Skip to main content

What I’ve Been Reading This Week


A few days ago, I was talking with a regular reader of The Majority Opinion about the ongoing Great Resignation.  (For those unfamiliar with the term, this is in reference to the wave of employees leaving their current positions, due in part to the ongoing trudge of the coronavirus pandemic and the headaches that has added to the job.)  I came across an article from Forbes that I wanted to lead things of this week, as the article has a few ideas on what employers can do to navigate the Great Resignation and come through it all rather unscathed and with a full (or relatively full) workforce.

As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week.


Lessons Employers Can Learn From the Great Resignation

Tell me if you have heard this recently:  It is an employee friendly job market…a very, very employee friendly job market.  This article from Forbes takes note of the ongoing Great Resignation and what employers can do to ride out the storm.  For starters, there is no “fix” to the Great Resignation that applies to all employees and employers alike.  With that being said, this article suggests employers do several things, starting with listening and learning by taking stock of employee moral, looking at what can be done to make the job more efficient, and holding “stay” interviews (rather than exit interviews.)  Going one step further, the article suggests employers look for way to avoid employee burnout while remaining flexible.  Some workers might be struggling with going back to the office full time (or finding it difficult to manage multiple tasks if other employees are out sick, have quit, etc.)  Working with employees to see what they need to succeed, whether it is more flexibility, an extra hand on a task, an additional day off, etc., can all be used to mitigate employee burnout.


$15/Hour Wage Rates Coming to Sam’s Club By End of the Month

As announced earlier this week, Sam’s Club will raise its hourly pay rate from $11/hour to $15/hour by September 25th.  Notably, this hourly pay rate will be higher than what its parent company, WalMart currently pays ($12/hour.)  With the struggle to find workers an ongoing dilemma for many employers (including big box retailers) like Target, WalMart, etc., this announcement from Sam’s Club is likely to trigger other employers to follow suit with higher wage rates as well.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NLRB: Discussion Among Employees About Tip Pooling is Protected Concerted Activity

  This Advice Memorandum from the National Labor Relations Board’s Associate General Counsel, Jayme Sophir, addressed whether employees which discussed and complained about tip pooling at work constituted protected concerted activity. In relevant part, an employer in New York operated a chain of steakhouses.  While tip pooling was in place at these steakhouses, some of the employees objected to it on the grounds that it was not transparent and improperly divided tips among the workers.  Employees were told not to complain or talk to each other about the tip pool and were told that doing so would endanger their jobs.  Despite the employer later attempting to provide some clarity as to how the tips were being divided, rancor still existed among some employees.  At one point, the employees were told by a general manager that some employees that had been talking about the tip pool were “cleared out” and the employer would continue to do so. In the Advice Memorandum,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Breaking: Labor Secretary Rumored to Be Leaving Administration

A few hours ago, word leaked out that Labor Secretary Marty Walsh (“Walsh”) is in the midst of negotiations to head up the NHL Players Union and leave his position at the Labor Department. Walsh, who has served as the sole Labor Secretary under President Biden, has taken part in a labor renaissance of sorts as support for organized labor has increased during his term as Labor Secretary (although the number of workers that have joined a union over the past two years has not grown as mush as some expected.)  He has also overseen the ongoing negotiations with rail workers over a new contract, although that matter is still on shaky ground and playing out as we speak. As for who might step into the vacant Labor Secretary role, there are already rumblings that President Biden should nominate Deputy Labor Secretary Julie Su (a strong labor advocate) or even a progressive like Senator Bernie Sanders.  Until Walsh officially gives his notice, however, I would expect some/many potential...
Post a Comment
Read more

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie Vetoes Minimum Wage Hike

A few months ago, readers might remember that I pointed out that the New Jersey Legislature had voted to approve a minimum wage hike in the state .  Under the approved legislation, the minimum wage rate would rise to $10.10/hour in the next year and at least $15/hour over the next five.  (The current minimum wage rate in the state is $8.38/hour).  In that article, I had noted that the bill was then going to go before Governor Chris Christie for his approval or veto. As I had suggested previously, I thought that the Governor would likely veto the bill based upon his prior actions and comments on similar legislation.  Well, a few days ago, Governor Christie did just that and vetoed the bill on the grounds that it "would trigger an escalation of wages that will make doing business in New Jersey unfathomable."  Pointing to the increase in hourly minimum wage rates, the Governor referred to the bill as a "really radical increase."  (It is interesting to c...
Post a Comment
Read more