Friday, March 30, 2007

Circuit City to Workers: $21,450 a year is too much!

Circut City replaced 3,400 workers with new lower-paid employees in order to compete with Wal-Mart and other retailers who are driving the poverty-line pay trends that pass for "current market wages". Circuit City feels it needs to emulate Wal-Mart's terrible pay to remain competitive.

According to the NY Journal News:

In the seven-county Hudson Valley region, retail salespeople earn a median salary of $21,450 a year. But Cimino said the criteria Circuit City used for determining the cuts also looked at wages for similar jobs within the market.

And just to make those newly unemployed sales associates feel better:

Cimino said that if any of those workers wanted to reapply for those jobs at the new lower wage they would be eligible to do so, "but after a period of time."

Please join Betty & Bimbo in boycotting Wal-Mart, for establishing this pattern, and Circuit City, for cowering in the face of it.

6 comments:

Mark Twain said...

A for your New Yorkers, join in boycotting Ollie's as well. Forty-four workers filed a lawsuit stating that they were being paid less than the legal limit at $1.40 per hour.

venus (en el pudridero) said...

linger? --v.

Betty and Bimbo said...

hmmm? what do you mean, dear venus?

Nancy D., Girl Detective said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Nancy D., Girl Detective said...

To me, the most insulting thing about working at a shitty-paying job is when they require you to dress up, as the workers at Circuit City have to. Any former temps who can sympathize with me here? At least at Wal Mart you can throw on your apron and button and not have to pretend you're in some imaginary professional class.

Betty and Bimbo said...

Excellent point, Nancy D. I don't understand what makes us feel better about being helped by employees in matching visors and polo shirts. Maybe it helps to keep them distant and non-individual, like a maid.