By Cory McCray
Many people may equate middle class jobs with people who worked at the steel plant in Sparrow’s Point, downtown Baltimore at Domino Sugar, or one of the numerous Can Manufacturing Companies that once dominated Maryland. What we fail to remember is that in the commercial food industry we had superior supermarket companies that helped build the middle class such as Giant, Superfresh, and Shopper’s. All of these companies had a reputation for being competitive, delivering superior service, and paying a living wage to their employees.
Late 2010, Superfresh, one of our leading supermarkets filed Chapter 11 forcing them to sell over two dozen stores located in Maryland. Those same stores do not know whether they will be closed in the near future.
Earlier in 2011, Shopper’s food market announced closing their Owings Mills and Timonium, MD locations due to competitive and economic conditions.
In Jessup, MD Giant Food dry storage warehouse has been rumored to have given a verbal notice of closing its doors, a move that would endanger 400 jobs.
While many of our prominent supermarkets are facing challenges and may have mistakes to fix, there is one common problem that keeps arising in conversation, fierce competition. Competition is a great asset for consumers and the economy, but what we must stay alert to is unbalanced competition. Balanced competition can be considered new technology and innovative ways to capture the consumer. Unbalanced competition can be considered as lowering the standard of wages, not paying healthcare, and a non-existent retirement system. Unbalanced competition is a prime example of “race to the bottom tactics” which destroys the middleclass and hurts the American economy as a whole.
Wal-Mart has been championed for saving Americans money with their low prices, but what we have to examine is the cost to America for Wal-Mart’s low prices. Could the savings be because many of their part-time employees don’t have health care, while their competitors do? Could the saving be because they don’t pay a living wage to their employees, but their competitors do? The facts are competition only increases with new technology, a company’s bottom line in profits, and the cost of labor. If Wal-Mart isn’t taking care of their employees, than who is? Well the answer is taxpayers, because if Wal-Mart isn’t paying health care or a living wage, then their workers have to receive government subsidies in order to survive. How is it that the owners of Wal-Mart are worth over 80 billion dollars, but can’t pay all of their employees a living wage?
These “race to the bottom tactics” have to change. We cannot continue to penalize companies that are standing with American workers by patronizing the companies that are destroying the middleclass. Our federal, state, and local governments are going to have to take a stronger approach with companies that are promoting unbalanced competition and destroying the middle class. Greed can be the only answer to billionaires taking advantage of their employees. If we fail to wake up and address this growing problem, we too can become a victim to these “race to the bottom tactics”. Please remember “a blow to one worker is a blow to all workers”.
Source
Many people may equate middle class jobs with people who worked at the steel plant in Sparrow’s Point, downtown Baltimore at Domino Sugar, or one of the numerous Can Manufacturing Companies that once dominated Maryland. What we fail to remember is that in the commercial food industry we had superior supermarket companies that helped build the middle class such as Giant, Superfresh, and Shopper’s. All of these companies had a reputation for being competitive, delivering superior service, and paying a living wage to their employees.Late 2010, Superfresh, one of our leading supermarkets filed Chapter 11 forcing them to sell over two dozen stores located in Maryland. Those same stores do not know whether they will be closed in the near future.
Earlier in 2011, Shopper’s food market announced closing their Owings Mills and Timonium, MD locations due to competitive and economic conditions.
In Jessup, MD Giant Food dry storage warehouse has been rumored to have given a verbal notice of closing its doors, a move that would endanger 400 jobs.
While many of our prominent supermarkets are facing challenges and may have mistakes to fix, there is one common problem that keeps arising in conversation, fierce competition. Competition is a great asset for consumers and the economy, but what we must stay alert to is unbalanced competition. Balanced competition can be considered new technology and innovative ways to capture the consumer. Unbalanced competition can be considered as lowering the standard of wages, not paying healthcare, and a non-existent retirement system. Unbalanced competition is a prime example of “race to the bottom tactics” which destroys the middleclass and hurts the American economy as a whole.
Wal-Mart has been championed for saving Americans money with their low prices, but what we have to examine is the cost to America for Wal-Mart’s low prices. Could the savings be because many of their part-time employees don’t have health care, while their competitors do? Could the saving be because they don’t pay a living wage to their employees, but their competitors do? The facts are competition only increases with new technology, a company’s bottom line in profits, and the cost of labor. If Wal-Mart isn’t taking care of their employees, than who is? Well the answer is taxpayers, because if Wal-Mart isn’t paying health care or a living wage, then their workers have to receive government subsidies in order to survive. How is it that the owners of Wal-Mart are worth over 80 billion dollars, but can’t pay all of their employees a living wage?
These “race to the bottom tactics” have to change. We cannot continue to penalize companies that are standing with American workers by patronizing the companies that are destroying the middleclass. Our federal, state, and local governments are going to have to take a stronger approach with companies that are promoting unbalanced competition and destroying the middle class. Greed can be the only answer to billionaires taking advantage of their employees. If we fail to wake up and address this growing problem, we too can become a victim to these “race to the bottom tactics”. Please remember “a blow to one worker is a blow to all workers”.
Source
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