Nightmares of Socialism XXVII: Minneapolis Fair-Scheduling Rules

[ksen]

I think "you're fired" usually works.

I'm told it also works for employees who don't like the bosses scheduling practices.

Mythical tree of jobs.

 

[maxparrish]

I think "you're fired" usually works.

As does "I quit" if you don't like schedule changes.

But we are speaking of a uniform contractual imposition on an entire market, are we not?

Market asymmetry can render the analogy false.

And sorry, no banana:

A situation in which one party in a transaction has more or superior information compared to another. This often happens in transactions where the seller knows more than the buyer, although the reverse can happen as well.

Sellers of labor (employees) have superior knowledge and control of their availability, than employers (buyers) do of their own needs for that employee. Therefore employees should be required to commit to a schedule four weeks in the future and penalized by law if they fail to show up.

 

[maxparrish]

"Do gooders" and "uplifters" have a bottomless agenda for assisting those interests they like (at others expense), and punishing those they don't. No sooner than one benefit or entitlement is imposed by some local 'know-it-all' board and yet another proposal will surface. So why so parsimonious? Clearly they have full knowledge on the impact on, and requirements of, each of the tens of thousands of businesses, and thousands of business types, within their realm...right?

Therefore, be it proclaimed:

All businesses of any size must provide totally free healthcare for employees, part-timers, and contract labor.
All businesses must provide 6 weeks of paid vacation a year for any employee who has worked 21 days or more in a year.
All businesses must provide free college or schooling benefits, including free graduate school, to any full or part-time employee who has worked more than 30 days. And free college to their family members.
All businesses must provide free child care to all employees, part-timers, or contract labor.
All businesses must provide 30 days of paid sick leave.
All businesses must give bi-lingual employees a 5 percent increase.
All businesses must promote any employee who has worked 6 months or more.
All businesses must provide a 1.5 hour lunch and two 30 minute breaks in a workday.
All businesses must provide breakfast for any employee reporting before 8:30 AM.
All businesses must provide free lunches and dinners if employees work during those hours.
All businesses must provide disability insurance.
All businesses must provide employees a clothing and cleaning allowance.
All businesses must provide the employee with paid transportation to work (and provide a bonus for sustainable transport).
All business must provide fully paid vacation packages, once every three years, to employees.
All businesses must pay employees "on-call" at a rate of 90 percent of base pay.
All business must provide lessons in recreation, such as tennis and badminton.
All business must provide music lessons to employee children.

Oh ya, and they have to provide a schedule 4 weeks in advance and 4 hours pays pay if they violate it.

(PS Should any funds remain for wages, the employee may spend what's left according to his/her preferences).

 

[Nice Squirrel]

"Do gooders" and "uplifters" have a bottomless agenda for assisting those interests they like (at others expense), and punishing those they don't.

 

[ksen]

"Do gooders" and "uplifters" have a bottomless agenda for assisting those interests they like (at others expense), and punishing those they don't. No sooner than one benefit or entitlement is imposed by some local 'know-it-all' board and yet another proposal will surface. So why so parsimonious? Clearly they have full knowledge on the impact on, and requirements of, each of the tens of thousands of businesses, and thousands of business types, within their realm...right?

Therefore, be it proclaimed:

All businesses of any size must provide totally free healthcare for employees, part-timers, and contract labor.
All businesses must provide 6 weeks of paid vacation a year for any employee who has worked 21 days or more in a year.
All businesses must provide free college or schooling benefits, including free graduate school, to any full or part-time employee who has worked more than 30 days. And free college to their family members.
All businesses must provide free child care to all employees, part-timers, or contract labor.
All businesses must provide 30 days of paid sick leave.
All businesses must give bi-lingual employees a 5 percent increase.
All businesses must promote any employee who has worked 6 months or more.
All businesses must provide a 1.5 hour lunch and two 30 minute breaks in a workday.
All businesses must provide breakfast for any employee reporting before 8:30 AM.
All businesses must provide free lunches and dinners if employees work during those hours.
All businesses must provide disability insurance.
All businesses must provide employees a clothing and cleaning allowance.
All businesses must provide the employee with paid transportation to work (and provide a bonus for sustainable transport).
All business must provide fully paid vacation packages, once every three years, to employees.
All businesses must pay employees "on-call" at a rate of 90 percent of base pay.
All business must provide lessons in recreation, such as tennis and badminton.
All business must provide music lessons to employee children.

Oh ya, and they have to provide a schedule 4 weeks in advance and 4 hours pays pay if they violate it.

(PS Should any funds remain for wages, the employee may spend what's left according to his/her preferences).

 

[Ford]

...right?

 

[coloradoatheist]

Except consumers want timely service when they enter the store/restaurant/etc. They don't want to wait around 30 mins to get service. And for retail and other stores you get rushes in, people want breaks, people call in so a store wants the ability to be able to call in someone when there are more customers. It's just an issue with retail and food that the need is during the opposite times of most schedules.

It's called paying employees to be around or on call.

Are employees okay with the opposite, that if a company sets the 4 week schedule they can't take off any time during those 4 weeks?

 

[Ford]

It's called paying employees to be around or on call.

Are employees okay with the opposite, that if a company sets the 4 week schedule they can't take off any time during those 4 weeks?

Sick time or emergencies excepted I don't see that being a huge problem. According to the businesses quoted in the article, though, planning that far in advance is completely impossible and terribly unfair to even ask them to consider. Poor babies!

 

[ksen]

jesus christ

 

[coloradoatheist]

Are employees okay with the opposite, that if a company sets the 4 week schedule they can't take off any time during those 4 weeks?

Sick time or emergencies excepted I don't see that being a huge problem. According to the businesses quoted in the article, though, planning that far in advance is completely impossible and terribly unfair to even ask them to consider. Poor babies!

And if it's those situations that are causing employees to call in extra help?

 

[Ford]

Sick time or emergencies excepted I don't see that being a huge problem. According to the businesses quoted in the article, though, planning that far in advance is completely impossible and terribly unfair to even ask them to consider. Poor babies!

And if it's those situations that are causing employees to call in extra help?

If someone gets sick, then you either wind up short handed or call someone and ask if they can cover the shift. That's not the problem here, though. This whole discussion is based upon employers asserting that they cannot schedule more than a day or two in advance, that it is an undue burden upon them to schedule employees to consistent and regular shifts, and that it is employees rather than employers who should have to suffer the consequences.

That's complete and utter bullshit. Again, I've been in this situation before as a manager. You don't just throw up your hands and refuse to make a schedule just because one of your line cooks called in sick one day. You make the schedule based upon projections and adapt if necessary. If things are slow and you send a guy home early, then there's a sudden rush, guess who gets to put on an apron and help out in the kitchen? The manager. Because if I called someone and said "hey, looks like we've got an unexpected late afternoon rush" they'd probably arrive to late to do anything except get pissed off and go back home.

 

[coloradoatheist]

And if it's those situations that are causing employees to call in extra help?

If someone gets sick, then you either wind up short handed or call someone and ask if they can cover the shift. That's not the problem here, though. This whole discussion is based upon employers asserting that they cannot schedule more than a day or two in advance, that it is an undue burden upon them to schedule employees to consistent and regular shifts, and that it is employees rather than employers who should have to suffer the consequences.

That's complete and utter bullshit. Again, I've been in this situation before as a manager. You don't just throw up your hands and refuse to make a schedule just because one of your line cooks called in sick one day. You make the schedule based upon projections and adapt if necessary. If things are slow and you send a guy home early, then there's a sudden rush, guess who gets to put on an apron and help out in the kitchen? The manager. Because if I called someone and said "hey, looks like we've got an unexpected late afternoon rush" they'd probably arrive to late to do anything except get pissed off and go back home.

And the businesses do make schedules both short and long, but like normal people's schedules, they change too. Employees also want the advantage to say they want to take a day off and I don't always look four weeks ahead.

 

[Ford]

And the businesses do make schedules both short and long, but like normal people's schedules, they change too.

Yes, schedules can change, but you've been making the case that the "normal people" should chuck their schedule and wait by the phone just in case their employer needs them.

On-call employment should come with on-call pay. You want me to come in on my day off because you didn't schedule enough people? Pay extra. You want me to be on-call 24/7? That's gonna cost even more.

If on the other hand you give me a schedule in advance, I'll show up and work for the normal rate. If you've scheduled me through the end of the month and I suddenly find a great deal on a hotel in Vegas for next Tuesday, I probably won't get to go. That's fair.

 

[maxparrish]

There you have it. Ford (and the City Council) knows the best management of labor resources, wages, and benefits for every proprietorship, franchise, and corporate store in the City of Minneapolis. But why stop there? Surely such omniscient insight extends to other factors of production and service?

What about the employment of capital? Perhaps businesses are also in need of their wisdom on the scheduling capital replacement, maintenance and improvement? Could they not order the proper rates of remuneration for their purchase, and penalties for missed deadlines? And for the ordering of business supplies, who would object to laws on periodic inventory control, the scheduling of deliveries, reorders, and proper payments?

Yes...what are we to do without the commands of the elite whose knowledge extends to every business listed in a 5" thick book of the Metro yellow pages. How impressive.

 

[ksen]

lol, max thinks employers are too stupid to know how to form a work schedule more than two days in advance.

Again, how on earth did businesses ever survive back when they made consistent schedules for employees?

 

[Nice Squirrel]

And why stop there? If a business wants to have a fire sale and light its employees on fire to do so is it fully within its rights? Who is to say they are wrong?

 

[Ford]

lol, max thinks employers are too stupid to know how to form a work schedule more than two days in advance.

Not only that, but he apparently thinks the Yellow Pages are still a thing.

 

[coloradoatheist]

And why stop there? If a business wants to have a fire sale and light its employees on fire to do so is it fully within its rights? Who is to say they are wrong?

Or we can just have a law that says employers must pay employees whether they work or not. Don't have to do anything at all.

 

[maxparrish]

lol, max thinks employers are too stupid to know how to form a work schedule more than two days in advance.

Again, how on earth did businesses ever survive back when they made consistent schedules for employees?

If such an era existed, apparently they eventually didn't and they switched more flexible "just in time" scheduling. But then you, like your ideological brethren, know what's best for thousands of different businesses. See above...

- - - Updated - - -

lol, max thinks employers are too stupid to know how to form a work schedule more than two days in advance.

Not only that, but he apparently thinks the Yellow Pages are still a thing.

Perhaps you'd like to come to my house and identify that "thing" titled the Yellow Pages left in my driveway yesterday?

 

[Ford]

Perhaps you'd like to come to my house and identify that "thing" titled the Yellow Pages left in my driveway yesterday?

A dinosaur?