Shippers UPS, Amazon have trouble filling holiday jobs

[Returntosender]

Shippers UPS, Amazon have trouble filling holiday jobs
5:08PM EST November 30. 2012 - LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Hundreds of holiday jobs are there for the taking around here — and employers are having trouble finding people to fill them.
Major distribution companies like GSI Commerce and UPS are struggling to fill jobs to ship holiday orders.
UPS still had 200 openings paying $8.50 per hour on four shifts this week, three months after setting out to hire 1,000 temporary workers. The shipping company also is offering employees $150 bonuses for referring new hires, who also get the bonus.

More info available on the link.

 

[klein]

$8.50 ???
If that's they all want to pay, then they better get used to be with out any additional help !

 

[barnyard]

Not surprising.

60 minutes just ran a piece on a company in NV or NM or AZ. They were bemoaning the fact that they could not get people to do machine work for $12.50 an hour.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

...yet we have people on unemployment who could fill these jobs and receive reduced benefits to supplement the difference...

 

[slantnosechevy]

...yet we have people on unemployment who could fill these jobs and receive reduced benefits to supplement the difference...

....yet we have CEOs, CFOs, Exec.Boards, and upper mngmnt. being paid out of control salaries, benefits, and golden parachutes sucking the profits out of their companies while expecting their employees to work for poverty level wages.

 

[bldg_floater]

There is a warehouse on the route I'm on that pays unskilled workers $11 an hour. They don't have trouble finding help, I wonder why.

 

[UPSGUY72]

...yet we have people on unemployment who could fill these jobs and receive reduced benefits to supplement the difference...

A lot of people on unemployment make more money then they would be working. There is no incentive to get off unemployment until you find a job that pays more than you would be making on unemployment or your benefits run out. Even when benefits run out people are going on SSI claiming they can't work because they have depression...

In other countries when your on unemployment you have to show up each day at a designated location to do some kind of community service or you don't receive unemployment.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

....yet we have CEOs, CFOs, Exec.Boards, and upper mngmnt. being paid out of control salaries, benefits, and golden parachutes sucking the profits out of their companies while expecting their employees to work for poverty level wages.

The salary gap is the largest in our history and is very hard to justify; however, companies being unable to fill vacancies because people are not willing to work for poverty level wages, especially those collecting one form or another of government assistance, is also hard to justify. If you are collecting unemployment and are not willing to accept a lower paying job with the promise of a reduced benefit to supplement you should lose your eligibility to receive benefits. For example, if you currently "earn" $400/week on unemployment and are hired for a job which only pays $200/week the government should make up the difference. Much better to have people working than to pay them to sit at home.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

A lot of people on unemployment make more money then they would be working. There is no incentive to get off unemployment until you find a job that pays more than you would be making on unemployment or your benefits run out. Even when benefits run out people are going on SSI claiming they can't work because they have depression...

In other countries when your on unemployment you have to show up each day at a designated location to do some kind of community service or you don't receive unemployment.

My brother works in Connecticut. He told me they have a program called Work Share (or something like that) in which the state pays the difference between what you were making on unemployment and the reduced salary of your new job. Jobs are filled and unemployment benefits are reduced.

 

[Bubblehead]

The salary gap is the largest in our history and is very hard to justify; however, companies being unable to fill vacancies because people are not willing to work for poverty level wages, especially those collecting one form or another of government assistance, is also hard to justify. If you are collecting unemployment and are not willing to accept a lower paying job with the promise of a reduced benefit to supplement you should lose your eligibility to receive benefits. For example, if you currently "earn" $400/week on unemployment and are hired for a job which only pays $200/week the government should make up the difference. Much better to have people working than to pay them to sit at home.

I initially hit the like button on this post till it dawned on that me, that with a system like this in place, there is no incentive for companies to pay a fair wage.
How would this serve to fix the problem you outlined in the first part of your post?

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

There is little any of us can do about the idiotic wages being paid to Fortune 500 CEO's and other upper management; but, then again, I haven't heard anyone complain about the $12M one year contracts the Yankees just signed with 41 year old Andy Pettitte and 42 year old Mariano Rivera to play baseball on a part-time basis.

My point about those collecting unemployment is quite simple---if you are offered a chance to work and are also offered to be paid the difference and you refuse your eligibility for benefits should be terminated.

 

[Bubblehead]

I initially hit the like button on this post till it dawned on that me, that with a system like this in place, there is no incentive for companies to pay a fair wage.
How would this serve to fix the problem you outlined in the first part of your post?

There is little any of us can do about the idiotic wages being paid to Fortune 500 CEO's and other upper management; but, then again, I haven't heard anyone complain about the $12M one year contracts the Yankees just signed with 41 year old Andy Pettitte and 42 year old Mariano Rivera to play baseball on a part-time basis.

My point about those collecting unemployment is quite simple---if you are offered a chance to work and are also offered to be paid the difference and you refuse your eligibility for benefits should be terminated.

You really didn't answer my question.
My bad, that's right, you said there is little we can do.
I don't accept that position and neither should you.

BTW, I hear plenty of people complaining about baseball salaries and I don't see the parallel.
The players in the MLB aren't CEO's they are the bargaining unit.
You may have alluded to one of the few industries in this country where the front line worker is getting a proportionate piece of the pie.
Are you saying that these players should make minimum wage while the owners and CEO's hoard all the spoils?

Read this and see how things can change if we act collectively.
Marvin Miller, Union Leader Who Changed Baseball, Dies at 95 - NYTimes.com

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

To be quite honest I am not at all that concerned about how much Scott Davis earns as his wage/benefit package does not impact what we make. A reduction of his compensation would have little to no effect on ours.

 

[klein]

You know, I worked p/t during my unemployment period I had.
What a waste that was !
I had to report my income while reporting my bi-weekly unemployment report.
They took every penny I earned off my unemployment check.

I tried to fight with them over gas money and other expenses, like washing work clothes, etc. Nope, got nothing for that.
So, in the end , I wasn't just going to work for free, but basically paid to go to work. (getting same weekly pay, but working and paying gas money).
Was it worth it ? I would say absolutly not !

 

[curiousbrain]

To be quite honest I am not at all that concerned about how much Scott Davis earns as his wage/benefit package does not impact what we make. A reduction of his compensation would have little to no effect on ours.

I am inclined to agree and disagree.

To elaborate, the compensation for those who control the commanding heights of the economy, is frankly incomprehensible when compared to that of the "average" worker - or even the privileged worker with union protection, such as many at UPS.

I do agree, though, that a reduction of Mr. Davis' compensation would not result in any net effect - however, that is more a reflection of the culture that we breed in this country, than it is an economic "truth." If we, as a culture, were to reduce our acceptance of how much upper management is paid, then that would be a different story. It's not an individual thing - in that Mr. Davis is not to blame - rather, we all share fault for the fact that we allow these people to be paid outrageous amounts of money (that, per annum, could probably wipe out poverty in small areas) and they suffer no real consequences.

Not only do they not suffer any real consequences, but the more money you make the better accountants and lawyers you can hire to hide your money so you pay less taxes.

Honestly ... it's not the wages, or the people, it's the culture.

 

[Bubblehead]

To be quite honest I am not at all that concerned about how much Scott Davis earns as his wage/benefit package does not impact what we make. A reduction of his compensation would have little to no effect on ours.

If you were being honest, you would admit that you only care about yourself.

 

[UPSGUY72]

To be quite honest I am not at all that concerned about how much Scott Davis earns as his wage/benefit package does not impact what we make. A reduction of his compensation would have little to no effect on ours.

Any reduction in anyone compensation is going to go straight to the share holders...

 

[jaker]

I don't care how much a CEO or whatever makes , just don't make it off my pay by trying to reduce it

 

[Bubblehead]

I don't care how much a CEO or whatever makes , just don't make it off my pay by trying to reduce it

We need to care, as there is only a finite amount of money to go around.
If one entity gets more, another has to get less.

 

[104Feeder]

It's easy to write off the people receiving Unemployment Insurance as freeloaders who don't want to work.

However, think about it this way:
Say you net $1200/week working for UPS but are terminated.
AZ's maximum unemployment benefit is $240/week (worst in the Nation last I checked)
Even Hawaii, best in the Country, only provides $416/week
Now any work I do would offset that benefit, so just 6 hours per day as a helper would wipe it out.

A better use of your time would be to spend those 6 hours looking for another job, training for another career, or starting your own business.
Ultimately your goal should be to replace all of your lost income and more, not finding part time work to fill the gap.

We always hear about supply and demand in regards to Business, yet oddly how "employers aren't feeling pressure to raise wages". Well the supply is staying away so it's time for UPS to step up if they want to attract seasonal help.