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

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,...

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...

San Diego Rolls Back Vaccine Mandate For City Workers

Last Tuesday, the San Diego City Council voted to do away with the vaccine mandate for city employees. The city’s vaccine mandate that was in place required city workers to get the coronavirus vaccine or risk termination.  Perhaps to this surprise of no one, the city’s policy came under fire with 14 employees being terminated and over 100 other employees resigning.  With the coronavirus subsiding, including in Southern California, the San Diego City Council took action. Now, bear in mind, the repeal of the vaccine mandate does not take place immediately. With that being said, the mandate will be repealed March 8th.  I suppose the question now is, what other cities or regions follow San Diego’s lead? For additional information:   https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/story/2023-01-24/san-diego-repeals-controversial-covid-19-vaccine-mandate-citing-drop-in-cases-hospitalizations