Trump, doesn't have to issue a nuclear strike, he just has to issue an order that threatens the soveriegnty of North Korea, and depending on what that action is (land invasion, assassin attempt, drone strikes, full blockade) the consequences of his actions will be squarely on him.
Here is hoping North Korea can send their figure skating team to the Olympics in February. I think it'd a step in the right direction in obtaining peace and stability in the region.
I was interested to see that the UK's Royal Statistical Society made 69 their International Statistic of the Year. That's nothing to do with sexual positions I'm afraid, but refers to the number of people in the US killed by lawnmowers - aimed at contrasting that with the much lower risk of being killed by terrorism and the far, far higher risk of being shot by another American.
I was interested to see that the UK's Royal Statistical Society made 69 their International Statistic of the Year. That's nothing to do with sexual positions I'm afraid, but refers to the number of people in the US killed by lawnmowers - aimed at contrasting that with the much lower risk of being killed by terrorism and the far, far higher risk of being shot by another American.
More people were killed as a result of babies (infants/toddlers) getting ahold of unlocked firearms last year than by terrorism in the US. That is not a satirical statement.
Trump is now claiming former Chief Strategist Steve Bannon had "nothing to do with me or my presidency" and that he rarely met him and when he did he had only pretend influence on Donald Trump.
Why? Steve wrote a book called "What Happened" er some other title actually that calls the Trump Tower meeting with Don Jr. "treasonous" and "unpatriotic".
Trump is now claiming former Chief Strategist Steve Bannon had "nothing to do with me or my presidency" and that he rarely met him and when he did he had only pretend influence on Donald Trump.
Why? Steve wrote a book called "What Happened" er some other title actually that calls the Trump Tower meeting with Don Jr. "treasonous" and "unpatriotic".
In the end, everyone of them will turn on each other, because, from the beginning, Trump's campaign and Presidency have been nothing but a group of jackals out for personal enrichment. Trump is a pig, he attracted other pigs to his orbit, and now begins a mad dash to get out of the shit and pretend you weren't rolling around in it for the last two years.
As for Trump not knowing Bannon, even if you were to take this preposterous statement at face value, you'd then have to square up to the fact that Trump apparently had no contact with EITHER of his last two campaign managers (Manafort and Bannon).
In the midst the excerpts from this book coming out today, the biggest takeaway is surely this: Nearly EVERYONE around Trump thinks he is an idiot who is horrifically unqualified for the job. Yet they supported his candidacy and support his Presidency regardless. Because tax cuts. We have never seen such naked, obvious cynicism at play in American politics.
As I stated previously, the raise on minimum wage is beginning to hinder the people it was suppose to help. Case in point, some Tim Horton's franchises are clawing back benefits and paid breaks. One person in the article said it would take $51 off his pay cheque. That's $100 a month gone.
And
Algonquin College did the math, and it will cost them $30 million in their budget. This is either going to increase class sizes, terminate factuality, increase tuition cost or most likely, all of the above.
From the same Algonquin editorial it also states "Ontario’s financial watchdog — the Financial Accountability Office — has said that raising the minimum wage will cost this province 50,000 jobs."
In the midst the excerpts from this book coming out today, the biggest takeaway is surely this: Nearly EVERYONE around Trump thinks he is an idiot who is horrifically unqualified for the job. Yet they supported his candidacy and support his Presidency regardless. Because tax cuts. We have never seen such naked, obvious cynicism at play in American politics.
A useful idiot I believe is the term. Supposedly Putin thinks so too.
As I stated previously, the raise on minimum wage is beginning to hinder the people it was suppose to help. Case in point, some Tim Horton's franchises are clawing back benefits and paid breaks. One person in the article said it would take $51 off his pay cheque. That's $100 a month gone.
And
Algonquin College did the math, and it will cost them $30 million in their budget. This is either going to increase class sizes, terminate factuality, increase tuition cost or most likely, all of the above.
From the same Algonquin editorial it also states "Ontario’s financial watchdog — the Financial Accountability Office — has said that raising the minimum wage will cost this province 50,000 jobs."
And this minimum wage hike is only 3 days old.
Wait until the skilled laborers start complaining that they need raises now to keep up with inflation. I've always thought that raising the minimum wage was a Catch 22. The best way to increase your wages is to train yourself for an actual skilled job not bitch about being screwed by 'the man' because you're supposedly underpaid. Wages are set by the amount of skill required not by how much money the laborer requires to take of themselves or their family. Sorry, it's the truth...
That document the Tim Horton's employees are being required to sign reads like nothing short of employer extortion or a hostage letter. No paid 15 minute breaks now?? Nothing but corporate whining and unmitigated greed. As for the hike only being 3 days old, how can businesses possibly be pointing to it as an excuse when they haven't even bothered to wait even HALF of one full pay-period to start using it as an excuse. Maybe they should wait at least until they sign the first check.
It's a bunch of heirs and heiresses trying to make some point by putting the foot on the necks of their employees. I seriously doubt a single-executive anywhere along the food chain is sacrificing even a dime. Certainly these kids who inherited the franchises from mommy and daddy aren't willing to sacrifice anything for their workers. These employees should pull themselves up by their bootstraps and inherit their own coffee chain. After all, THEY did it.
To be fair, companies would do estimates on the impact of the minimum wage change well in advance of it taking effect. It's not surprising they would change their policies very early.
Wages are set by the amount of skill required not by how much money the laborer requires to take of themselves or their family. Sorry, it's the truth...
On the contrary, wages are determined by the balance between how much the employer is willing to pay and how much the employee is willing to work for. Companies pay more for skilled labor and skilled laborers aren't willing to work for lower wages, so skilled labor makes more money. It's not the skill itself that increases pay; it's bargaining power. There are plenty of highly skilled positions that pay very little money (most people would give their own job as an example).
Your employer doesn't pay you as much as you're worth. They pay you as much as they have to.
To be fair, companies would do estimates on the impact of the minimum wage change well in advance of it taking effect. It's not surprising they would change their policies very early.
Wages are set by the amount of skill required not by how much money the laborer requires to take of themselves or their family. Sorry, it's the truth...
On the contrary, wages are determined by the balance between how much the employer is willing to pay and how much the employee is willing to work for. Companies pay more for skilled labor and skilled laborers aren't willing to work for lower wages, so skilled labor makes more money. It's not the skill itself that increases pay; it's bargaining power. There are plenty of highly skilled positions that pay very little money (most people would give their own job as an example).
Your employer doesn't pay you as much as you're worth. They pay you as much as they have to.
The power dynamic between people who are financially stable (business owners) and people who almost certainly aren't (people in the position of having to work for the minimum wage) is nearly infinite. You can exploit someone who is desperate or feels they have no other options very easily. This isn't about Tim Horton's franchise owners losing money. It's about them losing power. Specifically, the power to exploit their workers. Which they are reasserting in spades.
That document the Tim Horton's employees are being required to sign reads like nothing short of employer extortion or a hostage letter. No paid 15 minute breaks now?? Nothing but corporate whining and unmitigated greed.
Not really.
Unlike other businesses, franchisees aren't allowed to set prices for the goods they sell, so the money that they are losing needs to be offset from a place where they can control costs. As I said prior, the only place were costs can be controlled by an owner is payroll.
Everything they are doing is still within Ontario labour laws as well. 15 minutes may not seem like much, but 6 working employees making minimum wage not being paid for their two 15 minute breaks saves the store $40 a day. In coffee terms, without taking away those pay breaks, the store would have to sell 26 more cups of coffee to break even and one thing about coffee houses, they have a steady stream of regular customers, but its extremely hard to cater to new clientele, especially in smaller markets like towns and hamlets.
I'd rather the owners take away those paid breaks than shutter one of their locations which would be another option they can take. If the stores can't offset these costs, it is an option owners would have to reluctantly take.
You also have to remember, this isn't just a minor bump. It's a 35% increase to minimum wage. What would your employer do if they were forced to just give you a 35% pay raise? Or what would they do if they had to give everyone who is lower in pay scale than you a 35% raise?
And NO ONE asked for this. The NDP (far left) was proposing it, but proposing to phase it in more slowly. Labour groups and small businesses were warning the government that raising the minimum wage this quickly would have a negative effect on their businesses. These weren't threats, these were realities that the Ontario government ignored in an attempt to win some votes in the next election. It backfired. And it backfired on everyone.
That document the Tim Horton's employees are being required to sign reads like nothing short of employer extortion or a hostage letter. No paid 15 minute breaks now?? Nothing but corporate whining and unmitigated greed.
Not really.
Unlike other businesses, franchisees aren't allowed to set prices for the goods they sell, so the money that they are losing needs to be offset from a place where they can control costs. As I said prior, the only place were costs can be controlled by an owner is payroll.
Everything they are doing is still within Ontario labour laws as well. 15 minutes may not seem like much, but 6 working employees making minimum wage not being paid for their two 15 minute breaks saves the store $40 a day. In coffee terms, without taking away those pay breaks, the store would have to sell 26 more cups of coffee to break even and one thing about coffee houses, they have a steady stream of regular customers, but its extremely hard to cater to new clientele, especially in smaller markets like towns and hamlets.
I'd rather the owners take away those paid breaks than shutter one of their locations which would be another option they can take. If the stores can't offset these costs, it is an option owners would have to reluctantly take.
You also have to remember, this isn't just a minor bump. It's a 35% increase to minimum wage. What would your employer do if they were forced to just give you a 35% pay raise? Or what would they do if they had to give everyone who is lower in pay scale than you a 35% raise?
And NO ONE asked for this. The NDP (far left) was proposing it, but proposing to phase it in more slowly. Labour groups and small businesses were warning the government that raising the minimum wage this quickly would have a negative effect on their businesses. These weren't threats, these were realities that the Ontario government ignored in an attempt to win some votes in the next election. It backfired. And it backfired on everyone.
From what I read about the franchise, they are gonna be selling alot fewer cups of coffee because of their response to this. From the information I can gather, this company made $90 million in profits (not revenue) last quarter. A full 5% increase. Where is it going?? They can afford to pay their employees for breaks. And their previous benefits. And this wage increase. They just don't want to.
The letter they wrote is nothing but a passive aggressive "f**k you" to everyone who works there, and I would know, since I am pretty passive aggressive myself. The "Sincerely, Jeri, Ron and Lisa" part is a real hoot. Everything about how that letter is constructed and reads tells me they have been itching to take away these benefits for years, just foaming at the mouth for an excuse. And they frame the entire thing like they have been nothing but kind benefactors up to this point. Have they not been merciful for paying for 15 minute breaks (which I guarantee alot of these employees don't even get to take) and offering one day off every six months?? They will continue to offer ONE day of paid funeral leave, so, you know, there's that. When my grandmother died last summer my boss approved 4 days paid funeral leave for me without blinking an eyelash.
That document the Tim Horton's employees are being required to sign reads like nothing short of employer extortion or a hostage letter. No paid 15 minute breaks now?? Nothing but corporate whining and unmitigated greed.
Not really.
Unlike other businesses, franchisees aren't allowed to set prices for the goods they sell, so the money that they are losing needs to be offset from a place where they can control costs. As I said prior, the only place were costs can be controlled by an owner is payroll.
Everything they are doing is still within Ontario labour laws as well. 15 minutes may not seem like much, but 6 working employees making minimum wage not being paid for their two 15 minute breaks saves the store $40 a day. In coffee terms, without taking away those pay breaks, the store would have to sell 26 more cups of coffee to break even and one thing about coffee houses, they have a steady stream of regular customers, but its extremely hard to cater to new clientele, especially in smaller markets like towns and hamlets.
I'd rather the owners take away those paid breaks than shutter one of their locations which would be another option they can take. If the stores can't offset these costs, it is an option owners would have to reluctantly take.
You also have to remember, this isn't just a minor bump. It's a 35% increase to minimum wage. What would your employer do if they were forced to just give you a 35% pay raise? Or what would they do if they had to give everyone who is lower in pay scale than you a 35% raise?
And NO ONE asked for this. The NDP (far left) was proposing it, but proposing to phase it in more slowly. Labour groups and small businesses were warning the government that raising the minimum wage this quickly would have a negative effect on their businesses. These weren't threats, these were realities that the Ontario government ignored in an attempt to win some votes in the next election. It backfired. And it backfired on everyone.
From what I read about the franchise, they are gonna be selling alot fewer cups of coffee because of their response to this. From the information I can gather, this company made $90 million in profits (not revenue) last quarter. A full 5% increase. Where is it going?? They can afford to pay their employees for breaks. And their previous benefits. And this wage increase. They just don't want to. The letter they wrote is nothing but a passive aggressive "f**k you" to everyone who works there, and I would know, since I am pretty passive aggressive myself.
Keep in mind that those numbers are for the parent company that also owns Burger King. Those numbers have no reflection on individual stores. That money is collected from Franchise fees that the owners have to pay monthly which is a flat rate + percentage of sales.
Don't get confused with the word "heir's" in the story. The business was sold and made public a decade ago. They own a store (or two) now, were more than generous with their benefits prior to this increase (100% benefits paid? Like those employees had it good. I doubt any other small business owner would cover that). The store still needs to make money and if labour cost brings the store into the red, something has to give.
That document the Tim Horton's employees are being required to sign reads like nothing short of employer extortion or a hostage letter. No paid 15 minute breaks now?? Nothing but corporate whining and unmitigated greed.
Not really.
Unlike other businesses, franchisees aren't allowed to set prices for the goods they sell, so the money that they are losing needs to be offset from a place where they can control costs. As I said prior, the only place were costs can be controlled by an owner is payroll.
Everything they are doing is still within Ontario labour laws as well. 15 minutes may not seem like much, but 6 working employees making minimum wage not being paid for their two 15 minute breaks saves the store $40 a day. In coffee terms, without taking away those pay breaks, the store would have to sell 26 more cups of coffee to break even and one thing about coffee houses, they have a steady stream of regular customers, but its extremely hard to cater to new clientele, especially in smaller markets like towns and hamlets.
I'd rather the owners take away those paid breaks than shutter one of their locations which would be another option they can take. If the stores can't offset these costs, it is an option owners would have to reluctantly take.
You also have to remember, this isn't just a minor bump. It's a 35% increase to minimum wage. What would your employer do if they were forced to just give you a 35% pay raise? Or what would they do if they had to give everyone who is lower in pay scale than you a 35% raise?
And NO ONE asked for this. The NDP (far left) was proposing it, but proposing to phase it in more slowly. Labour groups and small businesses were warning the government that raising the minimum wage this quickly would have a negative effect on their businesses. These weren't threats, these were realities that the Ontario government ignored in an attempt to win some votes in the next election. It backfired. And it backfired on everyone.
From what I read about the franchise, they are gonna be selling alot fewer cups of coffee because of their response to this. From the information I can gather, this company made $90 million in profits (not revenue) last quarter. A full 5% increase. Where is it going?? They can afford to pay their employees for breaks. And their previous benefits. And this wage increase. They just don't want to. The letter they wrote is nothing but a passive aggressive "f**k you" to everyone who works there, and I would know, since I am pretty passive aggressive myself.
Keep in mind that those numbers are for the parent company that also owns Burger King. Those numbers have no reflection on individual stores. That money is collected from Franchise fees that the owners have to pay monthly which is a flat rate + percentage of sales.
Don't get confused with the word "heir's" in the story. The business was sold and made public a decade ago. They own a store (or two) now, were more than generous with their benefits prior to this increase (100% benefits paid? Like those employees had it good. I doubt any other small business owner would cover that). The store still needs to make money and if labour cost brings the store into the red, something has to give.
They also state in the letter that they are not going to receive help from the "head office", which, unless I am completely wrong, means the franchise itself. Why not?? My assumption would be because it is all being pocketed at the very top.
That document the Tim Horton's employees are being required to sign reads like nothing short of employer extortion or a hostage letter. No paid 15 minute breaks now?? Nothing but corporate whining and unmitigated greed.
Not really.
Unlike other businesses, franchisees aren't allowed to set prices for the goods they sell, so the money that they are losing needs to be offset from a place where they can control costs. As I said prior, the only place were costs can be controlled by an owner is payroll.
Everything they are doing is still within Ontario labour laws as well. 15 minutes may not seem like much, but 6 working employees making minimum wage not being paid for their two 15 minute breaks saves the store $40 a day. In coffee terms, without taking away those pay breaks, the store would have to sell 26 more cups of coffee to break even and one thing about coffee houses, they have a steady stream of regular customers, but its extremely hard to cater to new clientele, especially in smaller markets like towns and hamlets.
I'd rather the owners take away those paid breaks than shutter one of their locations which would be another option they can take. If the stores can't offset these costs, it is an option owners would have to reluctantly take.
You also have to remember, this isn't just a minor bump. It's a 35% increase to minimum wage. What would your employer do if they were forced to just give you a 35% pay raise? Or what would they do if they had to give everyone who is lower in pay scale than you a 35% raise?
And NO ONE asked for this. The NDP (far left) was proposing it, but proposing to phase it in more slowly. Labour groups and small businesses were warning the government that raising the minimum wage this quickly would have a negative effect on their businesses. These weren't threats, these were realities that the Ontario government ignored in an attempt to win some votes in the next election. It backfired. And it backfired on everyone.
From what I read about the franchise, they are gonna be selling alot fewer cups of coffee because of their response to this. From the information I can gather, this company made $90 million in profits (not revenue) last quarter. A full 5% increase. Where is it going?? They can afford to pay their employees for breaks. And their previous benefits. And this wage increase. They just don't want to. The letter they wrote is nothing but a passive aggressive "f**k you" to everyone who works there, and I would know, since I am pretty passive aggressive myself.
Keep in mind that those numbers are for the parent company that also owns Burger King. Those numbers have no reflection on individual stores. That money is collected from Franchise fees that the owners have to pay monthly which is a flat rate + percentage of sales.
Don't get confused with the word "heir's" in the story. The business was sold and made public a decade ago. They own a store (or two) now, were more than generous with their benefits prior to this increase (100% benefits paid? Like those employees had it good. I doubt any other small business owner would cover that). The store still needs to make money and if labour cost brings the store into the red, something has to give.
They also state in the letter that they are not going to receive help from the "head office", which, unless I am completely wrong, means the franchise itself. Why not?? My assumption would be because it is all being pocketed at the very top.
Yes, the very top, which isn't the people who wrote the letter. The Parent company just pocket the money, supply the branding and marketing and let the store owners do the heavy lifting.
"Almost all of our restaurants in Canada are independently owned and operated by small business Owners who are responsible for handling all employment matters, including all policies for benefits and wages, for their restaurants." "Restaurant Owners are expected to comply with all applicable laws and regulations within their jurisdiction."
So one franchisee could be giving better benefits and wages than the other one down the street. These wages and benefits cuts into the franchisee's bottom line, but it doesn't cut into the corporates bottom line.
That document the Tim Horton's employees are being required to sign reads like nothing short of employer extortion or a hostage letter. No paid 15 minute breaks now?? Nothing but corporate whining and unmitigated greed.
Not really.
Unlike other businesses, franchisees aren't allowed to set prices for the goods they sell, so the money that they are losing needs to be offset from a place where they can control costs. As I said prior, the only place were costs can be controlled by an owner is payroll.
Everything they are doing is still within Ontario labour laws as well. 15 minutes may not seem like much, but 6 working employees making minimum wage not being paid for their two 15 minute breaks saves the store $40 a day. In coffee terms, without taking away those pay breaks, the store would have to sell 26 more cups of coffee to break even and one thing about coffee houses, they have a steady stream of regular customers, but its extremely hard to cater to new clientele, especially in smaller markets like towns and hamlets.
I'd rather the owners take away those paid breaks than shutter one of their locations which would be another option they can take. If the stores can't offset these costs, it is an option owners would have to reluctantly take.
You also have to remember, this isn't just a minor bump. It's a 35% increase to minimum wage. What would your employer do if they were forced to just give you a 35% pay raise? Or what would they do if they had to give everyone who is lower in pay scale than you a 35% raise?
And NO ONE asked for this. The NDP (far left) was proposing it, but proposing to phase it in more slowly. Labour groups and small businesses were warning the government that raising the minimum wage this quickly would have a negative effect on their businesses. These weren't threats, these were realities that the Ontario government ignored in an attempt to win some votes in the next election. It backfired. And it backfired on everyone.
From what I read about the franchise, they are gonna be selling alot fewer cups of coffee because of their response to this. From the information I can gather, this company made $90 million in profits (not revenue) last quarter. A full 5% increase. Where is it going?? They can afford to pay their employees for breaks. And their previous benefits. And this wage increase. They just don't want to. The letter they wrote is nothing but a passive aggressive "f**k you" to everyone who works there, and I would know, since I am pretty passive aggressive myself.
Keep in mind that those numbers are for the parent company that also owns Burger King. Those numbers have no reflection on individual stores. That money is collected from Franchise fees that the owners have to pay monthly which is a flat rate + percentage of sales.
Don't get confused with the word "heir's" in the story. The business was sold and made public a decade ago. They own a store (or two) now, were more than generous with their benefits prior to this increase (100% benefits paid? Like those employees had it good. I doubt any other small business owner would cover that). The store still needs to make money and if labour cost brings the store into the red, something has to give.
They also state in the letter that they are not going to receive help from the "head office", which, unless I am completely wrong, means the franchise itself. Why not?? My assumption would be because it is all being pocketed at the very top.
Yes, the very top, which isn't the people who wrote the letter. The Parent company just pocket the money, supply the branding and marketing and let the store owners do the heavy lifting.
"Almost all of our restaurants in Canada are independently owned and operated by small business Owners who are responsible for handling all employment matters, including all policies for benefits and wages, for their restaurants." "Restaurant Owners are expected to comply with all applicable laws and regulations within their jurisdiction."
So one franchisee could be giving better benefits and wages than the other one down the street. These wages and benefits cuts into the franchisee's bottom line, but it doesn't cut into the corporates bottom line.
I have no idea what the children are worth individually, but given that their father (or father-in-law in one case) had a net worth of over a billion dollars as recently as 2013 as a result of the sale of the company, my guess is they are all sitting on piles of cash, certainly enough to pay workers decent wages and benefits at handful of franchisee locations.
That document the Tim Horton's employees are being required to sign reads like nothing short of employer extortion or a hostage letter. No paid 15 minute breaks now?? Nothing but corporate whining and unmitigated greed.
Not really.
Unlike other businesses, franchisees aren't allowed to set prices for the goods they sell, so the money that they are losing needs to be offset from a place where they can control costs. As I said prior, the only place were costs can be controlled by an owner is payroll.
Everything they are doing is still within Ontario labour laws as well. 15 minutes may not seem like much, but 6 working employees making minimum wage not being paid for their two 15 minute breaks saves the store $40 a day. In coffee terms, without taking away those pay breaks, the store would have to sell 26 more cups of coffee to break even and one thing about coffee houses, they have a steady stream of regular customers, but its extremely hard to cater to new clientele, especially in smaller markets like towns and hamlets.
I'd rather the owners take away those paid breaks than shutter one of their locations which would be another option they can take. If the stores can't offset these costs, it is an option owners would have to reluctantly take.
You also have to remember, this isn't just a minor bump. It's a 35% increase to minimum wage. What would your employer do if they were forced to just give you a 35% pay raise? Or what would they do if they had to give everyone who is lower in pay scale than you a 35% raise?
And NO ONE asked for this. The NDP (far left) was proposing it, but proposing to phase it in more slowly. Labour groups and small businesses were warning the government that raising the minimum wage this quickly would have a negative effect on their businesses. These weren't threats, these were realities that the Ontario government ignored in an attempt to win some votes in the next election. It backfired. And it backfired on everyone.
From what I read about the franchise, they are gonna be selling alot fewer cups of coffee because of their response to this. From the information I can gather, this company made $90 million in profits (not revenue) last quarter. A full 5% increase. Where is it going?? They can afford to pay their employees for breaks. And their previous benefits. And this wage increase. They just don't want to. The letter they wrote is nothing but a passive aggressive "f**k you" to everyone who works there, and I would know, since I am pretty passive aggressive myself.
Keep in mind that those numbers are for the parent company that also owns Burger King. Those numbers have no reflection on individual stores. That money is collected from Franchise fees that the owners have to pay monthly which is a flat rate + percentage of sales.
Don't get confused with the word "heir's" in the story. The business was sold and made public a decade ago. They own a store (or two) now, were more than generous with their benefits prior to this increase (100% benefits paid? Like those employees had it good. I doubt any other small business owner would cover that). The store still needs to make money and if labour cost brings the store into the red, something has to give.
They also state in the letter that they are not going to receive help from the "head office", which, unless I am completely wrong, means the franchise itself. Why not?? My assumption would be because it is all being pocketed at the very top.
Yes, the very top, which isn't the people who wrote the letter. The Parent company just pocket the money, supply the branding and marketing and let the store owners do the heavy lifting.
"Almost all of our restaurants in Canada are independently owned and operated by small business Owners who are responsible for handling all employment matters, including all policies for benefits and wages, for their restaurants." "Restaurant Owners are expected to comply with all applicable laws and regulations within their jurisdiction."
So one franchisee could be giving better benefits and wages than the other one down the street. These wages and benefits cuts into the franchisee's bottom line, but it doesn't cut into the corporates bottom line.
I have no idea what the children are worth individually, but given that their father (or father-in-law in one case) had a net worth of over a billion dollars as recently as 2013 as a result of the sale of the company, my guess is they are all sitting on piles of cash, certainly enough to pay workers decent wages and benefits at handful of franchisee locations.
No.
That's not how businesses work (unless it is a sports franchise).
The business itself should be able to pay for itself. If it can't, it isn't a good business. If you keep putting money into a failing business, you won't have either when your money runs out.
And as I stated, those benefits those employees were getting were more than generous. I'd be surprised if the stores were turning a profit at all or just breaking even.
The problem those 3 have is this: for one thing, they were incredibly naive to think that letter wouldn't make it's way onto social media, where now everyone can see it. And what they can see is that they are specifically punishing workers because of their opposition to a rise in the minimum wage. And the reason we know this is that they specifically go out of their way to mention it. Quite frankly, it's political intimidation by an employer. I had a similar thing happen to me at a previous job, where the first part of our healthcare meeting one year was nothing but a screed against Obamacare. It's nothing but subtle (actually not so subtle) intimidation to vote a certain way, or we will bring the hammer down on you. The fact that workers in Canada are not guaranteed paid 15 minute breaks is astonishing to me. While it is not required in this country either, non-paid 15 minute breaks are a sure sign that you need to get away from that company as soon as humanly possible. Because they aren't interested in your well-being at all. They are interested in using you as a cog in a machine they can wear down to a nub. What it really shows is how important union representation is, and what happens to most employees who don't have it. All in all, I support the people I have noticed on social media today who are stating that they will never patronize this company again. I don't know if boycotts work, but I for one haven't set foot in either a Hobby Lobby or Chick-fil-A after their far-right religious crusades took place, and I doubt I'm alone. Having a letter like this leak is WAY worse for business than any wage hike could be. And it shows that maybe these 3 can't afford to pay their workers not because of the minimum wage, but because they are bad at what they do. Certainly their PR skills are bottom of the barrel.
One of the articles that discussed this topic today had this telling line about trying to contact the three owners:
"...Employees say the owners of the franchises are at their winter home in Florida."
"Late Wednesday, lawyers for Trump sent a cease-and-desist letter to Bannon, arguing he violated the employment agreement he signed with the Trump Organization in numerous ways and also likely defamed the president. They ordered that he stop communicating either confidential and or disparaging information, and preserve all records in preparation for “imminent” legal action."
Seems like they are trying to enforce those non-disclosure and non-disparagement for life (!) agreements that the President had everyone involved with his campaign sign.
"Late Wednesday, lawyers for Trump sent a cease-and-desist letter to Bannon, arguing he violated the employment agreement he signed with the Trump Organization in numerous ways and also likely defamed the president. They ordered that he stop communicating either confidential and or disparaging information, and preserve all records in preparation for “imminent” legal action."
Seems like they are trying to enforce those non-disclosure and non-disparagement for life (!) agreements that the President had everyone involved with his campaign sign.
Good luck with that one.
What they seem to be forgetting is that this action is basically an admission that what Bannon said is true.
The problem those 3 have is this: for one thing, they were incredibly naive to think that letter wouldn't make it's way onto social media, where now everyone can see it. And what they can see is that they are specifically punishing workers because of their opposition to a rise in the minimum wage. And the reason we know this is that they specifically go out of their way to mention it. Quite frankly, it's political intimidation by an employer. I had a similar thing happen to me at a previous job, where the first part of our healthcare meeting one year was nothing but a screed against Obamacare. It's nothing but subtle (actually not so subtle) intimidation to vote a certain way, or we will bring the hammer down on you. The fact that workers in Canada are not guaranteed paid 15 minute breaks is astonishing to me. While it is not required in this country either, non-paid 15 minute breaks are a sure sign that you need to get away from that company as soon as humanly possible. Because they aren't interested in your well-being at all. They are interested in using you as a cog in a machine they can wear down to a nub. What it really shows is how important union representation is, and what happens to most employees who don't have it. All in all, I support the people I have noticed on social media today who are stating that they will never patronize this company again. I don't know if boycotts work, but I for one haven't set foot in either a Hobby Lobby or Chick-fil-A after their far-right religious crusades took place, and I doubt I'm alone. Having a letter like this leak is WAY worse for business than any wage hike could be. And it shows that maybe these 3 can't afford to pay their workers not because of the minimum wage, but because they are bad at what they do. Certainly their PR skills are bottom of the barrel.
One of the articles that discussed this topic today had this telling line about trying to contact the three owners:
"...Employees say the owners of the franchises are at their winter home in Florida."
Their winter home in Florida. Of course they are.
1. Unions use intimidation to vote a certain way more forcefully than small business owners. The reason why Ontario is so corrupt is due to unions meddling in elections. Want to know why manufacturing jobs are bleeding out of north America. Blame unions. They're greed priced their workers out of jobs.
2. $3.75. In reality, less than that due to taxes. That is how much a worker making $15/h is losing if they do not get paid for those 15 minutes. $3.75 does not break a persons well being.
3. Sure. If they are bad at what they do, might as well just close their stores and put their employees out on the street. That'll show them millionaires. Seriously. These owners are not the bad guys in this equation. I challenge anyone who is looking to boycott the franchise to come up with a better solution for the store to break even after the minimum wage increase. I am guessing all their answers will be "well they're millionaires, they can afford it." Which isn't an answer. It's petty jealousy of wanting what your neighbour has.
4. And a lot of older Canadians own property in southern states (especially Florida). Property became affordable there after the housing bubble crash that didn't affect Canada because we better regulated banks.
Your employer doesn't pay you as much as you're worth. They pay you as much as they have to.
I am extremely lucky that my employer pays me *more* than my job is worth. Based on my job title and the functions I normally perform similar jobs in the Metroplex area pay anywhere from $15 to $25 per hour. I make...more than that.
Of course, this issue wouldn't be an issue at all if wages had even remotely kept up with inflation and worker productivity the last 25 years. They haven't. All the profits have been siphoned to the top, which is why we are approaching guilded age levels of income disparity.
While I respectfully disagree with @deltago about this issue, it is quite possible that Ontario didn't need a minimum wage increase the way the US does nationally, where it is sitting at $7.25, and has been for years. Most of the local or state minimum wage increases in this country have come as a result of direct democracy through ballot measures or referendums. They usually succeed.
"Late Wednesday, lawyers for Trump sent a cease-and-desist letter to Bannon, arguing he violated the employment agreement he signed with the Trump Organization in numerous ways and also likely defamed the president. They ordered that he stop communicating either confidential and or disparaging information, and preserve all records in preparation for “imminent” legal action."
Seems like they are trying to enforce those non-disclosure and non-disparagement for life (!) agreements that the President had everyone involved with his campaign sign.
Good luck with that one.
What they seem to be forgetting is that this action is basically an admission that what Bannon said is true.
Today's update is Trump is suing to stop publication of Bannon's book. Banning books, how'd that work for the Nazis? What happened to the whole free speech thing the right is supposed to care about? That only applies to college campuses right, not to Presidents or government. Also, isn't it ridiculous that the guy who thinks it's his job to tweet insults at other people every day can't handle the slightest criticism? Snowflake, sad!
Also, a couple days after the most populous state in the Union legalized recreational marijuana, Jeff Sessions rescinded Obama era guidance that discouraged enforcement of federal marijuana laws in states that had legalized the substance. I guess we shouldn't be surprised on this one based on Sessions past comments such how he thought the KKK were good people until he found out some of them smoked mj.
"Late Wednesday, lawyers for Trump sent a cease-and-desist letter to Bannon, arguing he violated the employment agreement he signed with the Trump Organization in numerous ways and also likely defamed the president. They ordered that he stop communicating either confidential and or disparaging information, and preserve all records in preparation for “imminent” legal action."
Seems like they are trying to enforce those non-disclosure and non-disparagement for life (!) agreements that the President had everyone involved with his campaign sign.
Good luck with that one.
What they seem to be forgetting is that this action is basically an admission that what Bannon said is true.
Today's update is Trump is suing to stop publication of Bannon's book. Banning books, how'd that work for the Nazis? What happened to the whole free speech thing the right is supposed to care about? That only applies to college campuses right, not to Presidents or government. Also, isn't it ridiculous that the guy who thinks it's his job to tweet insults at other people every day can't handle the slightest criticism? Snowflake, sad!
Also, a couple days after the most populous state in the Union legalized recreational marijuana, Jeff Sessions rescinded Obama era guidance that discouraged enforcement of federal marijuana laws in states that had legalized the substance. I guess we shouldn't be surprised on this one based on Sessions past comments such how he thought the KKK were good people until he found out some of them smoked mj.
This is pure genius. Send a bunch of feds into California and arrest all of the folks who are buying and smoking weed. Make sure it's a felony so they can never vote again and 'voila' the GOP wins California in the next election!
That is, in fact, the exact intent. First off, this is at least the 3rd or 4th major attack on state's rights from the so-called party of state's rights within the last 30 days. It is also, of course, meant to explicitly punish blue states, through both the tax revenue legal pot provides, and by disenfranchising Democratic voters by piping them into the prison/industrial complex. Though blacks and whites smoke pot in equal measure, a black person is FAR more likely to face jail-time or even be cited for possession. African-Americans vote at over a 90% clip for Democrats. The only thing the drug war in this country has EVER been about is a de facto replacement for slavery meant to lock up as many African-Americans as possible. See Billie Holiday as one of the prime examples.
I still think a big part of the drug war and the resistance of some police agencies to legalize marijuana in particular is the funding given to said agencies to combat drugs. Forfeiture reward programs from the property of drug dealers and drug busts probably have something to do with it as well. I think at one time they probably had (or still have) guidelines as to how it is spent but I imagine it has not been followed so strictly. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2014/02/17/the-drug-wars-profit-motive/?utm_term=.e75aead0c690 I highly doubt many want to give up funding that could be used for a variety of things in a department other than just combating a never ending (and revenue producing) drug war.
It is about as screwed up as police holding gun 'roundups' where you can get a little bit of cash for turning in firearms (or firearms seized in raids) and then the police turn right around and sell them again for profit in the community. http://money.cnn.com/2015/10/21/news/police-selling-seized-guns/index.html
People should still be trying to wrap their heads around the fact that the President of the United States is attempting to stop publication of a book that is unfavorable to him. The only thing that is preventing Trump from becoming a dictator is whatever institutions we have left checking him and his own buffoonish incompetence. Because his impulse, in every case, is of an autocrat.
Thankfully, at least for now, there isn't a court in the country that would entertain a defamation lawsuit involving a sitting US President. He gave up the right to any such protections the moment he took office. Sarah Huckabee Sanders today said no one had ever heard of the author of the book. The White House's own statements confirm that he was invited into the West Wing no less than 20 times. The blatant lies that come out of this White House on a daily basis are simply impossible to keep track of.
Now tonight, the NYT is reporting that Trump attempted to order a WH Attorney to stop Sessions from recusing himself from the Russia investigation. Mueller knows all of this, and likely 10x more. The evidence of obstruction at this point is becoming overwhelming:
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Trump, doesn't have to issue a nuclear strike, he just has to issue an order that threatens the soveriegnty of North Korea, and depending on what that action is (land invasion, assassin attempt, drone strikes, full blockade) the consequences of his actions will be squarely on him.
Here is hoping North Korea can send their figure skating team to the Olympics in February. I think it'd a step in the right direction in obtaining peace and stability in the region.
Trump is now claiming former Chief Strategist Steve Bannon had "nothing to do with me or my presidency" and that he rarely met him and when he did he had only pretend influence on Donald Trump.
Why? Steve wrote a book called "What Happened" er some other title actually that calls the Trump Tower meeting with Don Jr. "treasonous" and "unpatriotic".
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/03/us/politics/trump-bannon.html
As for Trump not knowing Bannon, even if you were to take this preposterous statement at face value, you'd then have to square up to the fact that Trump apparently had no contact with EITHER of his last two campaign managers (Manafort and Bannon).
As I stated previously, the raise on minimum wage is beginning to hinder the people it was suppose to help. Case in point, some Tim Horton's franchises are clawing back benefits and paid breaks.
One person in the article said it would take $51 off his pay cheque. That's $100 a month gone.
And
Algonquin College did the math, and it will cost them $30 million in their budget. This is either going to increase class sizes, terminate factuality, increase tuition cost or most likely, all of the above.
From the same Algonquin editorial it also states "Ontario’s financial watchdog — the Financial Accountability Office — has said that raising the minimum wage will cost this province 50,000 jobs."
And this minimum wage hike is only 3 days old.
It's a bunch of heirs and heiresses trying to make some point by putting the foot on the necks of their employees. I seriously doubt a single-executive anywhere along the food chain is sacrificing even a dime. Certainly these kids who inherited the franchises from mommy and daddy aren't willing to sacrifice anything for their workers. These employees should pull themselves up by their bootstraps and inherit their own coffee chain. After all, THEY did it.
Your employer doesn't pay you as much as you're worth. They pay you as much as they have to.
Unlike other businesses, franchisees aren't allowed to set prices for the goods they sell, so the money that they are losing needs to be offset from a place where they can control costs. As I said prior, the only place were costs can be controlled by an owner is payroll.
Everything they are doing is still within Ontario labour laws as well. 15 minutes may not seem like much, but 6 working employees making minimum wage not being paid for their two 15 minute breaks saves the store $40 a day. In coffee terms, without taking away those pay breaks, the store would have to sell 26 more cups of coffee to break even and one thing about coffee houses, they have a steady stream of regular customers, but its extremely hard to cater to new clientele, especially in smaller markets like towns and hamlets.
I'd rather the owners take away those paid breaks than shutter one of their locations which would be another option they can take. If the stores can't offset these costs, it is an option owners would have to reluctantly take.
You also have to remember, this isn't just a minor bump. It's a 35% increase to minimum wage. What would your employer do if they were forced to just give you a 35% pay raise? Or what would they do if they had to give everyone who is lower in pay scale than you a 35% raise?
And NO ONE asked for this. The NDP (far left) was proposing it, but proposing to phase it in more slowly. Labour groups and small businesses were warning the government that raising the minimum wage this quickly would have a negative effect on their businesses. These weren't threats, these were realities that the Ontario government ignored in an attempt to win some votes in the next election. It backfired. And it backfired on everyone.
The letter they wrote is nothing but a passive aggressive "f**k you" to everyone who works there, and I would know, since I am pretty passive aggressive myself. The "Sincerely, Jeri, Ron and Lisa" part is a real hoot. Everything about how that letter is constructed and reads tells me they have been itching to take away these benefits for years, just foaming at the mouth for an excuse. And they frame the entire thing like they have been nothing but kind benefactors up to this point. Have they not been merciful for paying for 15 minute breaks (which I guarantee alot of these employees don't even get to take) and offering one day off every six months?? They will continue to offer ONE day of paid funeral leave, so, you know, there's that. When my grandmother died last summer my boss approved 4 days paid funeral leave for me without blinking an eyelash.
Don't get confused with the word "heir's" in the story. The business was sold and made public a decade ago. They own a store (or two) now, were more than generous with their benefits prior to this increase (100% benefits paid? Like those employees had it good. I doubt any other small business owner would cover that). The store still needs to make money and if labour cost brings the store into the red, something has to give.
"Restaurant Owners are expected to comply with all applicable laws and regulations within their jurisdiction."
So one franchisee could be giving better benefits and wages than the other one down the street. These wages and benefits cuts into the franchisee's bottom line, but it doesn't cut into the corporates bottom line.
That's not how businesses work (unless it is a sports franchise).
The business itself should be able to pay for itself. If it can't, it isn't a good business. If you keep putting money into a failing business, you won't have either when your money runs out.
And as I stated, those benefits those employees were getting were more than generous. I'd be surprised if the stores were turning a profit at all or just breaking even.
One of the articles that discussed this topic today had this telling line about trying to contact the three owners:
"...Employees say the owners of the franchises are at their winter home in Florida."
Their winter home in Florida. Of course they are.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-slams-bannon-when-he-was-fired-he-not-only-lost-his-job-he-lost-his-mind/2018/01/03/21fb158a-f0aa-11e7-b3bf-ab90a706e175_story.html?utm_term=.0a7198c66f40
Seems like they are trying to enforce those non-disclosure and non-disparagement for life (!) agreements that the President had everyone involved with his campaign sign.
Good luck with that one.
2. $3.75. In reality, less than that due to taxes. That is how much a worker making $15/h is losing if they do not get paid for those 15 minutes. $3.75 does not break a persons well being.
3. Sure. If they are bad at what they do, might as well just close their stores and put their employees out on the street. That'll show them millionaires. Seriously. These owners are not the bad guys in this equation. I challenge anyone who is looking to boycott the franchise to come up with a better solution for the store to break even after the minimum wage increase. I am guessing all their answers will be "well they're millionaires, they can afford it." Which isn't an answer. It's petty jealousy of wanting what your neighbour has.
4. And a lot of older Canadians own property in southern states (especially Florida). Property became affordable there after the housing bubble crash that didn't affect Canada because we better regulated banks.
In general, though, I agree--employers pay as much as they typically have to. Meanwhile, over in Iceland, companies employing 25 or more people must, by law, pay males and females the same rate (based on job title, seniority, etc). Failure to comply results in fines.
While I respectfully disagree with @deltago about this issue, it is quite possible that Ontario didn't need a minimum wage increase the way the US does nationally, where it is sitting at $7.25, and has been for years. Most of the local or state minimum wage increases in this country have come as a result of direct democracy through ballot measures or referendums. They usually succeed.
Also, a couple days after the most populous state in the Union legalized recreational marijuana, Jeff Sessions rescinded Obama era guidance that discouraged enforcement of federal marijuana laws in states that had legalized the substance. I guess we shouldn't be surprised on this one based on Sessions past comments such how he thought the KKK were good people until he found out some of them smoked mj.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2014/02/17/the-drug-wars-profit-motive/?utm_term=.e75aead0c690
I highly doubt many want to give up funding that could be used for a variety of things in a department other than just combating a never ending (and revenue producing) drug war.
It is about as screwed up as police holding gun 'roundups' where you can get a little bit of cash for turning in firearms (or firearms seized in raids) and then the police turn right around and sell them again for profit in the community.
http://money.cnn.com/2015/10/21/news/police-selling-seized-guns/index.html
Thankfully, at least for now, there isn't a court in the country that would entertain a defamation lawsuit involving a sitting US President. He gave up the right to any such protections the moment he took office. Sarah Huckabee Sanders today said no one had ever heard of the author of the book. The White House's own statements confirm that he was invited into the West Wing no less than 20 times. The blatant lies that come out of this White House on a daily basis are simply impossible to keep track of.
Now tonight, the NYT is reporting that Trump attempted to order a WH Attorney to stop Sessions from recusing himself from the Russia investigation. Mueller knows all of this, and likely 10x more. The evidence of obstruction at this point is becoming overwhelming:
There is a criminal enterprise operating out of the White House. At this point denying it is the height of delusion.