The New Roll of Business: Milking the Worker
James Dugan
Ezra.Wolfe Forget the hoagie roll; I’ll take it on white bread. Stroehmann preferred, but then again, I will take ACME. The dream of having a business that your family can live on and maybe afford a decent vacation and retirement one day has been corrupted in the greed of absolute wealth. How has the idea and pride of business owning become the ruin of fair treatment for workers and employees?
The two recent stories of Amoroso Drivers on Strike and Unions Protest Milkboy Coffee demonstrate small and large businesses' unwillingness to address the concerns of their customers and putting their wealth before social interest. Philadelphia rolls on our famous hoagies and cheese steaks have been synonymous with Amoroso Baking Company, yet today they are attacking 75 drivers because they want to sell them out for contractors. This essentially means that the drivers will have to pay their healthcare, take a loan to buy their route, pay for their own gas, and end-organized contracts with the company. Amoroso has decided that they no longer believe that the drivers represent their company and they will no longer represent them.
You have to treat your employees better than this to keep their loyalty. It is an attack against an essential part of the business that should represent the company brand and product. Your business should represent who you are as a person and your values. Amoroso has decided to cut their drivers out and abandon family values for corporate greed.
dmuthMilkboy Coffee has been picketed for using non-union workers to build their center city store. They refused to adhere to the worker-centered values of the city, which is vastly different than the suburbs, and have argued that they should be allowed to hire workers that will make the building costs cheaper. Workers have defended their space and values and have been portrayed as anti-business and bullies once again in the media. Yet Milkboy's successful business feeds off good customer service and a positive aura within the store. Because of the laid back and non-corporate philosophy, the store has attracted people. Going against the workers who would one day support their store in the city seems antithetical.
The anti-union message has gone too far. Companies that promote themselves with customer service or a friendly environment should remember that the workers and their families are part of their business. There are plenty of bread companies. There are plenty of places to buy a four-dollar cup of coffee. But the two things that are scarce are good paying, steady jobs and loyal employers who care about their workers' livelihood.
Will the owner of a company ever care about their employees more than the amount of cash in their pocket? Will the pride of owning an organization that provides decent pay and healthcare for their employees’ families ever matter? Will there ever be a business who cares about the community’s values more than just forcing them to accept their business model?
Amoroso and Milkboy have decided that greed and money are more important than the people of these communities. In turn, we should remind them of our values: workers deserve their dignity; businesses thrive off the community; success is more than money; and salami on white and Folger’s coffee is a pretty good lunch.
Reader Comments (5)
Your statement about Milkboy is false, since they weren't the ones who did the hiring. It was their landlord, a company called of U3Ventures, LLC. Here are the details:
http://www.saveardmorecoalition.org/node/5621/carpenters-union-still-protesting-milkboy-lacks-creativity#comment-20966
I think you may want to post a clarification in the article.
Excellent piece! All of your points are dead on. What people don't realize is that these members of our working class communities often live in the communities that they work in and support the local businesses. Teachers, carpenters, police officers, road workers, and drivers. These small businesses complain about taxes going to essential services and the cost of delivery fees and other fees, but they never seem to complain when these same teachers come into their shops for a beer, a sandwich, or a coffee. These workers need quality living wages to continue to support their local economies. It's a simply system that is being deteriorated by absolute avarice.
The war against unions and working Americans is out of control, and the fact that the media has successfully manipulated the average citizen through empty, inflammatory, political rhetoric is sincerely disturbing. We have become the ultimate scapegoats for all America's ills, and it is out of control! Someone needs to speak up in an intelligent, articulate manner, and I am happy that you have done so hear.
Please keep fighting for the true workers of America, Mr. Dugan. They need you now more than ever!
Douglas,
After reading the two articles concerning Milkboy, it seems that their situation might be more complex than the Amoroso issue. However, I struggle to accept this spin of poverty from the two owners. If they're capable of affording to establish a new place in Philadelphia, in an apparently "Hot spot", then they should be able to afford the cost of union labor.
Mr. Lokoff states that he knew he would encounter something like this and therefore should have worked with U3 to establish a better line of communication with the unions. So I don't think anyone should be as surprised as they're acting. The site is probably correct that U3 should have facilitated better negotiations with Milkboy and the unions. I think this could have been accomplished since according to the site Omar Blaik was very familiar with union practices and I imagine union leaders in the area.
However, I appreciate the additional link and for enlightening us a bit more on this issue. Please come back and read some more.
I know they will probably not base their cost of their coffee on their landlord's rent. They will base it on the market and what people are willing to pay. We are all big boys, and for Milkboy to throw up their hands and say we have nothing to do with it, when their names are on the contract, speaks of ignorance or apathy.
I do not have pity on four dollar cup of coffee places, but I know many people, including myself who would appreciate a Milkboy's entertainment and vibe on Chestnut. But if they want to exploit the workers who put the floor and roof in probably like the coffee distributors who exploit the third world economy they extract the beans from, then they are responsible for their actions.
The Vietnamese might not have a say, but Americans do. So they should force the hand of the landlord because he is making it difficult for me to be sympathetic. It is not like they are paying their exployees union wages either.
But I do appreciate your comments Mr. Muth and your site that defends Ardmorean values.
i think every body cares about money. The Employer and the employees both wants cash, And the relationship of cash is merciless, So i don't blame anybody in that.
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