Goodwill closing 16 Ontario Stores

[madchives]

great article @madchives ( even if it came from the Sun rag....lol! ) but I am confused now. Which is it?? Did their employees get paid TOP dollar
" union " wages with lavish benefits as gryphon had suggested or were they paid at minimum wage??

hey wob, i know what you mean about the sun, used to be the only reason i read it was for
their entertainment section, then,,,,
was terrific to see the food bank people helped out.
from what i can tell right now, all the pertinent info has been removed from where we could
see it - except the ceo makes between $200 - $300 thousand

[anisa]

living paycheque to paycheque can happen easily if you don't watch your spending, no matter what your income is.

It is hard to get a good idea on someone's wages when you don't know the exact figures.

[madchives]

living paycheque to paycheque can happen easily if you don't watch your spending, no matter what your income is.

It is hard to get a good idea on someone's wages when you don't know the exact figures.

mild guess - someone's wages, if they worked for goodwill are way below what one could comfortably
live with - hence the pay to pay life.
as for exact figures ask the ceo

[gryphon]

btw my comment about the union....

Most of the employees living paycheck to paycheck didnt get the benefits that the unionized employees got

[walkonby]

so then only SOME employees were unionized at Goodwill stores? Not all I am guessing? So how does that percentage work into them closing stores? I mean what amount of unionized employees receiving " lavish rates of pay and benefits " ( yes sarcasm there ) brought down this Company forcing them to lose money?? Honestly, I still doubt it was THAT which caused the fail of Goodwill.

[gryphon]

union jobs work on different levels. not all employees of companies belong to the same unions

[anisa]

I can't say I'm a fan of unions, even tho both my parents were CUPE members in professional fields.

I have never been union, never in my life had benefits, do not have any post secondary certification, but somehow have lived within my means having been blessed/lucky/whatever to have some decent jobs. Imagine that... living wages, respectful working atmosphere, and no union in sight.

I understand that Unions like to say they have been the push behind fair labour laws, but I am not sure they are needed in most cases.

Unions like to blow their own horns, but most of the goodwill employees I see on TV do not look like they were rolling in high wages, or even had the luxury of decent savings in the bank. Unions need to butt out instead of using the situation as an opportunity for their own propaganda.

[walkonby]

I have no idea why all the union bashing here?? It was obvious that the Goodwill employees ( as seen on tv ) were NOT the type you would think would be earning a healthy " union " wage, so why is this conversation of blame over the closing of the stores falling onto the unions in the first place?? Again only a small part of the Goodwill employees were part of a union, so why are they at the brunt of the blame game?

[madchives]

it is sad when some people have no idea about history, unions striked to get most of the 'rights' we now consider the norm.
i was on the line for maternal rights is '81 -
from wiki: In 1981, after another strike, CUPW became the first federal civil service union in Canada to win the right to maternity leave for its members.
trying to not get into some idiotic discussion about rights, but if you want to complain anisa look into the past and what you would not have had, and think.

hmm - you expect high wages because people have a union? one does not roll in high wages because they are unionized - did your parents?
trying to not look back to this thread as it upsets me too much to see some people type who have no idea how harder life is/was without a union.

hoping the goodwill people receive enough compassion/compensation to be ok

[Andit]

so then only SOME employees were unionized at Goodwill stores? Not all I am guessing? So how does that percentage work into them closing stores? I mean what amount of unionized employees receiving " lavish rates of pay and benefits " ( yes sarcasm there ) brought down this Company forcing them to lose money?? Honestly, I still doubt it was THAT which caused the fail of Goodwill.

Have no clue what caused the downfall, but do want to address the union aspect. I wonder whether the employees were required to pay dues, without actually being part of the union? If they were making minimum wage, this explains why they would be living hand to mouth. I know some folks who were on contract, but due to their positions, they were required to pay into the union without getting any of the benefits (zero protection, in fact one person I know was harassed by the union steward in the office and nothing could be done about the situation, so she had to quit).

It will be interesting to see what the outcome of this will be. Hoping the truth comes out.

[Andit]

In case anyone is interested, here is some info on their finances (for the Ontario chapter, other provinces look to be covered by different subsidiaries).

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/haip/s...ORTHERNONTARIO

Another thing I question, their mandate is to help those with disabilities find employment, but not sure how many of their employees fit that criteria.

[gryphon]

Have no clue what caused the downfall, but do want to address the union aspect. I wonder whether the employees were required to pay dues, without actually being part of the union? If they were making minimum wage, this explains why they would be living hand to mouth. I know some folks who were on contract, but due to their positions, they were required to pay into the union without getting any of the benefits (zero protection, in fact one person I know was harassed by the union steward in the office and nothing could be done about the situation, so she had to quit).

It will be interesting to see what the outcome of this will be. Hoping the truth comes out.

Thats one of the thing I was trying to say

[seylz_gurl]

Nakamura was in charge? She was fired as Toronto Housing CEO in 2011 along with a few other per this article below.
A city auditor uncovered questionable staff expenditures and improper tendering of contracts at the agency.http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toront...ired-1.1106328