The DU Lounge

The union did much good all around the country, elevating wages and providing excellent health care benefits.

My Local, not so much.

We joked that the union should just move their headquarters into the offices of the grocer I worked for since they were nothing but a company union. When the pandemic started the beginning wage where I worked was 5 cents over the state minimum wage $9.45 per hour. Granted, you could make the princely sum of $10.00 per hour after @five years.

Additionally, we eventually wound up with a three-tier wage system. Old timers, even checker, earned $20-$25 per hour, New employees who started during the pandemic started at $14.50 per hour, but those in the middle were in the $9.50 area.

Oh, and the union never insisted that the stores be fully manned. So, you had filthy stores, and not enough employees to deal with customers and keep the stores stocked.