If there are any Union reps reading this—- get going and start going after Staples. We need to band together here and stop getting pushed around and taken advantage of by Sycamore and Staples heartless executives.
WHERE ARE THE UNION ORGANIZERS?????
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My parents worked for union companies most of their lives. They were good for my parents and provided a bit of security and gave them decent pensions. But my parents worked in manufacturing.
Staples is not a manufacturing company, so a union makes no sense here, and will not help anything. These days, corporations care about money, not people. Bottom line, end of story.
A point of clarification on the WARN act. Certain states have more stringent restrictions than the Federal law you quoted, and if you combine all the layoffs from the different divisions happening- I can guarantee you that if you pool all those people together- you will arrive at the numbers that trigger notification. You are also right unions can’t save a failing business, but Sycamore and Staples are acting without any accountability to anyone in the decisions being made around who lets go and how. Power in numbers adds visibility and a level of accountability. This is a basic premise of the democratic way. No one is asking for free handouts with a Union, but simply fairness and transparency. How can you justify top performers being let go in lieu of lesser experienced, and cheaper labor? Remember two words that are missing in this entire process— TRANSPARENCY, and ACCOUNTABILITY.
just tagging this:
The Warn Act does not apply if 1) Less than 50 workers at a single location are let go; 2) If between 50 and 499 workers are let go at a single location and this represents less than 33% of the total workforce at that location.
In other words, for the Warn Act to apply you need > 50 people and greater than 33% of the workers at a single location let go.
#Warn #SixtyDays #SixtyDayNotice #SixtyDaysNotice #StaplesLayoffs
The Warn Act does not apply if 1) Less than 50 workers at a single location are let go; 2) If between 50 and 499 workers are let go at a single location and this represents less than 33% of the total workforce at that location.
In other words, for the Warn Act to apply you need > 50 people and greater than 33% of the workers at a single location let go.
When Coporate Express was purchased many of their SDOs were unionized. Drivers would tell you the union really didn’t do much for them other than get CE to help pay for work shoes. The group I worked with actually wanted to decertify but couldn’t pull enough money together to hire an attorney to do it. Unions can’t help layoffs. If a business is failing there’s nothing they can do.
I think unions are a good thing in a situation like what’s going on at Staples today. Private company buys Staples- no accountability to anyone- no visibility on decisions to anyone- no notice ( which is a violation of the Federal and state WARN acts by the way)- arbitrary decisions on who gets laid off and who stays- higher paid employees let go - older workers getting cut in disproprationate amounts- everyone in fear of getting laid off regardless of performance—-yeah I think unions can help offer a layer of stability and accountability in this climate—-
so eat sht and die, workers!
Staples by in large is a Sales organization. We sell stuff. We don't make widgets, shoestring eyelets etc. We sell other peoples stuff, or there are managers that manage the sales people. A very small portion of the total associates work in any capacity that could be unionized. And of those a portion could easily be transitioned to a third party company. Management is not going to unionize, the sales people aren't going to unionize, that leaves you with order management and Supply Chain that could unionize, but history has shown Staples aversion to allowing unionization by quickly shifting to a third party solution, how much more do you think a private equity firm would shift to a third party solution. Thanks Union organizers for helping everyone who is not on board with a union solution find themselves without a job. Yes there are Federal Laws against stopping Unionization, but 28 states have said you have a right to term anyone without cause at anytime as a business, on top of business tactics that outsource job roles that could potential be the target of organized unions.
There are dozen of tactics to prevent Unions from being established, stop looking to unions to secure your job. they only drive up the cost of doing business, less efficiency because it is void of incentives, promotes corruption just to name three. A nonunion company will out perform a union company any day of the week. Unions had their place when workplace safety and unfair practices were rampant, Unions are only a drain on a business to the point no one has a job because they drive business to the point of unprofitability. Again, business are in business to make a profit. Investors invest to make a profit, they aren't there to guarantee you a job, stop being a socialist. Sycamore like it or not owns Staples and they own us to make a profit, not guarantee you a job for life. Like Margret Thatcher said, Socialism works great until you run out of other peoples money, paraphrased Unions work great until the company runs out of money or closes its doors because it can not maintain profitability.
Wow talk about fear mongering. Everyone who is talking negatively about unions must be in management. Lol.... and to the “snowflake” comment— doesn’t matter if Staples is private or not, they can’t fire people or even try and stop them from unionizing. It is a protected right and there are federal labor laws in place to ensure that. If they want to start shutting down pieces of the business to stem the tide as you suggest- fine go ahead. Highly doubt they would destroy a 6.9 billion dollar investment because of organized labor.
Yes, because unions always help make things better.......unions may be your answer and appetizing in the upper Midwest and Northeast but The South has never really like Northern Organizers, Labor Unions or otherwise. There are 28 right to work states currently. Which means for you non-right to work states, an employer does not have to give cause to fire, or lay you off. All you have to say is "your services are no longer needed",So as soon as you move towards a union, Sycamore would just shut offices down to stem the tide. The Northeast Supply Chain had a move towards a Union years ago and Staples went all third party to avoid having to deal with the Teamsters. That solution went so WELL for those Supply Chain employees that did not want a union! They joined the list of unemployed, Thanks Union organizers!
Yes, because unions always help make things better.......unions may be your answer and appetizing in the upper Midwest and Northeast but The South has never really like Northern Organizers, Labor Unions or otherwise. There are 28 right to work states currently. Which means for you non-right to work states, an employer does not have to give cause to fire, or lay you off. All you have to say is "your services are no longer needed",So as soon as you move towards a union, Sycamore would just shut offices down to stem the tide. The Northeast Supply Chain had a move towards a Union years ago and Staples went all third party to avoid having to deal with the Teamsters. That solution went so WELL for those Supply Chain employees that did not want a union! They joined the list of employed, Thanks Union organizers!
Regarding the “snowflake” comment - grow up I agree, unionize this mess.
Unions?! Right, no you are looking for entitled security at all costs.
Dear Snowflake,
Companies are not in business to provide you with a job. Companies exist to provide a profit to its investors. If you want entitled job security go live in a communist country living on bread scraps, government controlled factories sweatshops, child labor, fixed income, and adjunct squalor. If we had been profitable then there would have been no reason to sell to Sycamore, now that we are own by a private equity firm its about bottom line how much money are we putting into the bank. Example, every dollar of furniture sold we lost 2 cents. There is not a single company or industry that has benefited from a Union. Being privately held those attempting to unionize would be fired immediately, especially in Right to Work states. Stop looking for someone to secure your job and feeling entitled.
Hello Staples is a private company now Sycamore Partners would never let that happen to tis company.
There are no Pros to a Union. They are bankrupting companies and local governments at an alarming rate. They had their place when workplace conditions were dangerous, but they have no place now. There's a reason private sector union membership has dropped 37% since 1983. No one needs or wants them. Read that again. 37% less people feel they need Union representation in the private sector. Only 6.7% of private sector workers were part of a Union in 2015. They have no place.
Unions don’t bankrupt a company. They offer protection, leverage, security, and accountability! You probably should fully understand all facets of what they are about. I am not saying it’s all positive— but at this point the pros outweigh the cons.
Yes, by all means. Let's get some Unions in here to drive costs through the roof and bankrupt the company. Solid plan.