We REALLY need to stop supporting this company.

[japhy4529]

I will never purchase another penny of merchandise from GC or their online subsidiaries.

 

[sissy kathy]

I will never purchase another penny of merchandise from GC or their online subsidiaries.

Makes you feel better, right? It does nothing for the workers though.

 

[OOD]

All of you who boycott local guitar centers are only hurting your community (unless you have other local options)

Support local businesses because it helps the employees and your town/city/state.

The employees are the only ones who can make this situation get better or go away.

This is economics 101, people.

 

[callofcthulhu]

Come on down with me to teach in Texas, much better down here, no unions actually.

How would that help him exactly, short of making him $60 a month richer? If there's no union to protect him, he still wouldn't have union protection and all of those complaints he has would still stand...

The most important thing I learned from that article is that there actually IS a Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. It must be the most toothless of them all, given the poopie Walmart and Guitar Center get away with...

But even still I'll definitely be passing the info along to my friends who work retail (who have told me in the past while complaining about their jobs that there is no such thing). These things only work if people work together, after all.

 

[sissy kathy]

All of you who boycott local guitar centers are only hurting your community (unless you have other local options)

Support local businesses because it helps the employees and your town/city/state.

The employees/employers are the only ones who can make this situation get better or go away.

This is economics 101, people.

Fixed it for you.

 

[asands]

While I feel for workers being put into a spot like that by their employer, have any of you dealt with many employees of GC? These people are generally as friendly as a bail bondsman and knowledgeable as a Wal-Mart door greeter. I've come across a couple decent folks in the stores but generally I leave wondering how they have any job, let alone one in a music store.

 

[callofcthulhu]

All of you who boycott local guitar centers are only hurting your community (unless you have other local options)

Support local businesses because it helps the employees and your town/city/state.

The employees are the only ones who can make this situation get better or go away.

This is economics 101, people.

Not exactly true, thanks to corporate structuring.

I guess your sales tax still will still be going to the city/state but other than that, unless you live in Westlake, California, supporting your "local" Guitar Center is only helping your community race to the bottom in terms of employment opportunities.

 

[yakmastermax]

While I feel for workers being put into a spot like that by their employer, have any of you dealt with many employees of GC? These people are generally as friendly as a bail bondsman and knowledgeable as a Wal-Mart door greeter. I've come across a couple decent folks in the stores but generally I leave wondering how they have any job, let alone one in a music store.

Probably because at $10 an hour they are making $20,000 a year at 40 hours a week and 50 work weeks per year.
Try buying a car, home, or college education for you children with that. They have no future and in the meantime are working retail. I'd be pissed too.

 

[OOD]

Not exactly true, thanks to corporate structuring.

I guess your sales tax still will still be going to the city/state but other than that, unless you live in Westlake, California, supporting your "local" Guitar Center is only helping your community race to the bottom in terms of employment opportunities.

Well, don't just tell me I'm wrong. Explain it to us.

Edit: The only way it would not be bad for your community is if there is another company that keeps profit local. That's what my "(unless you have other local options)" blurb was for.

 

[asands]

Probably because at $10 an hour they are making $20,000 a year at 40 hours a week and 50 work weeks per year.
Try buying a car, home, or college education for you children with that. They have no future and in the meantime are working retail. I'd be pissed too.

I worked in the retail sector for 8 years at a similar pay rate and started my life that way. Moved on through hard work. Not making enough to be happy doesn't give you an excuse to be piss poor at your job. Suck it up

 

[OOD]

Probably because at $10 an hour they are making $20,000 a year at 40 hours a week and 50 work weeks per year.
Try buying a car, home, or college education for you children with that. They have no future and in the meantime are working retail. I'd be pissed too.

$10 and hour is plenty of money to live on if you can add, subtract, multiply, and divide. These things can be done on what we call a calculator.

 

[Robus]

I'm done with GC.

 

[yakmastermax]

$10 and hour is plenty of money to live on if you can add, subtract, multiply, and divide. These things can be done on what we call a calculator.

Single coverage health insurance is averaged to $6000 annual.
$600 rent comes to $7200 annual.
$300 in food per month comes to $3600 annual.
$150 in phone bills and utilities per month comes to $1800

We're at $18,600 already without a car or any other luxuries. You could propose the individual forgo health insurance, but considering that Medical Bankruptcy is the number one bankruptcy in our country, that doesn't seem like the wisest decision.

While a Guitar Center wage isn't unambiguously incapable of sustaining a single individual with a very frugal lifestyle, it certainly is completely incapable of providing the income necessary to raise a family or send oneself to college.

 

[bassfran]

$10 and hour is plenty of money to live on if you can add, subtract, multiply, and divide. These things can be done on what we call a calculator.

Not around here it isn't. Unless you want to be under the expressway in a cardboard box.

 

[edbass]

The employees have a choice. If you don't want to sign, quit. Find other work. Lot's of jobs out there. Not everyone works their dream job at the moment, do what you got to do to pay the bills until you find the right job. There are much better paying jobs than GC, maybe not easier, but suck it up buttercup. There are many other jobs I would rather do than mine, but either I don't have the talent, or they don't pay the bills.......
But the job I do have, I'm good at, it has a union, it's a good job, and it pays the bills. Such is life. Now get of my porch you youngins......

This. Of course it seems like all of "never shop at GC again" posters are on the same page. Obviously if everybody actually stopped shopping at GC, ALL GC employees would transition from poor, mistreated GC employees to unemployed, EX GC employees.
Is this what all of the "never shop at GC again" think is best for these employees and their families?

 

[OOD]

Single coverage health insurance is averaged to $6000 annual.
$600 rent comes to $7200 annual.
$300 in food per month comes to $3600 annual.
$150 in phone bills and utilities per month comes to $1800

We're at $18,600 already without a car or any other luxuries. You could propose the individual forgo health insurance, but considering that Medical Bankruptcy is the number one bankruptcy in our country, that doesn't seem like the wisest decision.

While a Guitar Center wage isn't unambiguously incapable of sustaining a single individual with a very frugal lifestyle, it certainly is completely incapable of providing the income necessary to raise a family or send oneself to college.

Well if you waste your money on having better/more stuff than you can afford, you're right. That's what the calculator was for.

 

[GretschWretch]

Surely illegal, right?
It's like what happened with our retirement pensions administration with Pinochet, except worse, because as I seem to recall, USA is currently a democracy. Junta privatised the administration of retirement pensions. Already active and working employees had the option to stay in the old system and people starting out after the new law, didn't. But employers forced old employees to sign new contracts stating they joined the new private system.

Haven't read the entire thread, but the forced arbitration is NOT illegal. Recently there was a national news article about collection agencies buying up outstanding debts from states they are not even licensed to do business in, and pursuing people with whom they have no signed contract, often for non-existent debts. They can do this because of the arbitration clause in the original contract, which often they cannot produce as evidence, and win.

Arbitration clauses now are in everything. Look at your credit card agreement. Arbitration eliminates the possibility for class action suits, so Big Corpa always wins and John or Jane Q. Citizen always lose.

As to differing retirement systems for "old" (i.e., vested) and "new" employees, our pathologically incapable of adequately funding government state legislature went to this in 2012. Give them credit for honoring promises made to old employees. Here's hoping they continue to do so.

 

[GretschWretch]

$10 and hour is plenty of money to live on if you can add, subtract, multiply, and divide. These things can be done on what we call a calculator.

Those of us who had a real education can do it without a calculator. We also can read the display of an analog clock face and read and write cursive.

Now get out there and mow my lawn, you young 'uns.

 

[Algo]

Haven't read the entire thread, but the forced arbitration is NOT illegal. Recently there was a national news article about collection agencies buying up outstanding debts from states they are not even licensed to do business in, and pursuing people with whom they have no signed contract, often for non-existent debts. They can do this because of the arbitration clause in the original contract, which often they cannot produce as evidence, and win.

Arbitration clauses now are in everything. Look at your credit card agreement. Arbitration eliminates the possibility for class action suits, so Big Corpa always wins and John or Jane Q. Citizen always lose.

As to differing retirement systems for "old" (i.e., vested) and "new" employees, our pathologically incapable of adequately funding government state legislature went to this in 2012. Give them credit for honoring promises made to old employees. Here's hoping they continue to do so.

Yeah, let's say ethics and legality don't go hand to hand. I would know.
Thanks for the new word I now know btw.

 

[rmayer]

First GC took over a local Music store when I lived in northern NJ (Victor's House of Music-Great store). Fired 98% of the employees. Replaced them with drones that knew less than I did when I walked into the store. Maybe it's just me but I'd like my salesperson to be more knowledgeable than me when I'm asking about a new item.
Second, they're owned by Bain Capital (in part) a wholesome company. This coming from a union brother for 30+ years.
Third, you might want to read this short report, sounds like GC might be on the way out, and this agreement might be their way of protecting themselves from lawsuits from mass layoffs. Invalid Link Removed