Posted on 07/09/2013 3:34:11 AM PDT by grundle
Craig Davis, a former forklift operator at a Hostess cake plant in Emporia, Kan., has been unemployed since November, when the Twinkies maker shut its factories and began liquidation proceedings.
He could have applied to get his old job back now that the plant is churning out Twinkies, Zingers and Ding Dongs in preparation for a July 15 return to store shelves. But he said the current starting salary of about $11 an hour, with the chance to bump it to $14, is "a slap in the face."
"When I left, I was making $16.53 an hour, so I just didn't see the point," said Mr. Davis, who worked at the plant for almost 22 years.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
For a fork lift operator with 22 years of experience, $16.53 is not too much to pay.
The fact they want him to return at a "starting" salary of $11 an hour is an insult.
A forklift should not be operated by some teenager earning barely more than minimum wage who has no long term stake in the job. From a business point of view, Hostess is making a huge mistake.
Americans may have to decide if they want Twinkies or they want Big Government.
Looks like they can’t have both.
I see your point and that sounds perfectly reasonable. However, if an employer can hire a forklift driver at $11/hour and the employee agrees to those terms than it’s just a fact of life. But the employer must also take into consideration safety issues, and it’s possible they could lose money on this deal if a teenager keeps damaging too much goods.
Agree. Seems they could pay him what he was making less union dues.
There are enough people who will take the job at that wage and if there aren’t the company will have to raise the pay to attract them. It’s called capitalism and the market place. No sympathy here for the forklift driver who got layed off. If he finds a better job more power to him. Go for it.
“Mr. Davis, the former forklift operator, said he’s hoping for a job at a power plant after he finishes his associate’s degree in power-plant technology next year from a vocational school he’s attending through a government retraining program.”
Looks like he’s being pro-active and getting some retraining.
It's the market wage. If he thinks he can find somebody willing to pay him more, he is, at all times, free to quit and move to a better paying job.
Alternately: Robot forklift
Hostess could not break even when it was union run. Simple as that.
Hostess could not break even when it was union run. Simple as that.
no sympathy
Actually, Hostess is doing no such thing because they don't exist anymore. They went belly up--Chapter 7.
This is a new company that bought some of the old company's assets including the name.
I am in favor of market forces that cause companies run at the point of a union gun to crash and burn.
Unions have bankrupted all of us via government involvement, not just companies that have tried to work with them. My damned taxes have gone to prop up teacher union health benefits in Massachusetts, and dumb ass ridiculous union benefits in the auto industry.
Screw that. You may find it "fun", but I think it is damned criminal.
“Americans may have to decide if they want Twinkies or they want Big Government.”
That’s easy...I want neither!
Is there really much difference between 1 and 22 years experience operating a fork lift?
On the basis of all those who mourned the loss of their Twinkies, I’d say you’re in a minority.
At all events, the makers of Twinkies intend to... make Twinkies.
Somehow, that doesn’t shock me.
For a fork lift operator with 22 years of experience, $16.53 is not too much to pay.
Who is to decide that? You? Me? Nope, the market decides. This is actually a low skill job that is done in many modern factories by robots.
The fact they want him to return at a "starting" salary of $11 an hour is an insult.
Really? So $16.53 is not an insult but $11 is. Is $12 insulting? Is $13 insulting? Is $14 insulting? Who decides what an "insulting" wage is? And, if you are insulted, what is your response? A strike? Unemployment? A duel?
A forklift should not be operated by some teenager earning barely more than minimum wage who has no long term stake in the job.
Actually that depends on the kid's skill level and attitude.
Sorry, but as a (L), the job belongs to the employer, they are free to NOT take the job at the rate offered.
My own take: There are plenty of teens across the U.S. drive forklifts for less, lucky to be offered w/ the upped rate.
Yeah. His advocacy and membership in unions that suck all the money out of taxpayers wallets wasn’t enough, now he is sucking MORE money from our wallets via a government retraining program so he can go to work with some other union scumbag job, which he will do in a heartbeat.
Gee, all that money he spent in union dues, enough to sink Hostess, you would think some of that money could be used by a union to pay for retraining, but that might change the color of the pockets of the union to something less than a desirable color of green.
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