A part-time country 28 hour work weeks

[JustRalph]

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/04/16/ObamaCare-Regal-Employee-hours

The new normal. 28 hour work weeks and two jobs..........if you can find a second.


Thanks Barry!!!

[wisconsin]

Well isn't that what Obama wanted? People with less so they can join the throngs on the public dole?

[RaceBookJoe]

Part-time jobs are the new fulltime jobs. :bang:

[Steve 'StatMan']

In France they demand and riot to keep their 35 hour work week. Then wonder why their country is struggling when paying higher wages than most as well, so they don't starve when they retire at 55 years old. And unemployment is also high, because firms there have troubles selling their high-cost labor goods beyond France.

I can see where we're headed. Can you?

[TJDave]

It appears that Regal cares little for the welfare of its employees. I hope they feel the same way about my business because they won't be getting any more of it...or my friend's...

[newtothegame]

It appears that Regal cares little for the welfare of its employees. I hope they feel the same way about my business because they won't be getting any more of it...or my friend's...

Hillarious, although you are well within your rights to use their services or not, you choose to no longer use them. Good on you!! Hope more people will think like you and do the same.....
Maybe they can cut people even further from the lack of business....:bang:

I know I know, they should not worry about cost to themselves.....I mean after all, what is a business in it for?? :lol:

[newtothegame]

P.S, Dave, do you know how many companies are doing this EXACT same thing? This company gets penalized ( or so you say you will) because they are forthright and say what is real.

If you knew how many companies were doing this, you would be hard pressed to find places to shop.....lol

[tbwinner]

Unfortunately this is happening everywhere. Some articles claim it is not happening as much as it is being reported, but its not just the full-timers getting cut to part-time...it is the part timers getting their hours reduced too.

I am no longer in charge of scheduling in my position but have noticed we hired two new part-timers that we didn't necessarily need before and part-timers are getting their hours reduced.

[JustRalph]

There is a breaking point.

My wife has 177 employees. Mostly fulltimers under the age of 28

Of that group over 100 do not take the offered health benefits. Many are still on their parents plan. But, a huge group just pays as they go for healthcare. I have discussed it with many many of them. They are young and honestly many think they are invincible. It's been this way for years. If they get sick they hit the urgent care and the pharmacy and pay as they go. They're young. Most make 500-1000 clear a week too. Waiters and waitresses.

The business model is built on this. It's been in place for 25 yrs. multiply it by 65 locations. Now sit down and decide whether your customers are going to pay for a new menu that includes a one time price increase of 35-40% And that may have to go up again next year depending on what happens with Obamacare. That would be the only way to finance adding every single full time employee to your healthcare system.

But wait, your competition right across the street has already decided that they are not going to play along. All of their employees are going to be part-time and their prices are going to stay the same.

Guess what........everybody is going to be part-time from now on, except management. Those fifty or so cooks and other staff that rely mostly on their hourly wage, and Very little tips, who are mostly older, who were buying the insurance plan are now without insurance and can only work 28 hrs. They get a 25% pay cut, are forced into whatever plan Obamacare will push them into and they need a second job. Or a third, because many have two already. That means at least one more commute too. At 3.65 a gallon. Not to mention many have families with only one car. It's now a huge burden just to get to work.

But remember what Barry said. " if you have insurance now, you can keep it, no problem".

[TJDave]

As an employer...

I want my employees to earn more, have more. I understand that it's employees and their hard work that makes my business profitable. I start from this premise. Regal and others have decided on a different tack. They will do it without my support...and, hopefuly, without the support of other customers, most of whom, BTW, are employed.

[newtothegame]

As an employer, you did not start a business or hire people for the hell of it. you went into business with one thing in mind and that was profits. Everything else after was and remains in place to make profits.

Now there are things in business which you can control and others which you cant. The things you can control, you do IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN PROFITS.

Companies will do any and everything to protect that which provides them the reason they are in business in the first place. Like it or not, payroll is the easiest controllable expense.

When Obamacare was being discussed, there were many of us who said this exact thing would happen. Others said we were crazy, that companies would just absorb the cost that we were "making up". Guess it's not so crazy now!

Sadly, as is mentioned it is more workers who will suffer by having reduced hours and benefits. Please don't think I am cheering this! I too am in management and weekly, we go over staffing levels and the hours which our PT employees work. We also go over the seasonal hours which were hired in and how much longer they will be employed. It's the nature of business!

[newtothegame]

As an employer...

I want my employees to earn more, have more. I understand that it's employees and their hard work that makes my business profitable. I start from this premise. Regal and others have decided on a different tack. They will do it without my support...and, hopefuly, without the support of other customers, most of whom, BTW, are employed.
P.S. what you "want" and what you ultimately can provide are not always the same in business...you know this Dave.

[TJDave]

P.S. what you "want" and what you ultimately can provide are not always the same in business...you know this Dave.

Successful employers don't provide...they reward.

[newtothegame]

You can play all the word games you want but whether it be "provide" or "reward" it is still after your profits! :lol:

[JustRalph]

Successful employers don't provide...they reward.

Dave, do you have 7k employees?

[TJDave]

Like it or not, payroll is the easiest controllable expense.


And the least understood.

Productivity is the key to the equation.

[mostpost]

Big business has been cutting hours for years now to avoid paying for benefits. This is not something you can blame on Obama care. Regal (and the others) is just using Obamacare as a whipping boy for something they would have done anyway.

I'm not clear on what this article is saying. Is Regal forcing all of its 40 hour employees to work only 29 hours a week? If that is the case and if those employees were covered by health insurance, then the purpose of this action is so that Regal no longer has to provide them with health insurance. Clearly the motive would be to eliminate an expense they already have rather to prevent an upcoming expense.

[newtothegame]

Reality sux doesnt it mosty!!

People like myself were screaming at the top of their lungs this would happen and now (when it happens) your only argument is this has been going on for a long time....

Amazing how there are less people in the work force now then in say the past thirty years.....

Amazing now companies are coming out and doing exactly what was predicted.....

Amazing now even some dems are trying to back away from this bill.....

But, all along, like it or not, the dem plan is working. get people on the government dole, (buy votes). Problem is, which goes back to the other side of the fence, how to pay for all those people put on the government dole...
:faint: I know, let's raise taxes!!! Just not Gorens,...lol

Nor Obama's, NJ say's 18.9% is medal worthy.....

How do we collect enough in revenue with only 18.9% being the standard?? :lol:

[JustRalph]

Hey Mostie, see if you can understand this.
http://washingtonexaminer.com/roofers-union-calls-for-obamacares-repeal/article/2527339


"Yesterday, the United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers International released this statement:

“Our Union and its members have supported President Obama and his Administration for both of his terms in office.

But regrettably, our concerns over certain provisions in the ACA have not been addressed, or in some instances, totally ignored. In the rush to achieve its passage, many of the Act’s provisions were not fully conceived, resulting in unintended consequences that are inconsistent with the promise that those who were satisfied with their employer sponsored coverage could keep it.

These provisions jeopardize our multi-employer health plans, have the potential to cause a loss of work for our members, create an unfair bidding advantage for those contractors who do not provide health coverage to their workers, and in the worst case, may cause our members and their families to lose the benefits they currently enjoy as participants in multi-employer health plans.

For decades, our multi-employer health and welfare plans have provided the necessary medical coverage for our members and their families to protect them in times of illness and medical needs. This collaboration between labor and management has been a model of success that should be emulated rather than ignored. I refuse to remain silent, or idly watch as the ACA destroys those protections.

I am therefore calling for repeal or complete reform of the Affordable Care Act to protect our employers, our industry, and our most important asset: our members and their families.”

The first leaks are starting trickle........unions aren't going to be happy either. They jumped in feet first and now find themselves up to their necks in shit.

[newtothegame]

Oh Ralph, I am sure those big union guys are just exaggerating. After all, mosty said this has been going on for years!!!

I will help you out mosty...

" I repeat THIS IS NOT OBAMA'S FAULT"

"It's bush, his daughter (for having a baby), McConnel, They are all too blame for this mess we are in....."
Meanwhile, Goren will tell us how we should not being using old information.....
The entire left will scream for more in taxes, And NJ will tell us Obama should receive a medal as 18.9% is Obama's fair share....
Goren, will then revert back to the 60,s, 70's, and 80,s (all the while telling us not to use old information.
At least there are no means to hurt people because guns will be next on the block.....(too bad we havent figured out what to do with those damn nails and pressure cookers)
:faint:

[mostpost]

Reality sux doesnt it mosty!!

People like myself were screaming at the top of their lungs this would happen and now (when it happens) your only argument is this has been going on for a long time....
That is not my only argument. That isn't my argument at all. I am saying that businesses are using Obamacare as an excuse to cut hours which they would have cut anyway. The proof of that is they have been cutting hours to save on benefits for years.

We have not even implemented the mandatory provisions of coverage yet, but they already think they know what the effects will be. Why don't any of these companies come out with specifics as to what the increased costs will be and why other facets of the ACA will not offset those costs.

Amazing how there are less people in the work force now then in say the past thirty years.....
No, it is not amazing at all when you consider the all out blitz that management has taken to cut employees; and if you consider the unrelenting drive by Republicans to decimate public employee unions and fire public workers.

Amazing now companies are coming out and doing exactly what was predicted.....
Why do I have to keep explaining the difference between anecdotal evidence and empirical evidence to you? One is important. The other is meaningless. Your evidence is meaningless. you and others have pointed out three or four companies which have said they would cut hours or cut pay to pay for the ACA. At least two of those later came back and said they were not going to do that after all or they never intended to. Papa Johns for example.

Amazing now even some dems are trying to back away from this bill.....
Can you give me specific examples. Never mind, if they exist, they are idiots, like that Roofers union president.

But, all along, like it or not, the dem plan is working. get people on the government dole, (buy votes). Problem is, which goes back to the other side of the fence, how to pay for all those people put on the government dole...
:faint: I know, let's raise taxes!!! Just not Gorens,...lol

Nor Obama's, NJ say's 18.9% is medal worthy.....

How do we collect enough in revenue with only 18.9% being the standard?? :lol:
A few relatively insignificant companies are threatening dire consequences, most are not.

[mostpost]

But, all along, like it or not, the dem plan is working. get people on the government dole, (buy votes).
This is not the Democratic plan because Democrats are not dumb. Democrats understand the difference between being on the dole and collecting benefits. Right now I collect benefits from Social Security. That is not a gift it is a payment on a contract that I paid into for forty plus years.

The forty seven percent who allegedly do not pay taxes are not on the dole. Most of them are working people who do not earn enough.

There is no such thing as an Obamaphone. The woman on the video who calls it that is either a fool or a Republican plant. The "Lifeline" program was started under Ronald Reagan and was extended to cellphones under George W. Bush.

Food Stamps. The number of persons on food stamps has risen in recent years, but is that because standards have been relaxed or because we have suffered through hard economic times? I say the latter. People lose their jobs and/or get their hours cut it stands to reason that more people will need to go on food stamps, It has nothing to do with Obama and everything to do with the guy who got us into this mess. You know who I mean.

Democrats know that putting everyone on the public dole is unsustainable. That is why Democrats support unions to achieve fair pay and working conditions. That's why Democrats understand that employers can not be allowed to dictate those things. That's why Democrats structure tax policy so that businesses put money back in their business instead of a Swiss bank account.

You are correct though that keeping people on the government dole is a political strategy. Republican strategists have been using in for years as a fear tactic to keep certain people voting against their own best interests. I'm talking about you.

[PaceAdvantage]

The forty seven percent who allegedly do not pay taxes are not on the dole. Most of them are working people who do not earn enough. And now, thanks to ObamaCare, they REALLY aren't going to earn enough... :rolleyes: :faint:

But you and I both know that if they had a chance to vote Barry into a third term, they'd do so with gusto...further proof that most people are idiots.

[newtothegame]

This is not the Democratic plan because Democrats are not dumb. Democrats understand the difference between being on the dole and collecting benefits. Right now I collect benefits from Social Security. That is not a gift it is a payment on a contract that I paid into for forty plus years.

The forty seven percent who allegedly do not pay taxes are not on the dole. Most of them are working people who do not earn enough.

There is no such thing as an Obamaphone. The woman on the video who calls it that is either a fool or a Republican plant. The "Lifeline" program was started under Ronald Reagan and was extended to cellphones under George W. Bush.

Food Stamps. The number of persons on food stamps has risen in recent years, but is that because standards have been relaxed or because we have suffered through hard economic times? I say the latter. People lose their jobs and/or get their hours cut it stands to reason that more people will need to go on food stamps, It has nothing to do with Obama and everything to do with the guy who got us into this mess. You know who I mean.

Democrats know that putting everyone on the public dole is unsustainable. That is why Democrats support unions to achieve fair pay and working conditions. That's why Democrats understand that employers can not be allowed to dictate those things. That's why Democrats structure tax policy so that businesses put money back in their business instead of a Swiss bank account.

You are correct though that keeping people on the government dole is a political strategy. Republican strategists have been using in for years as a fear tactic to keep certain people voting against their own best interests. I'm talking about you.

You are a riot....voting against my own best interest you say? tell me how I am doing so??

You call them Obamaphones, I call them free phones. And if you think they don't exist (as you claim above), just google free government phones...lmao.
There are entire companies dedicated to "free" phones (yet they dont exist according to you). Speaking of which....do you really believe that the phones are "free" or is someone (other then the end user) paying for them???

Your whole argument about dems supporting unions and vice versa is ridiculuous because of trade agreements. NAFTA = CLINTON. end of story!

Furthermore, show me one post where I have said a person who needs help should not get it. Show me one post where I said SS ( a benefit paid by the employee) should not be gained back by the (now) retiree? You can't !
I have a problem with the SS fund not being used for its intended purpose.

Unions....laughable! There was a time and place for unions. That time and place is gone thanks to your own wishes of larger government. I didnt propose departments like OSHA (even though I fully believe employees are entitled to a safe work environment). But departments like OSHA have all but replaced the need for unions.
As to wages and unions, again your large government has stepped in and set wages. Contracts (like it or not) are to be agreed upon by the employer and the employee (not some political bumb who is getting kickbacks from one side or the other). Wages are dictated by markets and markets are dictated by a meeting between the consumer and producer or seller of goods. So, you see, you want cheap prices but high wages...the two do not go together!!

You rail on companies like Wal-Mart (and if you are true to your word you would be in a super minority), yet millions upon millions of people shop there. Many of your union brothers!! I know this as remember I was once union as well.

You talk about how management has been trying to decimate the worker yet your big government subsidizes many of the programs which brought about technologies that led to the demise of workers.

I could go on and on but the reason you and I disagree is BIG government. You are all for it and I am totally against it. It seems that everytime the government intervenes into something, it screws it up. And you say I am voting against my own interest??? lol. One of is but I can assure you its not me. Keep voting for larger government and none of us will have a job worthwhile!

I'm still laughing at voting against my own interest lol....

[fast4522]

When all the company's say that they will no longer offer and pay the fine watch out.`

[iwearpurple]

It appears that Regal cares little for the welfare of its employees. I hope they feel the same way about my business because they won't be getting any more of it...or my friend's...

Regal's other option is to double the price of admission. Then you would also be stating that you no longer will give them any business. And if they increase the admission price and other chains cut employee hours and keep admission prices the same, guess who will survive and who will fail.

My guess is that when other theater chains do the same thing and cut hours (my guess is some already have but you don't know it), you will go back to attending movies.

Get used to this. The new normal work week will be 28 hours.

[TJDave]

Regal's other option is to double the price of admission

The limit is 9.5% of income.

[mostpost]

You call them Obamaphones, I call them free phones. And if you think they don't exist (as you claim above), just google free government phones...lmao.
There are entire companies dedicated to "free" phones (yet they dont exist according to you). Speaking of which....do you really believe that the phones are "free" or is someone (other then the end user) paying for them???
So many things wrong there. I don't call them Obamaphones. That is a term that was coined by the right wing blogosphere. I was merely quoting it. I don't no where you get the idea that I said free phones do not exist. I said there are no Obamaphones, because the program of free phone service did not start with Obama and it was not expanded to include cell phones under Obama. Both of those things occurred under Republican Administrations.

[mostpost]

Your whole argument about dems supporting unions and vice versa is ridiculuous because of trade agreements. NAFTA = CLINTON. end of story!
NAFTA was a big mistake. Clinton believed that it would lead to improved living conditions in other countries-that they would rise up to our standard of living and become better trading parties. The opposite happened. They flooded out markets, and attracted our companies with their cheap labor. NAFTA should be repudiated.

[Saratoga_Mike]

NAFTA was a big mistake. Clinton believed that it would lead to improved living conditions in other countries-that they would rise up to our standard of living and become better trading parties. The opposite happened. They flooded out markets, and attracted our companies with their cheap labor. NAFTA should be repudiated.

I assume you're referring to Mexico? Yes, it has to be Mexico. So the Mexican standard of living hasn't improved since NAFTA? Their global competitiveness hasn't improved? Quick...rush to Wiki....

[mostpost]

Furthermore, show me one post where I have said a person who needs help should not get it. Show me one post where I said SS ( a benefit paid by the employee) should not be gained back by the (now) retiree? You can't !
I have a problem with the SS fund not being used for its intended purpose.
It's not always about you. Whenever some righty writes or speaks about such and such percentage of Americans receiving assistance from the government, they always include Social Security and Medicare in that calculation.

Social Security funds are only used for Social Security. Social Security does loan money to the other parts of the government. Money which is repaid with interest. It's like when I borrowed money from Toyota financial to buy my car. Toyota Financial Services did not pay for my car in the end. I paid with money they lent to me-not gave to me.

[mostpost]

Unions....laughable! There was a time and place for unions. That time and place is gone thanks to your own wishes of larger government. I didnt propose departments like OSHA (even though I fully believe employees are entitled to a safe work environment). But departments like OSHA have all but replaced the need for unions.
If we got rid of unions, how long do you think it would be before all of those gains were overturned. It has started already with states like Wisconsin and Michigan taking rights away from their public unions. Ohio tried to do it, but at least for now they failed. You say OSHA has made unions unnecessary, but OSHA was established by a law and a law can be repealed.

[mostpost]

As to wages and unions, again your large government has stepped in and set wages. Contracts (like it or not) are to be agreed upon by the employer and the employee (not some political bumb who is getting kickbacks from one side or the other). Wages are dictated by markets and markets are dictated by a meeting between the consumer and producer or seller of goods. So, you see, you want cheap prices but high wages...the two do not go together!!
Where has the government stepped in and set wages? Government jobs; yes.
Minimum wage, but that affects a small percentage of workers. Other than those, I cannot think of any.
Employment is a contract between employer and employee, but a contract can only be a valid contract if both parties have reasonably equal power. An individual negotiating against an organization can not have equal power. A union gives an individual that power.
To a certain extent wages are determined by the market. But if a company determines it can pay a worker a maximum of $10 an hour and still make a profit, that does not mean they will offer him $10 an hour. The more they offer under that amount, the more profit they will make.

[wisconsin]

To a certain extent wages are determined by the market. But if a company determines it can pay a worker a maximum of $10 an hour and still make a profit, that does not mean they will offer him $10 an hour. The more they offer under that amount, the more profit they will make.


And that is how things work. Now go out and open that new business of yours and change things.

[pondman]

Guess what........everybody is going to be part-time from now on, except management. Those fifty or so cooks and other staff that rely mostly on their hourly wage, and Very little tips, who are mostly older, who were buying the insurance plan are now without insurance and can only work 28 hrs. They get a 25% pay cut, are forced into whatever plan Obamacare will push them into and they need a second job. .

Part of our business is payroll. We are seeing companies pay employees out of multiple checkbooks in order to reduce overtime, circumventing labor boards and laws. They'll be on the same job, but if they are driving a piece of equipment, it's out of one check book. If they are changing oil, it's out of another. Running for parts-- another check book. So they'll get 3 or 4 different paychecks, but are being supervisized by a single individual. It's getting crazy-- they way people are getting paid today.

[Saratoga_Mike]

Part of our business is payroll. We are seeing companies pay employees out of multiple checkbooks in order to reduce overtime, circumventing labor boards and laws. They'll be on the same job, but if they are driving a piece of equipment, it's out of one check book. If they are changing oil, it's out of another. Running for parts-- another check book. So they'll get 3 or 4 different paychecks, but are being supervisized by a single individual. It's getting crazy-- they way people are getting paid today.

But aren't the checks all associated with one Social Security number and one EIN number? What you're describing is tax fraud, which I'm sure you know.

[TJDave]

Part of our business is payroll. We are seeing companies pay employees out of multiple checkbooks in order to reduce overtime, circumventing labor boards and laws. They'll be on the same job, but if they are driving a piece of equipment, it's out of one check book. If they are changing oil, it's out of another. Running for parts-- another check book. So they'll get 3 or 4 different paychecks, but are being supervisized by a single individual. It's getting crazy-- they way people are getting paid today.

Nice...Stealing from employees and tax fraud.

You should report such behavior. I would assume you have the fiduciary responsibility.

[Striker]

But aren't the checks all associated with one Social Security number and one EIN number? What you're describing is tax fraud, which I'm sure you know.
Happens all the time just like businesses hiring illegals to work for them. I know 2 businesses around me that don't even go as far as what pondman says with the different departments cutting checks. If an employee works say 60 hours a week, they will cut 2 different checks for 30 hours and that is it, so that they won't have to pay the overtime rate. Obviously they then falsify any records that they turn into the IRS and so forth.

[Striker]

You should report such behavior. I would assume you have the fiduciary responsibility.
Becoming a whistle blower is the quickest way to the unemployment line especially working for a company that treats its employees like this.

[TJDave]

Becoming a whistle blower is the quickest way to the unemployment line especially working for a company that treats its employees like this.

I was referring to client privilege. Confidentiality does not preclude reporting fraud. I believe Pondman has an obligation.

[Tom]

Originally Posted by mostpost
To a certain extent wages are determined by the market. But if a company determines it can pay a worker a maximum of $10 an hour and still make a profit, that does not mean they will offer him $10 an hour. The more they offer under that amount, the more profit they will make.


Or, a union comes along and demands $12, not caring about anyone but themselves.

[mostpost]

Or, a union comes along and demands $12, not caring about anyone but themselves.

And of course management will immediately accede to that demand. :rolleyes:
It's all about negotiation between equal partners. Maybe the union will ask for $12 an hour to force the company to prove it can only afford $10.

[newtothegame]

And of course management will immediately accede to that demand. :rolleyes:
It's all about negotiation between equal partners. Maybe the union will ask for $12 an hour to force the company to prove it can only afford $10.
Or maybe, like in a public sector union, they can guarantee themselves 12 by dealing with a politician (who has no dog in the fight), on the contract.....:lol:

[mostpost]

Or maybe, like in a public sector union, they can guarantee themselves 12 by dealing with a politician (who has no dog in the fight), on the contract.....:lol:
I can find a thousand stories of public sector workers being forced to give back salary gains and give up benefits, or being forced to take furlough days. I can give you examples of school districts in the Chicago area where teachers are working without a contract while fighting to limit the cutbacks in their district. I can show you districts where teachers went on strike after months of negotiation just to keep even.

But somehow you think that a union goes into a negotiation and says "we want this and this" and the politician says "OK and please let us give you twice as much and ice cream on the side."

What you don't seem to understand is the contracts you think are so profligate were reasonable at the time. The money was there. The politicians approving them could not have predicted how badly, Bush and company would screw up the economy.

[don]

Unions are run by mobsters