Employee-owned companies

[pchang]

Rah didn't get the joke.

[rah]

Sometimes I take people too seriously.

[pchang]

Cockney has faith in "the people". But, why would one think that a new hire's opinions about how a business should be run are just as valid as the founder's?

[rah]

Some founders run their companies into the ground because they refuse to adapt to changing times.
But yes, in general the noob is a noob.

[C0ckney]

pchang has faith in authority and discipline, and believes that people cannot be trusted to weigh and value others' opinions, but rather need to be told what to do.

[pchang]

Actually, I just give 0 weight and value to the opinions of idiots.

[Elok]

I probably should have foreseen this outcome for the thread, given the topic. My experience with grocery work is limited to six horrible months with Safeway, where management and labor each viewed the other with a barely concealed attitude of "how can I most efficiently exploit this situation?" It seems just possible that perhaps if benefits and such were available, the grocery could attract better people and keep them from the ****-this-place mentality, at least for a little while.

[C0ckney]

to give a practical example, i know some people who run a cooperative coffee shop in bristol. they're certainly not rich, but they all make a decent living out of it. they work together and they decide things collectively. of course there are some problems; there are sometimes governance issues, there can be disagreements and even arguments, but they work it out for themselves; they are in control of their working lives.

if one looks at their position vis-à-vis workers in corporate coffee shops or similar, there's really no comparison. those workers earn the legal minimum, have no democratic input into their work and are insecure in their jobs, sometimes not even knowing how many hours they will work from one week to the next.

now of course people might say that starbucks, etc. are far more 'successful' than my friends' coffee shop, but what does success mean in this case? it means a small cadre getting rich off the labour of a huge numbers of insecure minimum wage workers. or to put it another way, if every starbucks, costa, etc. were run like my friends' coffee shop, their workers would enjoy much better lives.

[C0ckney]

Actually, I just give 0 weight and value to the opinions of idiots.

it must be hard not being able to trust your own opinion.

[rah]

A small group of people will find it easier to resolve issues.
The more people involved the harder it becomes.

[pchang]

it must be hard not being able to trust your own opinion.

And that's why you get a 0.

[C0ckney]

A small group of people will find it easier to resolve issues.
The more people involved the harder it becomes.

that's true, but there's no reason why people can't come together and find solutions to those kind of problems. let's imagine a fast food chain has 1000 employees in one city. it might be impractical to bring everyone together at once, so every branch could elect one or two representatives and then that group comes together to decide on whatever needs to be done; or some other solution, the people best placed to decide are those involved.

if people are treated like adults, they'll usually find a way to makes things work. if they're treated like disobedient children, then that's how they'll behave.

[C0ckney]

And that's why you get a 0.

that's nice, but in order to care i'd have to respect you.

[Dinner]

Winco has some great grocery prices (but a some what limited selection) and they are employee owned. It is a shame there are none south of Riverside County.

[BlackCat]

A small group of people will find it easier to resolve issues.
The more people involved the harder it becomes.

Depends :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danish_cooperative_movement