Les Jones

I'm not sure what being in a union has to do with having a manager ring up your beer. When my brother worked for Kroger, it was against company policy for people under 21 to sell beer; they had to have someone over 21 ring the sale--even if it just meant the manager scanned that one item in. They all thought it was stupid, but that was the company's policy.

Sorry if I wasn't clear. I understand that people under 18 or 21 or whatever can't ring up beer. I just don't understand why Kroger has so many young cashiers compared to Wal-Mart, for instance, particularly if Kroger has better wages or benefits from being unionized.

I worked for Kroger when I went to college in Atlanta. The store was next to a famous nightclub called the Limelight - so usually it was called the Limelight Kroger or the Disco Kroger.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Limelight

(The most happening spot for the utterly-now set according to the NY Times in 1986)
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0DE2D91F3AF935A35757C0A960948260&sec=travel&spon=&pagewanted=3

Have you ever seen a grocery store with a bookstore, camera shop and sushi bar inside? That's the kind of grocery store it was.

Bear in mind this was 1987, so we're talking 20 years ago. Some time after I was hired (maybe a week) there was a meeting held for new people. At the end of the meeting you signed up for the union. As an 18 year old kid I just went along and asked no questions. Today I would.

Why am I giving you part of my check again?

There are many things I would ask today, but not as a kid. Also I believe today I would rebel when my boss insisted that I call a shopping cart or buggy a "Baskart". It's a buggy. Do you hear me Richard Lord, former manager -circa 1987- of the Limelight Kroger at the corner of Peachtree and Piedmont NE near Lennox? It's a frikken buggy, not a "Baskart".

Want to know why it's not middle-aged folks needing good insurance and a steady job, and instead it's pimply-faced teenagers and desperate folks who seem like they can't get anything else?

I applied at a Kroger's thinking that it may not be glamorous work but it is unionized so the wages should be fair and it will have good job security.

I interviewed for it today. The starting pay for all employees is $6.35/hour regardless of shift or position. I've worked retail in this city before, and $7 to $8 is more like what is standard (and honestly, for somebody not living with somebody else, you need at least $8 to $9 to be a "living wage" around here).

The interview was for a part-time job, they explained to me that all employees are hired starting out part-time, around 20 hours a week (sometimes less), and only going to full time after six months to a year, with no regular schedule.

So, why don't more people work there besides teenagers and the desperate? Because the wages are below average (practically starvation/poverty levevl), they never hire anybody on full-time to start, and you aren't actually a full member of the union for several months after you start working there. Until then you're "probationary", which means you pay union dues (out of your already tiny paycheck) and can still be fired at any time for any reason.