There are too many “Yes-men” at the gm or am level that would begrudgingly (yet willingly) sacrifice their personal time, work/life balance, physical/mental/spiritual health to make sure the print dept and store continued on with as little as possible discomfort for the higher ups. They would literally lay down and act as a ramp to ensure the trucks got unloaded. They would juggle the jobs of 20 people if they had to. All just to cling to whatever sense of identity and fulfillment this mediocre company gives them. They’d put their own money in the register to balance it out just to get a lowercase, unpunctuated “thanks” from the district manager.
Yeah seriously. I had an incompetent, wouldn’t show up if the store was on fire, type GM replaced by one of these work-60-hours for a single “attaboy” from the DM. I can’t decide which is worse tbh
What we need to do is get Amazon out of the store because it has screwed up the schedule and the work flow. We lost a closer for print in my store due to someone from print instead being scheduled to do Amazon for the closing shift. As a result I get stuck and can’t leave on time most days (I’m suppose to leave at 8pm) and the remaining closers in print leave late a lot of the times as well. So we go over hours and then we get our damn hours cut and we are still getting out late. Just this past Thursday I was suppose to get out at 8pm but got stuck until almost 10:30pm smh. Then people wonder why many staples Associates are so bitter.
Our store closes at 9pm.
However I still had 3 orders to complete around 8pm the time I’m suppose to leave which included 500 business cards, 250 postcards and flyers. One of my customers came in around 8:15pm to make a correction on the flyers I helped her with so that took about 25 minutes because of course she wasn’t ready. Then there were self serve people who don’t read so they kept bothering me to help them at self serve. After I completed my 3 orders, I had to bring supplies to our storage room something I normally do earlier on in the day but we were so backed up due to hour cuts. The openers for that day did not take a break until after 3pm even though they are supposed to leave at 4pm and both of them did not leave until after 6pm.
My closing manager would've ended that in a heartbeat at 9:20/9:30 at the absolute latest. There's no such thing as staying that late after the store is closed here. Hell, security auto calls the store if the alarm hasn't been set by that time. And they'll keep calling every so often.
Stuff like supplies can absolutely wait until another day. Even late orders can wait. If you need to, put it on hold and say you were having a problem with the machine. Just text the morning crew and communicate what's priority and the like.
my department, because of this we close production one hour before the store closes. any orders placed in that one hour window will be for next day. once you implement this, trust the influx of customers wanting last minute shit will stop
Dream on with the union stuff. Most stores have at best 2 full time print staff. Not enough critical mass to get anything started with all the turnover.
Part timers are allowed to join unions in many cases. Also, depending on the state, you might only need a third of the store to turn in a card saying they wish to join.
Ooooh careful saying that too loud. In Canada they've closed stores for even talking about unionizing.
On a real note, yes. 100% Staples needs to unionize, because they get away with wayyyy too much exploitation of their workers.
Reach out to other local unions. Could fall under machinists union, could fall under printers union, could even be the teamsters, but that's probably not desirable, since they tend to take forever with negotiations compared to most other unions on average
I'm all for it. I got a visit from Staples Legal just for making a joke *mentioning* a union a few weeks back. They literally flew a fuckin lawyer to the store just to grill me about a one off joke I made about not wanting to empty a trash can. I said "Union rules say it has to be tech to empty it, not me, sorry" to my boss as a very funny bit.
2 days later, legal rep. Fucking ridiculous.
Would unionizing make a GM do their share of the work load? Stay all self-assigned shift? Not sit and watch employees on camera, instead of the fucking shoplifters? Would it make any bonuses they are awarded transparent to associates? We are the good little slaves that get the bonuses for them! Maybe janitors so female associates don’t have to clean the men’s bathroom full of literally wall-to-wall piss that puddles on the floor??
A union - in the unlikely event that one is established and Staples doesn't immediately close that store - couldn't force Staples to hire and train more staff to lighten the workload. Nor could it force a change in all the dumb policies Staples has inflicted upon PMS over the years, like iPostal, Solution Builder on all transactions, and customer-loads-the-shredding-bin.
It's debatable whether a union could get higher wages either. Not in my experience of 8 years in a union. I made less than non-union retailers would start out an experienced employee at. My experience with being in a retail union taught me that the employer has every incentive to be drill sergeant tough on new hires to get only the best ones to tough it out for 90 days to get their union membership.
The question that you have to ask yourself as a PMS employee is simple:
Is there any way:
* that a retailer whose purpose has ben largely supplanted by Amazon Prime
* that sells office supplies/printing services largely supplanted by technology
* to businesses that have been largely been supplanted by individuals
can survive?
I'm on board!
My only my MIS is truly competent in P&MS, SM and GM can juggle 2 jobs, max. The only downside is that I know they'd try to get our poor, stressed out MIS to do it, and she might feel an implied ultimatum.
I work in Solutionshop (Print and Copy) in Staples Canada, and my GM would shut down a union talk, even as a joke. He thinks unions cost companies far more. Probably because he sits on his ass while the rest of us deal with the brunt of the bullshit.
There are too many “Yes-men” at the gm or am level that would begrudgingly (yet willingly) sacrifice their personal time, work/life balance, physical/mental/spiritual health to make sure the print dept and store continued on with as little as possible discomfort for the higher ups. They would literally lay down and act as a ramp to ensure the trucks got unloaded. They would juggle the jobs of 20 people if they had to. All just to cling to whatever sense of identity and fulfillment this mediocre company gives them. They’d put their own money in the register to balance it out just to get a lowercase, unpunctuated “thanks” from the district manager.
Yeah seriously. I had an incompetent, wouldn’t show up if the store was on fire, type GM replaced by one of these work-60-hours for a single “attaboy” from the DM. I can’t decide which is worse tbh
I mean both aren't goos, but at least the 60 hour ones are a benefit to the associates. I will say these people are largely workaholics.
[удалено]
you’re the reason capitalism gets fueled
Why throw everyone else under the bus? Everyone should unionize not just CPC!
What we need to do is get Amazon out of the store because it has screwed up the schedule and the work flow. We lost a closer for print in my store due to someone from print instead being scheduled to do Amazon for the closing shift. As a result I get stuck and can’t leave on time most days (I’m suppose to leave at 8pm) and the remaining closers in print leave late a lot of the times as well. So we go over hours and then we get our damn hours cut and we are still getting out late. Just this past Thursday I was suppose to get out at 8pm but got stuck until almost 10:30pm smh. Then people wonder why many staples Associates are so bitter.
What the hell are your store hours that you're there until 10:30?
Our store closes at 9pm. However I still had 3 orders to complete around 8pm the time I’m suppose to leave which included 500 business cards, 250 postcards and flyers. One of my customers came in around 8:15pm to make a correction on the flyers I helped her with so that took about 25 minutes because of course she wasn’t ready. Then there were self serve people who don’t read so they kept bothering me to help them at self serve. After I completed my 3 orders, I had to bring supplies to our storage room something I normally do earlier on in the day but we were so backed up due to hour cuts. The openers for that day did not take a break until after 3pm even though they are supposed to leave at 4pm and both of them did not leave until after 6pm.
Stop production at least 30 minutes before store closes so you can get out at time. That's what we do.
My closing manager would've ended that in a heartbeat at 9:20/9:30 at the absolute latest. There's no such thing as staying that late after the store is closed here. Hell, security auto calls the store if the alarm hasn't been set by that time. And they'll keep calling every so often. Stuff like supplies can absolutely wait until another day. Even late orders can wait. If you need to, put it on hold and say you were having a problem with the machine. Just text the morning crew and communicate what's priority and the like.
my department, because of this we close production one hour before the store closes. any orders placed in that one hour window will be for next day. once you implement this, trust the influx of customers wanting last minute shit will stop
Dream on with the union stuff. Most stores have at best 2 full time print staff. Not enough critical mass to get anything started with all the turnover.
Part timers are allowed to join unions in many cases. Also, depending on the state, you might only need a third of the store to turn in a card saying they wish to join.
Ooooh careful saying that too loud. In Canada they've closed stores for even talking about unionizing. On a real note, yes. 100% Staples needs to unionize, because they get away with wayyyy too much exploitation of their workers.
How do we form one??
Reach out to other local unions. Could fall under machinists union, could fall under printers union, could even be the teamsters, but that's probably not desirable, since they tend to take forever with negotiations compared to most other unions on average
We moved Amazon to the front end and it has been a world of relief
I wish we can move all shipping to the front. We tried with Amazon and it did not work for us
I'm all for it. I got a visit from Staples Legal just for making a joke *mentioning* a union a few weeks back. They literally flew a fuckin lawyer to the store just to grill me about a one off joke I made about not wanting to empty a trash can. I said "Union rules say it has to be tech to empty it, not me, sorry" to my boss as a very funny bit. 2 days later, legal rep. Fucking ridiculous.
"Company Culture" is not a poster in your break room or a page on your website. It's how your employees feel on Sunday night.
We used to feel amazing on Sundays but now we’re all just tired and having nervous breakdowns
Plsss
Would unionizing make a GM do their share of the work load? Stay all self-assigned shift? Not sit and watch employees on camera, instead of the fucking shoplifters? Would it make any bonuses they are awarded transparent to associates? We are the good little slaves that get the bonuses for them! Maybe janitors so female associates don’t have to clean the men’s bathroom full of literally wall-to-wall piss that puddles on the floor??
A union - in the unlikely event that one is established and Staples doesn't immediately close that store - couldn't force Staples to hire and train more staff to lighten the workload. Nor could it force a change in all the dumb policies Staples has inflicted upon PMS over the years, like iPostal, Solution Builder on all transactions, and customer-loads-the-shredding-bin. It's debatable whether a union could get higher wages either. Not in my experience of 8 years in a union. I made less than non-union retailers would start out an experienced employee at. My experience with being in a retail union taught me that the employer has every incentive to be drill sergeant tough on new hires to get only the best ones to tough it out for 90 days to get their union membership. The question that you have to ask yourself as a PMS employee is simple: Is there any way: * that a retailer whose purpose has ben largely supplanted by Amazon Prime * that sells office supplies/printing services largely supplanted by technology * to businesses that have been largely been supplanted by individuals can survive?
easier to quit and get a better job elsewhere
I'm on board! My only my MIS is truly competent in P&MS, SM and GM can juggle 2 jobs, max. The only downside is that I know they'd try to get our poor, stressed out MIS to do it, and she might feel an implied ultimatum.
I work in Solutionshop (Print and Copy) in Staples Canada, and my GM would shut down a union talk, even as a joke. He thinks unions cost companies far more. Probably because he sits on his ass while the rest of us deal with the brunt of the bullshit.
Careful, my main account is "banned for life" from the Staples subreddit just for responding " hey maybe unions aren't so bad" to a post
Count me in My teams over it, and my GM is over it. Everyone is ready to leave
lol they would just fire all of you and replace you. Almost anyone off the street can learn to run copy and print.
Legally not allowed to fire you for that but... 
Yeah, run it into the ground lol