a strong company that generates sustainable growth for the future.

Our goal is to provide superior service while effectively competing against low-cost retailers. We are working towards this goal by making changes, such as announced yesterday, and with the help of over 40,000 associates who keep our customers at the center of everything we do. We hope you will allow our Circuit City team to serve you in the future.

Sincerely,

S. Oglesby
Customer Support Coordinator
Contact ID # 11287549
________________________________________________
I had told them I would never set foot in Circuit City again.....

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: Check This Out! Posted by: olderworker

Comments are closed-

NURSING
[Report this comment]
Posted by: jjdoggie on Apr 11, 2007 9:32 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The article shows only the tip of the iceberg. Hospitals have laid-off older experienced nurses in favor of new grads, who begin at "starter" hourly wages. Those older nurses who are allowed to stay, have a cap on their "raises". It is unfair for any to be fired for age alone, but try to image this in the health care field -- young nurses need the guidance and knowledge that older nurses can teach them. So much of saving lives depends on seeing those first signs of failure, the changes in skin color, the rapid respirations, evaluating the problem. Older nurses can do this; the new grads must learn this assessment over years. So are your loved ones at risk? YES. Bottom line, as with all corporations, is money.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

Progressives are helpless whiners. Culture of blame and envy.
[Report this comment]
Posted by: Jak_dah_rippah on Apr 11, 2007 7:41 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Jeez, you clowns are the biggest whining pussies on the planet.

If you don't like your job quit, open your own business.

If you don't like your job, retrain - go back to college.

If your employer is greedy, than challenge him in the free market.

If your employer is dumb lucky, than challenge him in the free market.

If your employer is stupid, than challenge him in the free market.

But you won't, because your all lazy, whining, and selfish.

You think that everything that happens to you is because of someone else.

You have no self reliance or discipline.

If you can't succeed in America, you can't succeed anywhere.

You disgust me.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» Logic vs. emotion Posted by: Jak_dah_rippah
» RE: Logic vs. emotion Posted by: Ellie1
» RE: Logic vs. emotion Posted by: Ellie1

Comments are closed-

This is nothing new to me
[Report this comment]
Posted by: bettyn on Apr 11, 2007 8:02 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Virtually ALL of our corporate PIGS do the same thing. My husband had many years of seniority in his company, excellent job reviews and was doing quite well managing a group of 50 young engineers on a project in Washington (state). It didn't matter to the beancounting MBA fat cats at the company HQ's. They gave his job to a younger kid because they could pay him half the salary my husband was getting. To top it off, the corporate CEO absconded with $60,000 of his retirement account.

It's wonderful here in W's Amerikka, isn't it?

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» DONT BLAME DUBYA Posted by: gellero

Comments are closed-

HOW ABOUT DISPLACEMENT OF AMERICANS BY H1-B VISAS
[Report this comment]
Posted by: gellero on Apr 12, 2007 10:22 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Wake up, whiners........the Dems and Reps are in this together....check out this stuff:
JOB DETSRUCTION NEWSLETTER

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

Don't shop at Circuit City!
[Report this comment]
Posted by: johngary66 on Apr 17, 2007 12:48 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Who is going to shop there after all this publicity? The CEO is beyond being an idiot. Unless of course he has a terriffic golden parachute. Stick a fork in them, their done.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

I NEVER SHOP AT CIRCUIT CITY OR WALMART
[Report this comment]
Posted by: Ellie1 on Apr 18, 2007 4:12 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
and never will. Could Alternet please do a list or post of companies that mistreat their help? I am sure there are others. I know for a fact that Home Depot
is not a good employer. Of course all of these companies have CEO's making millions.

On the plus side, I understand Costco is great to work for. Any help out there? I shop with my conscience as well as my wallet.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Alternet Comments:

Comments are closed-

For some ex-Circuit City employees. their best times are ahead.
[Report this comment]
Posted by: HughScott on Apr 10, 2007 12:40 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
In 1983 when I was a captain for Continental Airlines, our tyrannical CEO, Frank Lorenzo, took the company into Chapter 11 bankruptcy because of "onerous" labor contracts -- a corporate codeword for "your wages are too high."

Rather than serve like sheep under Frank's arbitrary rule, Continental pilots, mechanics and flight attendants went on a two-year strike, resulting in numerous divorces, lost homes and three suicides.

The whole time, as unsympathetic passengers flooded across our picket lines for cheap fares, we, the strikers, told them, "Just wait, your time in the barrel will come." And it certainly has -- except I didn't imagine back then how bad corporate greed would get.

On the plus side, for those Circuit City employees who tell Schoonover to shove it like I did to Lorenzo in 1985 (I didn't return to work when the CAL strike ended), many will find the unexpected departure incredibly liberating.

Hugh E. Scott, editor of King-George.biz -- the only website with hardcopy proof of White House corruption.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» I might add... Posted by: vangogh69

Comments are closed-

*sigh*
[Report this comment]
Posted by: dkstwin on Apr 10, 2007 12:46 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Yet another corporation to add to my "Corporate Rat Bastards" list. And my, but hasn't it become quite a long list? I wouldn't mind furnishing them with a lovely handbasket to carry them to hell.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: *sigh* Posted by: drmflorida
» RE: *sigh* Posted by:
» RE: *sigh* Posted by: jellison45013
» add them all to your list Posted by: psychochurch

Comments are closed-

Look for a "Short Circuit" in some disgruntled long timer . . .
[Report this comment]
Posted by: MAD on Apr 10, 2007 1:47 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Who got shitcanned after 15 years of pushing everything from Beta-max to Plasmas, and on top of everything else, was compelled to cap each sale with a humiliating display that goes something like this:

"Now, *sigh*, can I interest you in one of our (superfluous and generally dishonest) protection plans which will cover the product in case it stops functioning? Yes - even if you drive over it with a steamroller. No, really - smash it with a hammer, bring it in and we'll *sighs and continues lying* give you a new one - just like that".

We're going to start seeing Circuit slaughters and Target tirades with increasing frequency as corporate scum downsize conscience and outsource humanity. I just hope they get to the dildos at corporate who make policy instead of taking it out on the poor sap working the counter for $6.85.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: Yep Posted by: ateo

Comments are closed-

It's up to the public to stop this sort of thing.
[Report this comment]
Posted by: jwc on Apr 10, 2007 2:57 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Consumers have a right to choose not to shop at circuit city. If a company fires it's most experienced workers and replaces them with inexperienced ones, the loss will show in their profits... assuming that the profits resulted from the experienced workers in the first place. If the idiots doing the hiring and firing at circuit city don't know it's in their own best interests to keep the best staff available, screw 'em.

If profits are the same as before, then it is simply a smart business decision to fire the top paid employees. Businesses, after all, exist to make money by the means of providing a service, not to provide other people with income. I highly doubt that that would happen though.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

one word
[Report this comment]
Posted by: SekhmetsatRa on Apr 10, 2007 3:39 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
UNION.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

Right
[Report this comment]
Posted by: hillstar on Apr 10, 2007 3:41 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I was in the market for a new TV. Circuit City will not get my business..

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: ight Posted by: dangerouslysane
» what I find really weird... Posted by: JoshuaLudd
» Oh, come one . . . Posted by: jacquesclouseau

Comments are closed-

I used to work there...
[Report this comment]
Posted by: gregoireb on Apr 10, 2007 4:11 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I worked at CC after I lost my mental health job here in Michigan (that's another story) and found that I knew more about the products I was selling than the other sales associates and the managers. Going there, I went from my old pay of $20+ an hour (for a MA level position) to $9 an hour. By the time I left CC, I was up to a whopping $9.50 an hour after 10 months! The local McDonald's was starting folks at $8.25 an hour... Oh and they offered no benefits either.

I've since taken another retail job as I grew tired of the push to sell service plans which apparently provide most of their profits while providing little benefit to the consumer.

My old friends at CC are now gone and will not likely return. And I'll never shop there again as the firings/layoffs have finally totally soured me on them!

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

"The market made me do it."
[Report this comment]
Posted by: Lincoln fan on Apr 10, 2007 5:10 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
IMHO - There is more truth here fhan meets the eye. Does a CEO have control of a corporation? I don't think so. A corporation is a legal construct created for one purpose, to make a profit. If it doesn't make a profit it dies. All corporations are in competition with each other to make the highest profit by any legal means. This severely limits the manager's options. I picture the situation as a bunch of jockeys on runaway horses. The only thing they can do to keep from being trampled is to go faster than the pack.

The only thing that can control a corporation is another artificial body. They are beyond the control of individuals. The customers could unite and boycott to stop this injustice. If we had strong labor unions they could stop it. If we had a government that was controlled by the people instead of by the corporate establishment we could stop it.

Until the people take control of both parties, we will continue to live under the rule of mindless artificial monsters that have ton amok.
Bob Reichenbach,
Director, The Lincoln Initiative.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: "The market made me do it." Posted by: VisionQuest
» RE: "The market made me do it." Posted by: Lincoln fan
» RE: "The market made me do it." Posted by: Lincoln fan
» RE: "The market made me do it." Posted by: blitzmesser
» RE: "The market made me do it." Posted by: VisionQuest
» There's a fairly simple answer: Posted by: AdamSelene40

Comments are closed-

I have been boycotting Wal-Mart for 30 years
[Report this comment]
Posted by: UnEasyOne on Apr 10, 2007 6:00 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I've been in there a few times (less than 10) over that period to compare prices and I am amazed that people think their prices are so cheap. I can get almost anything they sell cheaper elsewhere - usually better quality. They do have some cheap prices - usually on junk. They also have some items you want - not at lower prices - I've done the comparisons. What they do have is a big box where you can get most anything in one trip - with "loss leaders" spread around to give the impression of low overall prices. Same story for CC and all of the other retailers mentioned here. They squeeze at both ends to maximize profits. Low wage employees and "bait and switch" tactics on the sales floor. (Yeah, that TV is really cheap, isn't it - but it isn't the one you really want, is it? That one is gonna cost more - and you could get it for less elsewhere. But you're already there...)

Before you're done, you wind up spending more and saving zip.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

But keep on telling me...
[Report this comment]
Posted by: JoshuaLudd on Apr 10, 2007 6:20 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
.. that all you have to do to succeed is work hard.

Now to even survive,much less succeed in this nation you have to work hard (meaning work overtime.. if you are lucky enough to have a fulltime job... or work two jobs if you aren't so lucky), pay exorbitant often predatory student loans (cause you can't even hope to get a decent job without a degree, though it is nowhere near a guarantee), hope you never get sick, though industrialism has given us a 1 in 3 chance of getting cancer at some point, pray whatever you save for retirement if anything doesn't get wiped out in one way or another for corporate greed of the wealthy... and now... hope and pray that you don't get fired for simply making a little more money than a new hire would.

Well, we now know these were true McJobs... as one of McDonald's policies and now of others as well is near 100% turnover every year outside of management.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: Well.. Posted by: ateo
» Lying is for the weak. Posted by: ssmit355

Comments are closed-

It's all about lower wages
[Report this comment]
Posted by: Aimee on Apr 10, 2007 6:21 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I am 65 years old and have seen this happen many times when I was a worker. I learned long ago how employees are treated.

I have seen valuable employees canned and replaced by younger inexperienced workers. I have seen customers at their bank take their money elsewhere because of the change in employees. I have seen companies fail because of the replacement of older employees. My father was forced to retire in order to hire younger engineers. He was quickly hired back on board when they realized he was valuable.

Solution: work as temporary contract workers. Take care of yourself. To hell with believing that you are taken care of by your employers/government/military.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: It's all about lower wages Posted by: QuestionAuthority
» RE: It's all about lower wages Posted by: vangogh69

Comments are closed-

circuitcity.com, scroll down, click on "contact us"
[Report this comment]
Posted by: Beck on Apr 10, 2007 6:22 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I was surprised they made it so easy. Just try that with Target or WalMart. Elected officials supposedly consider every letter received by a constituent to represent 2,000 others. Maybe some of these corporations think along those lines, especially if you tell them the appliance or whatever you are NOT going to buy there.

It also would not be a bad idea to write our elected officials about these companies, if the companies are receiving tax breaks.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» direct link Posted by: JoshuaLudd
» RE: direct link Posted by: wwarner

Comments are closed-

observer1
[Report this comment]
Posted by: Job2 on Apr 10, 2007 6:25 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Where's the UFCW?- sounds like a good time for rallies

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: observer1 Posted by: SekhmetsatRa

Comments are closed-

Been there, done that, got shafted.
[Report this comment]
Posted by: QuestionAuthority on Apr 10, 2007 6:57 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
This is actually an old story, depending on what industry you have worked in. I was in the airlines....

Several years ago, though we were union, my ex-employer started a "purge the senior people" binge. Human Resources (We called them "Human Remains," because that's what you'd be if they got a hold of you) and management started manufacturing 'incidents' to put in employee's files, preparing for the day that a senior employee slipped up for real, then they had a ready-made list of "offenses" to hang you with. Everyone makes a mistake once in a while...so it was inevitable that we would get nailed to the cross.

The union fought back, but it was a losing battle. All the company had to do is wave these files of "offenses" in the air and the union was on the defensive before the battle was hardly joined. I was one of the many highly experienced, senior people that fell victim to this scam. That was the day that I went from Republican to independent liberal. I realized that the "left" was "right" about some things. So now, you know one of the dirty little reasons Customer Service has gone in the toilet in the US airline business. They canned all the "too expensive," experienced people that were the ones that really knew how to keep things going.

As far as I'm concerned, business and government need to be closely monitored by the people. Business and government need to monitor each other, too. The potential for the abuses we have seen since the Ronnie years is just too great to allow them to go unwatched and unregulated.

Human greed and the lust for power is just too great a threat to the average person. We have to watch out for ourselves, because we can already see what will happen if we don't.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» aww, c'mon... Posted by: JoshuaLudd

Comments are closed-

So Who's Making the "Circuit Sh*tty" T-shirts for the Concert Season?
[Report this comment]
Posted by: loon879 on Apr 10, 2007 7:41 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
talk about an easy propaganda slap-back...

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

market forces and efficiency
[Report this comment]
Posted by: Trazom on Apr 10, 2007 8:08 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
It's probably not possible to halt these changes. It may not even be desirable. The flexibility of the American labor force seems to be one reason that recessions have become less frequent and unemployment is less of a problem here than in Europe, notes Jason Furman, a leading Democratic economist.

Furman is an idiot, along with all the other morons who champion market efficiency and marvel over the flexibility of the American worker. How about once, just once, these tunnel-visioned myopic miscreants consider the possibility that nothing in life, in the entire history of the universe for that matter, sustains an unaltered path without undesirable consequences as a result of previous action. In other words, every action has a reaction, equal and opposite, to borrow from Sir Isaac Newton. The fact that modern day capitalism (at least in the US) has gotten us to the point where we are now while trampling on worker's rights without a significant perturbation to the corporation's bottom lines, means that they are only delaying the inevitable implosion that awaits us all. Everything has a breaking limit, and no matter how elastic the American labor force is, it will break eventually. Economics is no different than physics in that regard. Why the leading economists and politicians don't see that is beyond me.

Could it be that we are nearing the end? Could it be that Walmart was and is too successful for its time? By raising the bar (or lowering depending what angle you're viewing it from) to such an unprecedented level through its penny pinching price techniques and streamlined computer driven shipping and inventory systems, how can anyone else compete without taking drastic measures such as slashing benefits, laying off thousands of workers, and so on? Even after taking these measures they still find themselves trailing the big box stores. So what are they (the big box stores) to do when there is less competition? Simple - raise prices and yet continue to slash more benefits (because they can). If this is the result of market forces then it must be good.

I further worry that efficiency has gotten completely out of hand. You can only rid so much waste from a good or servce after all - that is another universal certainty. What happens when efficiency cannot be further improved upon? In our greed is good and ever higher profits system, it means higher prices. This won't be a problem because there will only be 1 or 2 stores left and we all will be their slaves.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

Endangered species list
[Report this comment]
Posted by: veive on Apr 10, 2007 8:33 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
We need to put rapacious management on an endangered species list and then do everything we can to expedite their permanent departure from our midst. Greed is far more of a danger to America's viability than any outside terrorist threat.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: Endangered species list Posted by: LeftCoastProgressive

Comments are closed-

Circuit City's Schoonover
[Report this comment]
Posted by: LeftCoastProgressive on Apr 10, 2007 9:56 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
According to Forbes, Circuit City's chairman and CEO Philip J. Schoonover tasked to lop 3400 employees, pulls in some $2. 17 million per year. That's a lotta greed, from where I'm sitting. Even more if you're a retail clerk making less than $7 an hour. What if, in the name of improved bottom line, the board of directors fires Schoonover, then rehires him at a lower, salary. Say, $980K a year, plus benefits and stock options. He'll probably still be able to make his house payments, drive a Mercedes, and send his kids to Brown or Yale. Don't ya think?

So why is the company pulling this stunt with its rank and file?

Let's examine the numbers.

3400 employees fired x $10/hr average pay x 40hrs/wk x 50wks/yr = $68,000,000 per annum. Jeez...Loiuse! that should make Circuit City appear really profitable! Can you imagine the cash the CEO and Board would get after the first year since they vote in their own bonuses? Greed Pays.
Greed = Corporate America!

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: Circuit City's Schoonover Posted by: SubAquaHead

Comments are closed-

What was that job security thing again?
[Report this comment]
Posted by: mmeetoilenoir on Apr 10, 2007 9:58 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
This is why I'm struggling and starting my own thing. I laugh at people when they say, "Get a job working for someone! You'll be secure!" Hahahaha! You've got to be joking! No matter how hard you work, suck the boss' dick, whatevs, they will STILL get you in the end. And, oh, a degree don't mean jack, neither. :P I'm sure some of these poor souls have their papers, and they're still getting shafted.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

you get what you paid for!!
[Report this comment]
Posted by: eosrk on Apr 10, 2007 10:13 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Okay, you pay a person say 17 to 20 dollars an hour, more likely that person will probably bust their asses really hard to give the best quality of service, and you can tell by the extreme cleaniness of the place, knowledable staff, and what not, most of the time.

now pay that same person 5.50 to 7.00 per hour, and they pretty much won't give a shit, the work will always be substandard, and the business is paying more for that low-wage person that they would be for that high-wage person.

As I said, you get what you paid for!

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

Does anyone else see the irony here?
[Report this comment]
Posted by: Sunfell on Apr 10, 2007 10:14 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
We're living in a world where you almost can't get a job flipping burgers without at least a bachelors degree, and kids go into deep debt going to college to get that precious degree. They're told that their degree will get them better paying jobs, and they believe it, and put themselves into hock to get that degree.

Yet, our workplaces are signaling to us that all that education is pretty much worthless, because if you are actually an educated and valuable person, worthy of a high wage, you're going to lose that job-and that wage- sooner or later to a youngster (or several) who needs your job to pay off their own educational debt.

Can anyone see the self-destructive path we're on? An earlier poster remarked that before we know it, we'll be paying for the privilege of working.

Aren't we already? What do you call the high educational debts many people are still paying? What are they actually earning? It almost seems like a racket. Something is going to give someday soon, and it's going to be very ugly.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

Workplace Amenities
[Report this comment]
Posted by: Ms. DuFontagne on Apr 10, 2007 10:25 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
---------------copy/paste--------------------
Once you fire the high-performers and experienced workers, the next step will be to demand that employees pay you for the privilege of working. Why not? Most workplaces provide air-conditioned environments and bathroom facilities, complete with soap and paper towels. These are things you'd expect to pay for in a hotel, so why should workers get them free? Having busted his $10-20 an hour senior employees down to $7 and change an hour, Schoonover's bound to see that the best route to higher profit margins is negative pay.

------------Snip----------------

I further predict that companies will take a tip from NASA and require employees to wear diapers on the job - and not take bathroom breaks at all! It's only a matter of time in this race to the bottom.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

New Paradigm
[Report this comment]
Posted by: brainvib on Apr 10, 2007 10:32 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I am 70 years old. Looking back over those years I see the 1950s thru 1970s
as the bountiful years of prosperity and security for working people. Even during
this period there was an almost subliminal anti-organized labor campaign. Unions
are greedy, lazy freeloaders whose only purpose is to screw corporate america
and the american consumer. Worst of all, there is no status in union membership.
Then along came Ronald Raegan who broke labor's back by firing the air traffic controllers. It has been downhill ever since. Of course, the absence of meaningful
leadership within organized labor augmented the sad condition. Take time to look
at the numbers of union members in the years 1950 to the present. Now chart real
wages, in comprable dollars, and note how income drops or stagnates as union
membership erodes. To this picture add corporate profits. Guess who is winning.
NAFTA, GAT, WTO were pushed as hard by Dems. as Reps, Mr. Clinton worked hard
to get NAFTA passed and described how it would create jobs. Too bad those jobs
weren't in the US. So american worker you are screwed. Both parties are extensions
of the Plutocracy that really controls the country and until an American version of the
Solidarity movement that freed Poland surfaces in this country, Good Luck!!!!!!!
What do you tell your kids? Used to be, "work hard and you'll get ahead", really don't
work anymore. Not even is "get an education" advice that will assure a good life.
I would strongly suggest, "JOIN A UNION, If there isn't one, start one!"

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» Thanks Posted by: Beck
» RE: Thanks Posted by: dangerouslysane

Comments are closed-

They did the same thing at Kinkos - look what happened...
[Report this comment]
Posted by: Colton on Apr 10, 2007 10:38 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
They did the same thing at Kinkos in 1999. Fired all the experienced workers that made 12$ an hour and hired all new workers at minimum wage. Of course they could not 'fire' you for being paid too mutch; they just started documenting every little mistake you made then fired you once they had their 'excuse' on paper.

Most of the people I worked with had been there for 10+ years and were paid accordingly, they could take a steaming pile of shit and squeeze diamonds out of it - because c'mon - nobody goes to Kinkos unless it was due YESTERDAY.

Once they could "post a profit' by cutting their labor costs in half...guess what? ... the quality of work went into the toilet. The average new worker was 'McDonalds' grade mentality and as of this post, Kinkos no longer exists (It went to shit and was bought out by Fed-Ex before it finally folded)

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: Ditto Home Depot Posted by: Sushi
» RE: Ditto Home Depot and... Posted by: vangogh69
» RE: Ditto Home Depot Posted by: babs

Comments are closed-

If you don't like it, don't shop there
[Report this comment]
Posted by: lamar on Apr 10, 2007 10:53 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
If you don't like CC's policies, then don't shop there. And I don't mean that sarcastically. There are two (2 and 1/2?) reasons why you shouldn't shop at Circuit City. First, no kid making minimum can possibly be as experienced as the salesman who knows the history of a particular piece of consumer electronics. As the consumer, YOU are the one who pays for the kid not knowing anything. Sure, he'll tell you what the manufacturer wants advertised, but don't expect any insight. It's that insight that can be the difference between a good buy and a piece of crap. Second, the more we line up to shop at these troughs, the more industries will adopt them. Can you imagine if every store you shopped in had clueless clerks and screw-you customer service? Shopping at Circuit City is a small contribution to that fund. Second and a 1/2: Consumer electronics are not needs. Loving your family doesn't mean spending 12 hours a day at work to buy them a big screen TV. It means leaving work early to play catch. Just a little perspective.

So when I say "if you don't like it, don't shop there" I actually mean it.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: If you don't like it, don't shop there Posted by: Chickensh*tEagle

Comments are closed-

What is a corporation?
[Report this comment]
Posted by: mom'z the word on Apr 10, 2007 10:59 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I was of the opinion that it was the fictitious non-entity we called a corporation that was the root of all the evil in our capitalistic society. This article and these posts have changed my mind. What is a corporation but the sum and substance of the shareholders? Shareholders, individuals, buy shares in a corporation and that is what sustains it.

Without shareholders looking to make a profit, in this case getting something for nothing which is why people buy stocks, corporations would not exist in they way they do today. The bottom line, profit, is he only reason why people invest in stocks.

The fact that shareholders do not care how they make a buck, whether it is by cutting benefits, low wages, no health insurance, is of interest to them. All they care about is the bottom line. Whoever has the biggest gains in the shortest amount of time is where they are going to put their money. They do not care that making profits means people will suffer, that the company is making bombs, and poisons to kill and destroy other living things. None of those factors are of any consequence to the shareholder when it comes to making a profit.

Stockholders make policy not the executives. They control where the money goes by investing in companies that post (legally or illegally it doesn't matter) the highest quarterly gains. Why do the Enron’s and Halliburton’s exist? Because shareholders, not a fictitious person, or the CEO’s, will take there ill gotten gains elsewhere if they profits are not consistently on the rise. So companies do whatever it takes to keep the profits within the profit range that will attract more shareholders. There is just so much money to go around so that means if sales are down someone has to pay shareholders a hefty profit anyway or they will go elsewhere.

That someone, of course is the worker who loses benefits, wages, and an opportunity to succeed. Quality is compromised as it becomes more profitable to cut cost by cutting materials.
Safety of products (cars, food) is compromised as things become more cost effective if safety is no longer a factor. Money spent on these factors can now go into the profit margin so the shareholders always profit the most.

So the next time you see all those people on the podium cheering and clapping at the end of a hard day of profit taking on the stock market it means some poor workers somewhere are getting screwed. And guaranteed quality and safety are compromised because those things cost money that would otherwise go to the shareholders in profits. And this is what America has become. This is our legacy.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: What is a corporation? Posted by: mom'z the word
» RE: What is a corporation? Posted by: henderson
» RE: What is a corporation? Posted by: mom'z the word
» RE: What is a corporation? Posted by: Lincoln fan
» RE: What is a corporation? Posted by: mom'z the word

Comments are closed-

What is a corporation?
[Report this comment]
Posted by: mom'z the word on Apr 10, 2007 11:17 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I was of the opinion that it was the fictitious non-entity we called a corporation that was the root of all the evil in our capitalistic society. This article and these posts have changed my mind. What is a corporation but the sum and substance of the shareholders? Shareholders, individuals, buy shares in a corporation and that is what sustains it.

Without shareholders looking to make a profit, in this case getting something for nothing which is why people buy stocks, corporations would not exist in the way they do today. The bottom line, profit, is the only reason why people invest in stocks.

The fact that shareholders do not care how they make a buck, whether it is by cutting benefits, low wages, no health insurance, is of NO interest to them. All they care about is the bottom line. Whoever has the biggest gains in the shortest amount of time is where they are going to put their money. They do not care that making profits means people will suffer, that the company is making bombs, and poisons to kill and destroy other living things. None of those factors are of any consequence to the shareholder when it comes to making a profit.

Stockholders make policy not the executives. They control where the money goes by investing in companies that post (legally or illegally it doesn't matter) the highest quarterly gains. Why do the Enron’s and Halliburton’s exist? Because shareholders, not a fictitious person, or the CEO’s, will take their ill gotten gains elsewhere if they profits are not consistently on the rise. So companies do whatever it takes to keep the profits within the profit range that will attract more shareholders. There is just so much money to go around so that means if sales are down someone has to pay shareholders a hefty profit anyway or they will go elsewhere.

That someone, of course is the worker who loses benefits, wages, and an opportunity to succeed. Quality is compromised as it becomes more profitable to cut cost by cutting materials.
Safety of products (cars, food) is compromised as things become more cost effective if safety is no longer a factor. Money spent on these factors can now go into the profit margin so the shareholders always profit the most.

So the next time you see all those people on the podium cheering and clapping at the end of a hard day of profit taking on the stock market it means some poor workers somewhere are getting screwed. And guaranteed quality and safety are compromised because those things cost money that would otherwise go to the shareholders in profits. And this is what America has become. This is our legacy.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: What is a corporation? Posted by: Trazom
» RE: What is a corporation? Posted by: mom'z the word

Comments are closed-

We're all on a race to the bottom...
[Report this comment]
Posted by: vangogh69 on Apr 10, 2007 11:36 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Circuit City's story isn't unusual and expect to hear more such stories. Bottom line, the plutocrats/politicians/aristocracy who really run this country (and global finance, let's not limit this critique to the US) view workers as expendable and could care less. They all are on the search for the cheapest labor possible in order to gain the maximum amount of products. Because the world is globalized (in terms of the "market", capitalism, etc.), it will take a world-wide movement to get things changed. That being said, all US workers would do well to put their foot down, en masse, and halt the greed of the bigwigs. Of course, our gov favors the bigwigs and (if history is any guide) has no compunction about using weapons against its population if need be (thinking of the Haymarket Square Massacre, as an example, though there are many). This is a serious issue and I don't have one answer for the problem, but the place to start is education.

2FY!

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

short term memory
[Report this comment]
Posted by: shaynafay on Apr 10, 2007 11:56 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
When I entered the workforce twenty some odd years ago, everyone started at minimum wage. Then if you were still there after 3 months sometimes you received a pay increase to whatever everyone else was making. After that, unless some management job opened up, the only pay increase anyone saw was when they raised the minimum wage. This was true throughout the retail and food service industries. These corperations had an unending supply of teens ready to work for $1.65 an hour. When the economy took a nose dive and the baby boom wore off, all of a sudden adults with families were forced to take these jobs - immigrant or not. Of course people who have worked as an associate at Circuit City for ten years is upset by this, but that position was never meant to last for 10 years.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

Not only all of the above,
[Report this comment]
Posted by: Chickensh*tEagle on Apr 10, 2007 12:02 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
but CC doesn't even have a quiet space where you can hear the loudspeakers you're thinking of shelling out for over all the noise. No class at all. :-(

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

Voices from the street
[Report this comment]
Posted by: fanny666 on Apr 10, 2007 12:27 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Electronics retailer Circuit City recently fired over 3,400 workers, stating that they were going to replace them with new hires willing to work for less. What do you think?

Circuit City

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

robv39
[Report this comment]
Posted by: RobNLA on Apr 10, 2007 1:22 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The laugh is on Circuit City though. They are losing business and having to close some stores.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

Hebrewnomics strikes again
[Report this comment]
Posted by: Wassermann on Apr 10, 2007 4:53 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]

Comments are closed-

"Good old days"
[Report this comment]
Posted by: willymack on Apr 10, 2007 5:19 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
In the good old days, you took a job with the expectation that you'd "get ahead" through hard work, recognition of your worth from your boss, and promotions, so that at the time of your retirement, you could expect to relax and do the things you couldn't do while tied to your job. That's all gone, now. Our elected leaders in the state capitals and Washington have been bought off by a group of greedy bastards who care absolutely NOTHING about the welfare of their employees, and EVERYTHING about how much worth (profits) they can extract from them at a minimal cost. These people have always been there; it's just in the past they've been kept in check by pro- labor laws and pro-labor politicians. It's time to get the pro-labor laws and pro-labor politicians back, and break the stranglehold the neocon scumbags have on every facet of our lives.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: "Good old days" Posted by: Lincoln fan

Comments are closed-

GawkingGeezer
[Report this comment]
Posted by: jbwestwood on Apr 10, 2007 10:20 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I'm old enough to remember the Depression and realistic enough to know that US capitalism will fail only from the economic consequence of global warming or from internal violence sparked by middle and lower class discontent--maybe both. Two party duopoly, duplicity, and political whoredom will keep big money in charge of congress despite all efforts for "clean elections".

One could hope that the spread of opinions now shown in the profusion of internet blogs would create enough popular demand for fundamental changes in governance, including impeachment of miscreants, that past social offenses would be revealed and corrected. But it would be a slim, probably forlorn, hope. Reagan's hatred of big government living on in the stridency of Rush Limbaugh and Grover Norquist ilk makes the birth and well being of a progressive third party very doubtful. And a robust third party is crucial for making changes such as reversal of the 1886 Supreme Court application of 14th Amendment personhood to corporations, simplification of the nation's tax code, and removing Social Security from life support.

One could also hope that existence of the super computers that permit science to monitor climate change might also allow real time monitoring of such social matters as public health, population trends, land and ocean status, etc. Unfortunately, such a hope runs face on into the same greed and stupidity that are largely responsible for our current plight.

And that is why I despair for my grandchildren!

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: GawkingGeezer Posted by: politicky

Comments are closed-

At the San Mateo CA CC store last summer
[Report this comment]
Posted by: greekTowner on Apr 10, 2007 10:22 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I was looking for a Media MVP to watch movies from my computer to my TV. The kid who was trying to assist me had no clue.

Coincidentally (or not), he was going back to college in the Fall and wanted to know if he could watch TV on his computer (small rooms in campus I guess)

I pointed to him the device right there and told him how to use it and how it worked.

Priceless

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

It's Time to Stop Being Such Consumers
[Report this comment]
Posted by: ebishirl on Apr 11, 2007 7:23 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The "success" (to CEOs and stockholders, anyway) of companies like CC, Walmart, etc. is due in large part to all of us consuming far more than we really need (because that's the message we receive 24/7 from every imaginable media source ... even the mini-billboards in public bathrooms). So here's a suggestion that won't help the poor folks who've been culled by corporations like that, but it will hurt the corporations' precious bottom lines: stop buying so much crap.

Use dishrags instead of paper towels. Compost your kitchen scraps instead of buying synthetic fertilizers. Make your own household cleaners with vinegar, baking soda, salt and lemon juice instead of buying all those poisons at the big-box stores. Shop resale stores for clothes and accessories (you can find some really nice things at some resale shops), join the freecycle list, and on and on.

Of course, the downside to this will be a drastic slowdown in the mighty U.S. economic engine ... but it's not really benefitting many of us that much already. Become as self-sufficient as you can, and we won't NEED big-boxes.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

Check This Out!
[Report this comment]
Posted by: armadillo17 on Apr 11, 2007 8:07 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I went to the Circuit City website and posted my wrath and indignation about how they had treated their older workers.

Here was their response:

Dear Valued Customer,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We value our customers' feedback.

As we stated in our news release, we are taking a number of actions to improve our cost and expense structure. We are holding ourselves accountable to our associates, our customers, our communities, and our shareholders to build a strong company that generates sustainable growth for the future.

Our goal is to provide superior service while effectively competing against low-cost retailers. We are working towards this goal by making changes, such as announced yesterday, and with the help of over 40,000 associates who keep our customers at the center of everything we do. We hope you will allow our Circuit City team to serve you in the future.

Sincerely,

S. Oglesby
Customer Support Coordinator
Contact ID # 11287549
________________________________________________
I had told them I would never set foot in Circuit City again.....

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: Check This Out! Posted by: olderworker

Comments are closed-

NURSING
[Report this comment]
Posted by: jjdoggie on Apr 11, 2007 9:32 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The article shows only the tip of the iceberg. Hospitals have laid-off older experienced nurses in favor of new grads, who begin at "starter" hourly wages. Those older nurses who are allowed to stay, have a cap on their "raises". It is unfair for any to be fired for age alone, but try to image this in the health care field -- young nurses need the guidance and knowledge that older nurses can teach them. So much of saving lives depends on seeing those first signs of failure, the changes in skin color, the rapid respirations, evaluating the problem. Older nurses can do this; the new grads must learn this assessment over years. So are your loved ones at risk? YES. Bottom line, as with all corporations, is money.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

Progressives are helpless whiners. Culture of blame and envy.
[Report this comment]
Posted by: Jak_dah_rippah on Apr 11, 2007 7:41 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Jeez, you clowns are the biggest whining pussies on the planet.

If you don't like your job quit, open your own business.

If you don't like your job, retrain - go back to college.

If your employer is greedy, than challenge him in the free market.

If your employer is dumb lucky, than challenge him in the free market.

If your employer is stupid, than challenge him in the free market.

But you won't, because your all lazy, whining, and selfish.

You think that everything that happens to you is because of someone else.

You have no self reliance or discipline.

If you can't succeed in America, you can't succeed anywhere.

You disgust me.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» Logic vs. emotion Posted by: Jak_dah_rippah
» RE: Logic vs. emotion Posted by: Ellie1
» RE: Logic vs. emotion Posted by: Ellie1

Comments are closed-

This is nothing new to me
[Report this comment]
Posted by: bettyn on Apr 11, 2007 8:02 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Virtually ALL of our corporate PIGS do the same thing. My husband had many years of seniority in his company, excellent job reviews and was doing quite well managing a group of 50 young engineers on a project in Washington (state). It didn't matter to the beancounting MBA fat cats at the company HQ's. They gave his job to a younger kid because they could pay him half the salary my husband was getting. To top it off, the corporate CEO absconded with $60,000 of his retirement account.

It's wonderful here in W's Amerikka, isn't it?

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» DONT BLAME DUBYA Posted by: gellero

Comments are closed-

HOW ABOUT DISPLACEMENT OF AMERICANS BY H1-B VISAS
[Report this comment]
Posted by: gellero on Apr 12, 2007 10:22 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Wake up, whiners........the Dems and Reps are in this together....check out this stuff:
JOB DETSRUCTION NEWSLETTER

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

Don't shop at Circuit City!
[Report this comment]
Posted by: johngary66 on Apr 17, 2007 12:48 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Who is going to shop there after all this publicity? The CEO is beyond being an idiot. Unless of course he has a terriffic golden parachute. Stick a fork in them, their done.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Comments are closed-

I NEVER SHOP AT CIRCUIT CITY OR WALMART
[Report this comment]
Posted by: Ellie1 on Apr 18, 2007 4:12 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
and never will. Could Alternet please do a list or post of companies that mistreat their help? I am sure there are others. I know for a fact that Home Depot
is not a good employer. Of course all of these companies have CEO's making millions.

On the plus side, I understand Costco is great to work for. Any help out there? I shop with my conscience as well as my wallet.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

 
Advertisement
From The Blog
 
Clownish Far-Right Lawmaker Calls for Another Administration Official to Resign
 
How Fair Are the Criticisms of Rahm Emanuel?
 
The Hollywood Double Standard: Tiger gets cooked, Charlie Sheen gets another free pass
 
Is Greece the New AIG?
 
Confused About Nutrition? Eat Food!
 
Insurer Denies Life-Prolonging Treatment To Five-Year-Old Boy With Cancer
 
Budget Paranoia
 
Why Does the U.S. Assassinate Americans?
 
Jon Stewart: Why Does Sarah Palin Need a Cheat Sheet?
 
We Must Lift the Veil on US Troops in Pakistan
 
MORE 
ALL BLOGS 
 
 
Most Read
Most Emailed
Most Discussed
On REDDIT
On DIGG
 
  1. Shadow Elite: How the World's New Power Brokers Are Upending Our Democracy
  2. New Poll Results Are Proof That Republicans Don't Think
  3. White "Savior-Afflicted" Christians, Black Haitian Babies: This Won't End Well
  4. Why I Had to Stop Making Hardcore Porn
  5. Sarah Palin Aims to Bust Up the Republican Party -- And the Tea Party Movement
  6. One Company Thinks They've Created Fast Food With a Conscience -- Are They Right?
  7. The Newest Diet Trend: What Would Jesus Eat?
  8. Could Your Cell Phone End Up Killing You?
  9. Half-Naked Hot Chicks and Beer: The Sexist Guyland of the Super Bowl Beer Commercial
  10. Top 10 Problems with America Killing Its Own Citizens
loading ...
POWERED BY DIGG'S USERS
ABOUT DIGG