Voice of action. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1933-1936, 1934-06-15
Large Chain Employees
Suffer For Lack
OF Union

This weeks chain store success
story: A Benjamin Franklin
thrift" store manager, after
working for the grocery bosses for
forty years, is netting 500 a
month salary, and puts in, when
he isn't busy, a twelve-hour day.
He used to get $3.50 per month,
but as he holds responsible posi-
ton he has to be bonded-tO as
sure the bosses he won't run off
with "their" money. So now he
pays for his own bond, which is
something like asking a dog to
buy his own muzzle.
Thirty dollars per month is de-
Quoted from his salary until he has
paid the bosses $500 in full for his
bond. And he doesn't even get a
receipt for the money they squeeze
out of him.
The bosses used to pay the hold
ing company flat rate, but they
have economical since the MIRA
became effective, and now the
worker carries their load for them.
There are eleven Bnenjamin
Franklin stores in Seattle-all
under the NRA code of hours and
wages for employees. Here's how
they live up to it:
Store managers work a twelve
hour day six days a week, and do
their bookkeeping at home on
Sundays. Store workers also put
in a twelve-hour day and then
work evenings, arranging stock
three or four nights a week.
"Of course, all overtime work is
voluntary" the bosses tell their
employees" and you work at your
own risk. If you get caught work
ing overtime, you're fired"
Two employees, working at the
same store, earned a $40 bonus
for pushing a cersain brand of
cereal, the bonus to be paid by the
cereal company the store
bosses. They also earned 81 apiece
working overtime nights.
When they received their pay
checks, each had SIS more than his
regular $14.5O. They asked the
bosses if this was an Oversight"
NO." said the bosses, that
your full pay for overtime"
The two workers asked if they
were to get their earned bonus.
"Sure," the bosses said, "that
was it. You've got it,"
The workers realized then the
need of a militant, organized back
ing of fellow workers that would
have marched out of the store and
stayed out until this boss-rObbery
of employees, and the other major
boss hold-ups they were forced to
endure, were settled to the work
ers' satisfaction.
The Safeway stores used to, be-
fore NRA, give dances and enter
tainments for their employees.
These affairs were sops tossed to
the workers by the bosses to keep
them grateful on what were, even
in good times, starvation wages.
Now they've stopped even this.
The employees new pay 20 cents
apiece every week into their
company union" Then the COM
pany union gives the entertain
ment, and the worker has to pay
for it whether he likes it or not.
All Benjamin Franklin employ
ees are forced to pay $1.75 per
month apiece on a 81, 500 life in
surance policy. The bosses are
supposed to put in another $1.75
per month on this insurance. But
they keep the books.
If workers leave the "thrift"
store employ before the insurance
is paid up, they lose every cent of
it. Unless, of course, they wish
to keep on paying at double or
triple the rate.
High school boys work Satur-
days as "swampers" on Benjamin
Franklin delivery trucks - four
hours for $1.25. They begin at 8
a. m. and work till or 7 p. m.
But THEY ONLY WORK
FOUR HOURS!
Chain store workers are begin
ming to wake up to these boss
inflicted injustices, and realize
that Sin union there is strength"
and that the bosses, confronted
with a militant, solid front of
workers, would not dare to con-
tinue these hijacking methods.