wont happen.. robots are already replacing pickers... thousands of people per state picking fulltime will be a robot from 1 of 3 companies now... by 2026.
As a former Whole Foods employee I can wholeheartedly say not a single lie was told here. Excellent work. I would have added that Amazon essentially bought Whole Foods for free. If I remember correctly they paid in cash and Amazon stock- the price of which rose post purchase to cover what they spent. The entire company has effectively turned into a data mining operation. I hope these guys win their contract.
I lived next to a Whole Foods back before Amazon, and I had shopped there for special item for more than decade before that. The variety and novelty of the products has disappeared, and the employees all look just as frustrated as any other chain store, but the presence of these harried e-commerce shoppers has made the store un-shoppable. I don't go to WF at all now because I repeatedly had to physically stop these shoppers from running a cart over my toddler who was walking next to me. Even without a child there were e-com shoppers constantly trying to rush ahead or reach over me while I was shopping. What used to be a pleasant and relaxed store with fun and tasty products is now bland, abrasive, and at times dangerous.
Maybe large corporations, I've worked at small business and its really different. At my current job they actually send bonus to everyone when profits come in.
NO business wants to "create positive change for the world." When a company gets as big as Amazon, they want to keep things status quo. What does "positive change" even mean? 'Positive' is SO subjective.
The only time I ever got to talk with my company's CEO was when I worked RT doing BHIS with minors. They did what they called "focus groups" trying to figure out why our facility was having so many issues. When I told him about a recent (at the time) situation when I was held against my will by my supervisor as a client escaped and tried to force her way to me after I was barred by management from having any contact with her (long, incredibly stupid story short, even psych has no self-awareness or concept of confirmation bias even after evidence is provided), causing Romeo and Juliet syndrome to manifest, the only time he showed any emotion or registered what I said was when I repeated satements from another staff and inadvertently implied they cussed in front of this client. CEOs aren't even human.
If you have a concern, address it during a meeting with other employees. If a member of management tries to stop you and wants to discuss it later, remind them of the open door policy and continue in front of everyone else.
there comes a time when we have to realize expecting every company's employees to unionize separately is unfeasible. companies need to be forced to act morally through regulation. even if every company in america unionized, new ones would pop up that find a way to prevent unions, and that would allow them to generate profit quicker, which would get them more shareholders, and eventually they would take over the market and all employees/customers would be forced to use them instead. we're already all part of a union, it's called the united states. yet we voted to let the corporations decide the rules, and we have no power to stop them.
I agree. We need more laws protecting workers. None of us should have to leave our basic human rights at the home when we work through the door of a corporation.
@@ohiasdxfcghbljokasdjhnfvaw4ehr Generally, the Republicans don't want to allow unions. The Repubs have the majority in many states and they also gerrymander to get their way with our votes.
@@bzh7648we have shop unions in the UK... As a whole they do what the supermarkets say... They help in individual cases, but as far as big decisions nope. I know how stressful this way of working is, as I've been in this situation from a bad employer. It made me really ill, these companies are psychopaths.
I knew a guy who worked there until the Amazon buyout and his entire RANK as a supervisor was eliminated. He wasn't laid off, because then Amazon would have had to pay Unemployment, so they invented ridiculous reasons to write-up everyone in the company who shared that rank, forcing them to quit or be fired for "incompetence." Jeff Bezos is a saint. (sarcasm)
I am definitely Republican and right wing, no doubt about it but my dad has worked at a local grocery store chain in St Louis for 45 years, and is in the UFCW Union. I remember going on strike with him back in 03, that was a wild time. He still works a few days a week, but has great benefits and a pension. He feels if he completely retires, he will lose purpose in his life. I am all for workers getting better pay and benefits from companies who can afford it. I'm a trucker and the teamsters used to be a massive union, covering most truckers, but sadly a major company closed a couple years ago called Yellow Roadway Carriers (YRC freight) , which was union, and a lot of what killed that company was excessive demands from the teamsters that the company just couldn't afford. Towards the end, they had one of the worst fleets in the road. I think the decision to unionize needs to be made on a company by company basis. Just because your company has great profits and a ton of employees doesn't mean working conditions will improve because they choose to go union. You might even be risking your own livelihood because companies who are very much against unionizing might just close the location in question just to avoid setting a precedent for the rest of the company, leaving everyone worse off especially the community.
I agree. I was happy spending a little more for some fruit that wasn’t damaged, yet now I am just spending more. It is difficult to find independent grocery stores or food markets. The closest I have seen in my area are international markets. It would be nice to have specialty grocery stores like in Europe (ie. fish markets, bread shops, and bakeries in a centralized downtown).
@@arayan83079I live in a larger suburb of Tennessee, we also don’t have anything even remotely resembling a “local grocery store”. We have a seasonal outdoor farmers market that only happens on weekends, it is located in the downtown area where parking on the weekends will cost at minimum $20/hr.
As consumers we need to spend our dollars wisely if we want to live in a fair and equitable world. If workers want a union and the corporation fights it I won’t shop there any more. Corporations are not for the people. They only care about profit, period. That’s why our dollars can be quite powerful if, we the people, stick together.
Folks wouldn't boycott Amazon back when they fired Chris Smalls, who went on to lead the Amazon worker's union. They sure as hell aren't gonna stop shopping at WF. When eating high-quality food that is raised right matters to you, your only supermarket choices in this area are WF, Sprouts or Fresh Market. No one will get the yuppies to boycott WF.
If the choice is between Wal-Mart, Target, Wild Oats, Whole Foods, and Kroger..... .. which evil do you choose? What makes them better than the rest? (Hint: they are all the same)
@@chernobyl169 The bottom line for me is that is there's no place else where I can get what I need, I'll shop at the place that I know has it. Which would be WF. I boycotted Amazon for 2 yrs. during Covid, but I might have been the only one in my group.
The biggest problem with that is everyone has to eat. So unless you're going to grow all your own food, it's not that feasible to boycott grocery stores for most people.
Well... they fulfill your food needs. But I get where you're coming from. They love using different words for something that already exists and make it look as if it was something different or friendlier but it's a linguistic façade. It has a specific name but I forgot what it was called. It's used on News and by big corporations in general.
I am definitely Republican and right wing, no doubt about it but my dad has worked at a local grocery store chain in St Louis for 45 years, and is in the UFCW Union. I remember going on strike with him back in 03, that was a wild time. He still works a few days a week, but has great benefits and a pension. He feels if he completely retires, he will lose purpose in his life. I am all for workers getting better pay and benefits from companies who can afford it. I'm a trucker and the teamsters used to be a massive union, covering most truckers, but sadly a major company closed a couple years ago called Yellow Roadway Carriers (YRC freight) , which was union, and a lot of what killed that company was excessive demands from the teamsters that the company just couldn't afford. Towards the end, they had one of the worst fleets in the road. I think the decision to unionize needs to be made on a company by company basis. Just because your company has great profits and a ton of employees doesn't mean working conditions will improve because they choose to go union. You might even be risking your own livelihood because companies who are very much against unionizing might just close the location in question just to avoid setting a precedent for the rest of the company, leaving everyone worse off especially the community.
Glad you had a job, someone has to do the collating etc. I know you weren't probably part of the policy making but your knowledge (given anonymously if you like) would go a long way to helping those still stuck working under that scrutiny. Not everyone has to strike or be on the picket line -- the knowledge you have can be your way of helping 🤞💜
“Work faster faster faster!!” Why is Amazon so obsessed with speed? You’re already a successful company. All this does is make me want to buy my stuff elsewhere. Sadly, we are in an oligopoly where all these major supermarkets treat their staff horribly
My store had a bi-weekly auditor that always said he were never good enough. Then one day they gave us a pizza party to say we were the only store in Illinois to reach their standards.
That pizza party was paid out of the wages they kept from workers. What a lame way to pretend to reward good employees. I'm sure that helped everyone with their bills.
Whole Foods was a terrible employer fifteen years ago when they were an independent competitor to Wild Oats in the still-budding natural and organic food market. All that imagery of being the healthy future was disguising the same corporate culture of worker exploitation you get at Wal-Mart.
Not an option for most. My community's new food co-op took ten years to get off of the ground, and we will see if it can succeed. I only shop there. So grateful. The staff and customers know each other by name. It is a community. Do support yours if you have that option.
I have local farmers markets but they're extremely expensive. 99% of people can not afford it, which is actually the goal. Squeeze everybody dry, and you have what we have now. Actual fascism, not the "omg trump is a fascist" like actual fascism where companies and the government are working as one.
I work at Whole Foods and Amazon is all about metrics. Every time the CEO starts spouting off customers love this or that, he is flat out distorting the crap us workers have to deal with.
@@TimeFlies-d8byes…yes it is and again whole world aside from Whole Foods Sprouts is growing and amazing I have bought one thing from Amazon in the past year and some there are stores all around you and there are companies that make those goods to be sold on Amazon. Amazon just barely got into being the one to produce its own goods.
Worked at Whole Foods while in college and for about a year and a half after graduating. They didn't train me on the register until three weeks after I started, so I collected baskets for eight hours each day. COVID hit right after I graduated, and I worked through the thick of it. One of the worst experiences of my life. They refused to acknowledge that COVID was even a thing at first and wouldn't let employees wear masks because they didn't want to 'start a panic'. Corporate raised wages by a dollar for about six months so people wouldn't riot and then dropped it. Had enough one day, walked out and never went back. The people I worked with were some of the most hardworking, kindest people you'd ever meet. It's disgusting how poorly corporate treats everyone. We had to take anti-union training modules, which were framed as 'we think you don't need a union because we care about our employees' needs.' I can only imagine how much worse it's gotten since I left.
I'm impressed with your forward thinking. Once Amazon purchased whole foods, I completely stopped shopping there for a number of reasons. I never shared my view with anyone. I didn't want to bad mouth whole foods. I went in a few months ago, it looked like a ghost town. I asked one employee what's going on. He quietly said the store doesn't have enough workers. I noticed the shelves and premade food is nearly non-existent. Thankfully we have a local chain market that looks like WFs was in it's hay day. Best of all this chain of six markets is EMPLOYEE OWNED. I'm so glad to see employees who appreciate their jobs and have been there since the opening of the first store. I wish you all the best with unionizing in Pennsylvania, you all deserve every bit of respect and good wages.💙💙💙
My favorite thing to ask: "So if you have all these crazy metrics for low level employees, what are your metrics for managers and up?" It's usually followed by a long silence. These jackasses demand every second of an employee's time be maximized while their days work involves sending a few emails.
I was an associate store team leader or WFM for years. I worked very long hours under a great deal of pressure. After my days off I might have 400 emails and that was the very least of my responsibilities. The metrics pressure, short staffing, food safety regulations , constant interaction with team members and customers, no hr support, constant work orders for repairs. During COVID I regularly worked 16 hour days ( on salary, no ot). I finally quit 3 years ago. I had had enough.
Enough people need to do it. Most of us only know how to blindly consume while saying "I only care about me and mine". That rugged mindset is what got us here.
I hope you guys get a union. I want to shop where workers are paid and happy. I feel very uncomfortable shopping these days. I think online shopping allows us to ignore the face of the real workers. Same as eating modern meat. It doesn't look a thing like the animal and is transformed in ways that obfuscate the fact someone slaughtered a living animal so we could pleasure ourselves. If we can do that in mass it's no wonder people like Jeff can just crap on his employees. 😢
@@RayPointerChannel Honestly, I wonder what groceries aren't scummy. I avoid Kroger, Whole Foods, and (of course Walmart). Who's left other than regional shops? I tend towards Meijer, but it's only in the Midwest and I even sideeye it there too, since just because I haven't heard much bad, doesn't mean it's not there.
That young man is so right about the open door policy. WOW I’ve never thought of it like that. Stay together and fight together, we are more than them and we will win
I am sometimes in WF office buildings for work and wanted to point out that their higher level computer office workers (idk what those titles are) seem very happy with their pay and benefits, as well as the "company culture". I am not singing their praises, just pointing out this is also a class issue. Lower paid & "lower skilled" (as they are referred to despite often having plenty of skills and experience) workers are deprioritized and exploited almost everywhere in this country and it is a huge problem.
Precisely. The issue isn't with corporate. It is their customer facing workers who actually fulfill orders and supply and sell goods in stores. This dynamic is especially common in biotech.
I was a software engineer for Amazon for a few years, there is an issue with the work culture in corporate: they abuse the employees but pay them high enough to not only accept the abuse but pass it on down the line to the frontline workers. They also love hiring people on work visas since they are much less likely to leave for fear of being deported, this keeps the working conditions down and creates a culture of fear and cruelty. They had irresponsible hiring practices (competing for headcount with other big tech for no real reason) which led to unnecessary layoffs throughout the company a couple years ago. They claim they need to “be more lean” despite rising profits. If they had profit then they didn’t need to lay off anyone and they don’t need to underpay and squeeze frontliners until they get hurt physically and mentally. They have a program that is ostensibly meant to train warehouse associates and other frontliners to get into the tech part of the business - we had one on our team, she was a hard worker - but guess who was first to get laid off… the one who spent years with the company and followed all the rules to move up only to be kicked down again, she didn’t even get her old frontline job back
I worked at Wholefoods in seattle from 2004 to 2008. During that time the company went public. I honestly think that it was a really good place to work then. I remember hearing amazonbought it and I was like...damn I bet it's gonna start sucking to work there
Going 3 years now without giving Amazon a penny. I don't have an Amazon account anymore, and spend the 10 extra minutes to go to a small family grocery store. I know it's tough peeps and the convenience is nice but these companies treat people like trash and we need to make these companies hurt.
Try living somewhere where all the small grocery stores have been run out of the city... There are are lot of places where people don't have that luxury😢
there are no small family grocery stores by me, and that’s the reality for millions of Americans. we don’t use chains because we’re lazy and can’t do a ten minute trip to the store. that is a lie that you’ve just made up and believe. we use chains because that’s all we have. it is not a sign of moral inferiority.
My husband used to work at Whole Foods, it was horrific how they treated him. When he finally had an out, he hesitated because he felt bad leaving his teammates who would inevitably have to compensate for the work he’d leave behind. It’s so toxic and cruel. It makes me resent the wealthy people who shop there.
That sentiment is common at amazon warehouses, too. People are encouraged to overwork themselves to help out their overworked coworkers. Amazon very much encourages the “we are family” mentality, but only because it leads to higher output that seems like “just helping my coworkers” to the worker.
Nah, we won't care about 1-2 people that can only find food at Whole Foods. We care about workers' rights. And if you cared about your survival, you'd want this sort of company to not choke the market and be the only one that is able to supply you with what you need, but consoomer brain rot comes in many ways
@@CaliNic30 don’t even try to suggest that the suffering of employees of a universally hated corporate monstrosity is a fair trade off for defective genes.
No reason to frame this as a uniquely Whole Foods problem, although it’s certainly exacerbated by Amazon ownership. The entire system of Western capitalism is falling down this hole. You are no longer an investable person as a worker, you are a soulless commodity to be used and discarded.
Literally every single business since Covid. Profits have gotten used to skeletal crews. And when I worked as a MIT/AGM in the grocery stores (another chain) we were already seeing the management philosophy of “if you get everything done in a day, you’re not pushing hard enough”, as one of my store managers said. But still, it’s everywhere. In doctors offices, hospitals. Have you ever walked into a Walgreens before? There’s like one person in the whole store.
As someone working in healthcare, i agree. God forbid you go over your 40 hrs because you’re trying to get as many patients coordinated or the assistance they need navigating care. “F the patients if it means we have to pay you more because we’re too greedy and spineless to properly staff our hospitals” shareholders or some bizworm
Being poor is not good or helpful either. It's hard to boycott or have a choice if people are poor. I've seen comments say they know Temu or Walmart is bad but they didn't have a choice but to shop there because they were poor.
This is 100% the experience of Whole Foods. After Amazon bought it, Whole Foods and the culture was literally eviscerated. The people I enjoyed talking to for YEARS- are no longer working there. Amazon has literally destroyed the brand. CUSTOMERS SEE IT AND FEEL IT TOO.
@ 100% accurate. This is the same dehumanizing approach people like Musk and Ramaswamy will attempt to drive into literally every business and interpersonal interaction we have. It’s like forcing a form of autistic interaction onto the entirety of US society. This will lead to deeper erosion of human culture. Bezos, Musk and their ilk must be stopped.
@ and now we have a sh*tty version of Walmart where the shelves often go unstocked and the employees are disconnected from customers. Whole Foods used to have a positive vibe and a friendly environment - now it is a sad, dystopian desert staffed by people who aren’t even remotely connected to the people who shop there.
I worked at MOMs from 2013-2016, Rockville and Arlington. Unfortunately we started seeing a little of this philosophy start coming down in management. Not to the same level as described here, but yes, MOMs is the still the best of a bunch. I miss it sometimes, but unfortunately I needed a real job paying living wages.
As long as people are willing to work for money there will continue to be neglected workers. They solution should probably be to refuse to use money or spend as little money as possible until the money problem is solved.
I've had a Whole Foods store in my area for a few years but I've avoided it because of the bad vibe the place gave me, this tells me why that place has such a vibe.
Their palm pay bs creeps me out. They are clearly conditioning the masses for the coming system of technocratic control people like Bezos have in mind for us.
@@soninalphin2771 I'm so sick of this platform hiding comments. Hit the stupid newest tab if you want to see my other one I left. This one will probably get hidden too though.
If you get injured at work & they won't let you go, that's probably false imprisonment. Call 911 get the cops there get someone arrested get a police report call a lawyer.
Right - as a former worker/manager in a large corporate retail business, it was exactly the same - glossy printed words for workers and customers to be impressed with...and every measure of how workers were treated (and customers were helped) fell so far below those wonderful words as to be ludicrous. Corporations are NOT people (the Supreme Court was WRONG). Corporations of massive scale all play loose with the truth. They cut their own throats by cutting their employees to the bone...unable, not unwilling, to take care of the customer. Corporations are investing heavily in robotics. They will replace a machine when they wear it out. They treat their human workers the same. These corporations invite retaliation via unions. We only have to look to our history to see it being repeated - big business squashing its workers in the blind march to profits.
This video just made me aware of something I do and have done which I didn't think was a big deal but now I know it is. I am a senior disabled person (legally blind/Deaf) and when I shop at W or WF or wherever, I can NEVER find someone to assist me if I need to find something or read something for me (another thing they've done cutting employees to service the floor). So I ask the online shopper person who is always present now. Not thinking they are being surveilled or even have a time quota. They of course are very nice and do assist me (I have yet to meet one who refuses) but it never dawned on me that I am cutting into their squeezed time making their job that much more stressed. I really despise what corporations have done to our world (and the politicians who give them the power to do whatever they want). I'm old enough to remember pre-1980's shopping and it was a whole different world where customers and workers had a symbiosis relationship that was wonderful. Corporations drive was to make customers happy, profit came from that.
even that's pointless now, Amazon's search is filled with cheap knockoffs and fake reviews, and that's after you scroll through multiple pages of sponsored products
Ordering directly from suppliers is a good idea but they are likely going to charge for shipping which is bad if you pay for prime, plus you have to sign up for an account which is an inconvenience.
@@akreation We are paying for that so called convenience with the loss of our small business sector across the country though. Of course we are going to have to pay a bit more and be slightly inconvenienced if we want to support smaller and local business. Some of us believe the cost is worth it. When these few companies have complete saturation who is to say that they will continue to give us those savings anyway.
I usually look up your videos for updates! Our government has no idea how people are suffering these days. I feel for people with disabilities not getting the help they deserve. Thank you Ms Patricia Grover, imagine investing $12,000 and received $305,500.
Ms Patricia Grover was my hope during the 'bear summer' last year. I did so many mistakes but also learned so much from it, and of course from Patricia Grover
The first step to successful investing is figuring out your goals and risk tolerance either on your own or with the help of a financial professional but is very advisable you make use of a professional .
She is my family's personal broker and also a personal broker in many families I'm United State, she's a licensed broker and a FINRA AGENT in United states
I worked at Whole Foods in 2010, way before Amazon took over. We were constantly made to watch videos about how to handle abusive customers. They didn’t help. Worst customers by far of any retail job I ever worked. And insane levels of micromanagement.
When will we as a people/society get over the facade of business and business people? Business leadership in America is all about "what's good enough for me is not for thee." When it comes to employees and even customers. We have really fallen.
I used to be a regular shopper but the food quality is not what it used to be either. I haven't set foot in one for years and can't see ever going back.
I'm 59 years old and have never been afraid of hard work but I know I couldn't handle working in a situation like that. That sort of scrutiny is inhuman. I would be fired by the third day for punching a supervisor on the nose.
Vote with your dollars! I'm starting to exit anything Amazon that I possibly can. It's more possible now that Shopify has the shop app making it easier than ever to buy from Mom and Pop sites instead with much better service.
I live in Austin and I remember going to the original Whole Foods it was incredible back 15+ years ago they had restaurants inside now they have nothing compared to that time. Even the pizza has gone down in quality. I cannot shop in the produce and meat section not just from an affordable standpoint but because the stuff just isn’t good like at all the employees are the best part and I’m sure pretty soon they won’t even have that. When I see a shopper I usually get the F out of the way because I knew this I wish more people would do the same. Unfortunately people love Amazon and Whole Foods for that convenience but the reality is someone is always getting squeezed on the other side of the business.
I used to worked at WF back in 1993 - it was so hippy dippy and fun. I would only assume, once corporate got a hold of it, it became just another chain supermarket.
I worked at Whole Foods before and after they were bought by Amazon (two different time periods). The first time was 2013-2015 and it was great, they cared about the workers and it showed. When I came back in 2019, there was no soul, and whereas before, people were happy, after Amazon, it was like working with zombies. Good for those folks unionizing, that’s the only way they will learn.
I went to a Whole Foods the other day because I had a terrible headache and decided suddenly just to get food to try to relieve it. I almost got bumped into several times by employees who were almost running through the aisles, and it was clear that they were avoiding any possible conversation with customers who might be trying to find something. The cashiers seemed obviously unhappy. I hate going there and I really hope they're successful at unionizing before Bezos replaces everyone with robots or something.
Amazon often pays competitively, but they have extremely unrealistic expectations of their workers so it’s not worth it at all. Get paid a bit more for doing 3x the work in the same amount of time is just not right. Note that competitive wages is NOT always a livable wage. It’s often $1-2 more an hour than their competition for entry level positions. Early in my job as a supervisor at a walgreens my boss told me that i can’t expect everyone to work as fast as me and it’s MY job to learn their pace and plan and time manage accordingly. Amazon just doesn’t give a crap about that. They just want max numbers all the time. And honestly if someone can hit the numbers they expect for some positions they could easily get a job that pays more elsewhere for many positions. So that means that amazon is likely only attracting workers who aren’t at the level they expect based on the pay they offer and then they work them to sometimes death. I just wish they set expectations better and more up front upon hiring. Also when you go faster than you are comfortable you make more mistakes so it’s not a smart move on amazon’s part but i get it, they just wanna weed out the ones who aren’t up to their standards, but eventually you just run out of people to hire. So it’s a lose lose game imo.
I worked as a shopper at a midwest grocery chain (Hy-Vee) when I was in college. Paid a lot less than these guys get, but this was also in a town of 22,000 in South Dakota. Over the two years I was there, they never raised the UPH though. It was 75 for the whole time I was there. Every once in a while the lady from corporate would show up and was super mean to everyone. Our shopping manager was a super nice lady, and this corpo-chick would come in and tell her to be more strict, despite our manager explaining that she wouldn't have staff at all if she was mean (she was right, we were short-staffed for most of the time I was there). There was never any talk of a union, mainly because most of us were college kids and would be in and out of there in a few years. Hope these workers win and demand a 22 dollar an hour starting wage.
I worked at this store a few years ago and I fully support my former coworkers! The treatment there has progressively gotten SO much worse since I've been there. I hope everyone can see what an important step this is for worker's rights
I hope all the stores can become unionized. Those working conditions sound terrible and for what? Pay that isn't enough to get by. That should be criminal.
Could we start calling out the names behind the …corporations?!? I feel like when we say the corporations it is just too hard to fight. If we could call out human names behind these corporations we could atleast shame them at the least
I was worried about this when Amazon bought them. I will be canceling my delivery service through them. I stopped getting my main groceries from there a few months ago, so it’s time to nip that in the bud.
I recently discovered this channel, and I am extremely glad I did. The stories are impressive and eye opening. It's amazing to see real journalism emerge on this platform to make up for the shills who call themselves the news journalists.
This is nothing new. This is how most businesses treat their unskilled employees, and it gets worse the bigger the business is. To your employer, you are a machine they are renting.
When I saw the title I thought it was about all the hidden poisons, antibiotics, water, GM, and lack of nutrition, in US unprocessed food : just as bad though.
It seems all good things must come to an end. Whole Foods was really cool at one point, but like all business, it eventually gave into corporate greed.
These are easily solvable problems they are complaining about. Two words “just quit!” If enough people quit, it would undoubtedly change for the better
In a perfect world, quitting would be a great solution. But most people don’t have that privilege when they need to survive. Organizing is better since a community is more likely to make a change than an individual.
So many channels will censor their speech and content, as someone who swore an oath to the constitution, I thank you for your service, and hope you thrive where so many others have failed.
Worked at Whole Foods for a few months. Was one of the worst jobs I've had. I was five minutes late one day and was taken to the managers office and received a written notice. I was told the next time I was late they'd let me go. Had never done anything wrong while I was there. This alone was one of the reasons I got out of there as soon as I could.
Unhappy workers who aren't allowed even to take care of their own bodily functions 🚽 when they need to...?! 😩 I don't want that kind of negative energy attached to my groceries, and brought into my home. NO 🚫 BAD ENERGY ALLOWED!!!! This is why I do my own shopping with positivity and good intentions 😊🙏✨🙌
Our markets are set up so that all the benefits of successful publicly traded companies go to shareholders. This is a huge problem with people across the globe. Everyone wants to blame inflation, but the real problem lies with the stock markets and CEOs (and executives) who are awarded in stock-based compensation.
Kroger is just as shitty. Feed the Human soul? More like Feed OFF the human soul. Edit: I worked E-commerce for Kroger. JUST AS ABUSIVE. And they kept increasing the items picked too.
Once bezos took over it went down hill fast and I stopped shopping there. I think I saw an article once that their organic foods aren't necessarily organic because they come from china and aren't subject to the FDA. Even more of a reason to never shop with them.
Excellent journalism. Keep holding these companies accountable
wont happen.. robots are already replacing pickers... thousands of people per state picking fulltime will be a robot from 1 of 3 companies now... by 2026.
robots will replace pickers.. i know it well
Accountable for what?
@@dertythegrower eventually, robots will replace surgeons as well. It’s destined.
@@karahon2191exploiting labor.
Just off the top of my head.
As a former Whole Foods employee I can wholeheartedly say not a single lie was told here. Excellent work. I would have added that Amazon essentially bought Whole Foods for free. If I remember correctly they paid in cash and Amazon stock- the price of which rose post purchase to cover what they spent. The entire company has effectively turned into a data mining operation. I hope these guys win their contract.
Whole Foods sucks since being bought by Amazon
Absolutely!
No more christmas decorations or even music.
Don't think I've shopped there since then.
@@SirDydimus86 same here.
I lived next to a Whole Foods back before Amazon, and I had shopped there for special item for more than decade before that. The variety and novelty of the products has disappeared, and the employees all look just as frustrated as any other chain store, but the presence of these harried e-commerce shoppers has made the store un-shoppable. I don't go to WF at all now because I repeatedly had to physically stop these shoppers from running a cart over my toddler who was walking next to me. Even without a child there were e-com shoppers constantly trying to rush ahead or reach over me while I was shopping. What used to be a pleasant and relaxed store with fun and tasty products is now bland, abrasive, and at times dangerous.
Any company that calls their employees "team members" is already trying to spin the BS.
Yep
Or “family.”
Maybe large corporations, I've worked at small business and its really different. At my current job they actually send bonus to everyone when profits come in.
Disney calls everyone “cast members”
"Team member" is old BS. Now it's "Associate"....like if you are part of their golf club.
Every CEO says the same shit about "open doors" having a "direct connection" to employees. It is always bullshit.
NO business wants to "create positive change for the world." When a company gets as big as Amazon, they want to keep things status quo. What does "positive change" even mean? 'Positive' is SO subjective.
open door is just so they can single you out after
Door is open to tell on yourself and you'll become directly connected to the unemployment line. ;)
The only time I ever got to talk with my company's CEO was when I worked RT doing BHIS with minors. They did what they called "focus groups" trying to figure out why our facility was having so many issues. When I told him about a recent (at the time) situation when I was held against my will by my supervisor as a client escaped and tried to force her way to me after I was barred by management from having any contact with her (long, incredibly stupid story short, even psych has no self-awareness or concept of confirmation bias even after evidence is provided), causing Romeo and Juliet syndrome to manifest, the only time he showed any emotion or registered what I said was when I repeated satements from another staff and inadvertently implied they cussed in front of this client. CEOs aren't even human.
If you have a concern, address it during a meeting with other employees. If a member of management tries to stop you and wants to discuss it later, remind them of the open door policy and continue in front of everyone else.
There comes a time when workers have to unionize to have any power at all. Good for the Philadelphia Whole Foods workers!
there comes a time when we have to realize expecting every company's employees to unionize separately is unfeasible.
companies need to be forced to act morally through regulation.
even if every company in america unionized, new ones would pop up that find a way to prevent unions, and that would allow them to generate profit quicker, which would get them more shareholders, and eventually they would take over the market and all employees/customers would be forced to use them instead.
we're already all part of a union, it's called the united states. yet we voted to let the corporations decide the rules, and we have no power to stop them.
I agree. We need more laws protecting workers. None of us should have to leave our basic human rights at the home when we work through the door of a corporation.
@@ohiasdxfcghbljokasdjhnfvaw4ehr Generally, the Republicans don't want to allow unions. The Repubs have the majority in many states and they also gerrymander to get their way with our votes.
@@bzh7648we have shop unions in the UK... As a whole they do what the supermarkets say... They help in individual cases, but as far as big decisions nope. I know how stressful this way of working is, as I've been in this situation from a bad employer. It made me really ill, these companies are psychopaths.
@@ohiasdxfcghbljokasdjhnfvaw4ehr
Reagan destroyed the country when he allowed corporations to run over people.
Whole foods is a typical company that hates its employees
It didnt used to be. I knew employees who worked there before and during the Amazon purchase and it used to be a great place they enjoyed working at.
It's like there's something inherit in companies that makes them hate workers... Hm.
I knew a guy who worked there until the Amazon buyout and his entire RANK as a supervisor was eliminated. He wasn't laid off, because then Amazon would have had to pay Unemployment, so they invented ridiculous reasons to write-up everyone in the company who shared that rank, forcing them to quit or be fired for "incompetence." Jeff Bezos is a saint. (sarcasm)
I worked there for 5 years in the 90s. It used to be a great place to work.
I am definitely Republican and right wing, no doubt about it but my dad has worked at a local grocery store chain in St Louis for 45 years, and is in the UFCW Union. I remember going on strike with him back in 03, that was a wild time. He still works a few days a week, but has great benefits and a pension. He feels if he completely retires, he will lose purpose in his life. I am all for workers getting better pay and benefits from companies who can afford it. I'm a trucker and the teamsters used to be a massive union, covering most truckers, but sadly a major company closed a couple years ago called Yellow Roadway Carriers (YRC freight) , which was union, and a lot of what killed that company was excessive demands from the teamsters that the company just couldn't afford. Towards the end, they had one of the worst fleets in the road. I think the decision to unionize needs to be made on a company by company basis. Just because your company has great profits and a ton of employees doesn't mean working conditions will improve because they choose to go union. You might even be risking your own livelihood because companies who are very much against unionizing might just close the location in question just to avoid setting a precedent for the rest of the company, leaving everyone worse off especially the community.
Whole Foods quality has declined. I’d rather spend money supporting local grocery stores, farmers markets and bakeries.
Amen! Support Local Farmers! 🙌
I agree. I was happy spending a little more for some fruit that wasn’t damaged, yet now I am just spending more. It is difficult to find independent grocery stores or food markets. The closest I have seen in my area are international markets. It would be nice to have specialty grocery stores like in Europe (ie. fish markets, bread shops, and bakeries in a centralized downtown).
@@Kenneth.j105 I live in LA. What are these “local grocery stores” you speak of :(
@@arayan83079I live in a larger suburb of Tennessee, we also don’t have anything even remotely resembling a “local grocery store”. We have a seasonal outdoor farmers market that only happens on weekends, it is located in the downtown area where parking on the weekends will cost at minimum $20/hr.
I agree, definitely not the same.
Amazon as a whole is solely all about the numbers
Soul-less
lived it at many of their positions.. since 2011
they also steal wholesale sources.. i was top laptop seller for apple 2011 and got magically asked after 2 sales, give up the source or account frozen
@@dertythegrowerLooks like somebody didn't bring their negotiating gun to the negotiating table.
For you to save they have to cut. 🎉
I've never used Amazon. When Bezos took over Whole Foods, I switched to the two smaller albeit local stores that were further from where I live.
You're lucky you're able to do that. I shop local when I can. Those business owners generally care about the community they're in.
Good for you! I would do the same if I were there which thankfully I am not.
Whoa!! You’re the only other person I’ve ran into that hasn’t subscribed to the local business killer bozo show… *high five*
As consumers we need to spend our dollars wisely if we want to live in a fair and equitable world. If workers want a union and the corporation fights it I won’t shop there any more. Corporations are not for the people. They only care about profit, period. That’s why our dollars can be quite powerful if, we the people, stick together.
Folks wouldn't boycott Amazon back when they fired Chris Smalls, who went on to lead the Amazon worker's union. They sure as hell aren't gonna stop shopping at WF. When eating high-quality food that is raised right matters to you, your only supermarket choices in this area are WF, Sprouts or Fresh Market. No one will get the yuppies to boycott WF.
If the choice is between Wal-Mart, Target, Wild Oats, Whole Foods, and Kroger.....
.. which evil do you choose? What makes them better than the rest? (Hint: they are all the same)
@@chernobyl169 The bottom line for me is that is there's no place else where I can get what I need, I'll shop at the place that I know has it. Which would be WF. I boycotted Amazon for 2 yrs. during Covid, but I might have been the only one in my group.
The biggest problem with that is everyone has to eat. So unless you're going to grow all your own food, it's not that feasible to boycott grocery stores for most people.
I stopped shopping there as soon as bezos bought it. I'm sick of these rich f*ks. They ruin everything they touch, most of all human lives.
Please stop calling warehouses "fulfillment centers." No one gets any fulfillment from being there.
Word-fu
English buddy
Your fulfillment is getting paid, employers are not there to hold your hand and coddle you.
@@bdegrds Enjoy the taste of boot leather?
Well... they fulfill your food needs. But I get where you're coming from. They love using different words for something that already exists and make it look as if it was something different or friendlier but it's a linguistic façade. It has a specific name but I forgot what it was called. It's used on News and by big corporations in general.
The USA MUST be Unionized.
Business MUST be regulated.
Business MUST not be the Government.
I am definitely Republican and right wing, no doubt about it but my dad has worked at a local grocery store chain in St Louis for 45 years, and is in the UFCW Union. I remember going on strike with him back in 03, that was a wild time. He still works a few days a week, but has great benefits and a pension. He feels if he completely retires, he will lose purpose in his life. I am all for workers getting better pay and benefits from companies who can afford it. I'm a trucker and the teamsters used to be a massive union, covering most truckers, but sadly a major company closed a couple years ago called Yellow Roadway Carriers (YRC freight) , which was union, and a lot of what killed that company was excessive demands from the teamsters that the company just couldn't afford. Towards the end, they had one of the worst fleets in the road. I think the decision to unionize needs to be made on a company by company basis. Just because your company has great profits and a ton of employees doesn't mean working conditions will improve because they choose to go union. You might even be risking your own livelihood because companies who are very much against unionizing might just close the location in question just to avoid setting a precedent for the rest of the company, leaving everyone worse off especially the community.
Hell no. Have you ever worled for a union
Do it
@@ayeitsshane806 ...do tell. Why is your comment is "hec naw"? 🤔
Well because many older unions have turned in to their own version of a mini corporation. Everybody's getting their back rubbed at the top everywhere.
This is America in a nutshell.
In a nuts hell.
The very unfortunate truth most, even including in this video, fail to realize. They're gonna keep squeezing us until we burst.
@@lboogy4704 They see us as cattle, less than human because we don't walk, talk, and act like these rich jerks.
America has lost its way. It’s no longer about the workers and customers - it’s all about the shareholders.
@@TulipIris7244always about shareholder return, it’s disgusting.
I worked at Amazon in the data department and yes, they track everything to the millisecond. I built reports on it.
Good job building the reports I guess
Glad you had a job, someone has to do the collating etc. I know you weren't probably part of the policy making but your knowledge (given anonymously if you like) would go a long way to helping those still stuck working under that scrutiny. Not everyone has to strike or be on the picket line -- the knowledge you have can be your way of helping 🤞💜
Because that's totally normal behavior to desire millisecond data on people...
(sarcasm, I presume) 😁@@williamyoung9401
Crazy how the guy at the bottom always expects top dollar for not having any skills!
“Work faster faster faster!!”
Why is Amazon so obsessed with speed? You’re already a successful company. All this does is make me want to buy my stuff elsewhere. Sadly, we are in an oligopoly where all these major supermarkets treat their staff horribly
It really doesn't make sense with Whole Foods... You shop at stores like that for quality and a good experience. Not to be rushed.
It really doesn't make sense with Whole Foods... You shop at stores like that for quality and a good experience. Not to be rushed.
@@gcs8889Amazon is still surprised they burnt through so many employees but still won't do anything about it. Stupid short term gains
It’s because it is no longer about the workers or even the customers - it’s all about the shareholders.
Unfortunately the top is full psychopaths and they enjoy making others miserable. This is the reason there is no other reason.
My store had a bi-weekly auditor that always said he were never good enough. Then one day they gave us a pizza party to say we were the only store in Illinois to reach their standards.
Lol. Pizza party. Classic.
What an extravagant reward for best in state. Sorry they suck.
That pizza party was paid out of the wages they kept from workers. What a lame way to pretend to reward good employees. I'm sure that helped everyone with their bills.
Pizza Party becoming a "rightful" trigger.
They'll get rid of you first before they EVER consider a raise.
Don't they take metrics at the stores before setting standards?
Whole Foods was a terrible employer fifteen years ago when they were an independent competitor to Wild Oats in the still-budding natural and organic food market. All that imagery of being the healthy future was disguising the same corporate culture of worker exploitation you get at Wal-Mart.
no such thing as a good corporation.
UNION YES!!!
I stand with the workers!
The greed of CEOs and shareholders destroy companies, instead of providing quality products and good jobs.
Shareholders? But...Amazon doesn't pay dividends. 🤔🧐🤔
The corporate monopolies are getting more consolidated and richer, while the rest of us work harder and get less.
Support your local co-op
Not an option for most. My community's new food co-op took ten years to get off of the ground, and we will see if it can succeed. I only shop there. So grateful. The staff and customers know each other by name. It is a community. Do support yours if you have that option.
I have local farmers markets but they're extremely expensive.
99% of people can not afford it, which is actually the goal.
Squeeze everybody dry, and you have what we have now.
Actual fascism, not the "omg trump is a fascist" like actual fascism where companies and the government are working as one.
@@JimboSlice-t5i i mean he is a fascist theres no denying that fact , companies and the government are working as one can be fascist as well.
@@zannis5441 You don't know what fascism is, and that's extremely apparent.
Take your brain damage elsewhere.
Yes and remember you can shop without being a co-op member
I work at Whole Foods and Amazon is all about metrics. Every time the CEO starts spouting off customers love this or that, he is flat out distorting the crap us workers have to deal with.
This is exactly why I never buy anything at whole foods or from amazon.
Where do you buy from?
@@TimeFlies-d8bthere is a whole world outside of Amazon/Whole Foods.
@@1975brett this whole world is also messed up
@@TimeFlies-d8byes…yes it is and again whole world aside from Whole Foods Sprouts is growing and amazing I have bought one thing from Amazon in the past year and some there are stores all around you and there are companies that make those goods to be sold on Amazon. Amazon just barely got into being the one to produce its own goods.
Worked at Whole Foods while in college and for about a year and a half after graduating. They didn't train me on the register until three weeks after I started, so I collected baskets for eight hours each day. COVID hit right after I graduated, and I worked through the thick of it. One of the worst experiences of my life. They refused to acknowledge that COVID was even a thing at first and wouldn't let employees wear masks because they didn't want to 'start a panic'. Corporate raised wages by a dollar for about six months so people wouldn't riot and then dropped it. Had enough one day, walked out and never went back.
The people I worked with were some of the most hardworking, kindest people you'd ever meet. It's disgusting how poorly corporate treats everyone. We had to take anti-union training modules, which were framed as 'we think you don't need a union because we care about our employees' needs.' I can only imagine how much worse it's gotten since I left.
I'm impressed with your forward thinking. Once Amazon purchased whole foods, I completely stopped shopping there for a number of reasons. I never shared my view with anyone. I didn't want to bad mouth whole foods. I went in a few months ago, it looked like a ghost town. I asked one employee what's going on. He quietly said the store doesn't have enough workers. I noticed the shelves and premade food is nearly non-existent. Thankfully we have a local chain market that looks like WFs was in it's hay day. Best of all this chain of six markets is EMPLOYEE OWNED. I'm so glad to see employees who appreciate their jobs and have been there since the opening of the first store.
I wish you all the best with unionizing in Pennsylvania, you all deserve every bit of respect and good wages.💙💙💙
My favorite thing to ask: "So if you have all these crazy metrics for low level employees, what are your metrics for managers and up?" It's usually followed by a long silence.
These jackasses demand every second of an employee's time be maximized while their days work involves sending a few emails.
I was an associate store team leader or WFM for years. I worked very long hours under a great deal of pressure. After my days off I might have 400 emails and that was the very least of my responsibilities. The metrics pressure, short staffing, food safety regulations , constant interaction with team members and customers, no hr support, constant work orders for repairs. During COVID I regularly worked 16 hour days ( on salary, no ot). I finally quit 3 years ago. I had had enough.
DON'T SHOP THERE. BOYCOTT!
Enough people need to do it. Most of us only know how to blindly consume while saying "I only care about me and mine". That rugged mindset is what got us here.
I hope you guys get a union. I want to shop where workers are paid and happy. I feel very uncomfortable shopping these days. I think online shopping allows us to ignore the face of the real workers. Same as eating modern meat. It doesn't look a thing like the animal and is transformed in ways that obfuscate the fact someone slaughtered a living animal so we could pleasure ourselves. If we can do that in mass it's no wonder people like Jeff can just crap on his employees. 😢
Shop at Sprouts
We need to make the rich bend the knee to OUR demands.
Well, boycott Whole Foods. They are not the only game in town. Kroger also has a bad reputation.
Just stop buying their s@@t. It's not a big philosophy.
The French have ideas
@@RayPointerChannel Honestly, I wonder what groceries aren't scummy. I avoid Kroger, Whole Foods, and (of course Walmart). Who's left other than regional shops? I tend towards Meijer, but it's only in the Midwest and I even sideeye it there too, since just because I haven't heard much bad, doesn't mean it's not there.
@@RayPointerChannel "Why are they not eating the rich?" - Lrrr from Omicron Persei 8.
That young man is so right about the open door policy. WOW I’ve never thought of it like that. Stay together and fight together, we are more than them and we will win
I am sometimes in WF office buildings for work and wanted to point out that their higher level computer office workers (idk what those titles are) seem very happy with their pay and benefits, as well as the "company culture". I am not singing their praises, just pointing out this is also a class issue. Lower paid & "lower skilled" (as they are referred to despite often having plenty of skills and experience) workers are deprioritized and exploited almost everywhere in this country and it is a huge problem.
Precisely. The issue isn't with corporate. It is their customer facing workers who actually fulfill orders and supply and sell goods in stores. This dynamic is especially common in biotech.
I was a software engineer for Amazon for a few years, there is an issue with the work culture in corporate: they abuse the employees but pay them high enough to not only accept the abuse but pass it on down the line to the frontline workers.
They also love hiring people on work visas since they are much less likely to leave for fear of being deported, this keeps the working conditions down and creates a culture of fear and cruelty.
They had irresponsible hiring practices (competing for headcount with other big tech for no real reason) which led to unnecessary layoffs throughout the company a couple years ago. They claim they need to “be more lean” despite rising profits. If they had profit then they didn’t need to lay off anyone and they don’t need to underpay and squeeze frontliners until they get hurt physically and mentally.
They have a program that is ostensibly meant to train warehouse associates and other frontliners to get into the tech part of the business - we had one on our team, she was a hard worker - but guess who was first to get laid off… the one who spent years with the company and followed all the rules to move up only to be kicked down again, she didn’t even get her old frontline job back
People are judged by the way they treat the poor. Who would you like to see succeed someone who helps the poor or another who is cruel to the poor?
I worked at Wholefoods in seattle from 2004 to 2008. During that time the company went public. I honestly think that it was a really good place to work then. I remember hearing amazonbought it and I was like...damn I bet it's gonna start sucking to work there
Going 3 years now without giving Amazon a penny. I don't have an Amazon account anymore, and spend the 10 extra minutes to go to a small family grocery store.
I know it's tough peeps and the convenience is nice but these companies treat people like trash and we need to make these companies hurt.
Try living somewhere where all the small grocery stores have been run out of the city... There are are lot of places where people don't have that luxury😢
there are no small family grocery stores by me, and that’s the reality for millions of Americans. we don’t use chains because we’re lazy and can’t do a ten minute trip to the store. that is a lie that you’ve just made up and believe. we use chains because that’s all we have. it is not a sign of moral inferiority.
@suoutubez19 this wasn't an attack against people who don't have options, more of if you have options try to use them.
Do you have small kids?
@@snickerdoodles787 yes I do 2 kids, and I weld as a full time job and do 3d modeling as a part time job.
I am so fucking sick and tired of capitalisation and corporatization of EVERYTHING on a major scale. When does it end?
@@BurnabyBoyZippy when people stop buying stuff.
Is the messiah consolidating power?
I worked at WFM from 2020-2021. I'm very glad there is someone telling this story
My husband used to work at Whole Foods, it was horrific how they treated him. When he finally had an out, he hesitated because he felt bad leaving his teammates who would inevitably have to compensate for the work he’d leave behind. It’s so toxic and cruel. It makes me resent the wealthy people who shop there.
That sentiment is common at amazon warehouses, too. People are encouraged to overwork themselves to help out their overworked coworkers. Amazon very much encourages the “we are family” mentality, but only because it leads to higher output that seems like “just helping my coworkers” to the worker.
The main problem, and appropriate target of your resentment, are the rich people who own, operate, and profit from it.
I'm not wealthy. It's one of few places I can consistently find the foods I can eat... Please be mindful on your judgement of the shoppers.
Nah, we won't care about 1-2 people that can only find food at Whole Foods. We care about workers' rights. And if you cared about your survival, you'd want this sort of company to not choke the market and be the only one that is able to supply you with what you need, but consoomer brain rot comes in many ways
@@CaliNic30 don’t even try to suggest that the suffering of employees of a universally hated corporate monstrosity is a fair trade off for defective genes.
This is why I absolutely refused to work for Amazon in 2020 and onward, because I knew I was only gonna be a number
It feels almost inescapable inevitable these days. I hate it. I don't know what would remedy it, it's ruining all of our lives collectively
@@quarry26True; it's ruining everything everywhere. Wherever you're at now, fight the good fight there, because nowhere is safe.
You are probably just training AI for a robot to take over.
Everyone is just a number everywhere.
I only worked there for a day and had to leave on how much I realized the trainer didn't know how to train me safely to do the position
No reason to frame this as a uniquely Whole Foods problem, although it’s certainly exacerbated by Amazon ownership. The entire system of Western capitalism is falling down this hole. You are no longer an investable person as a worker, you are a soulless commodity to be used and discarded.
🎯
Literally every single business since Covid. Profits have gotten used to skeletal crews. And when I worked as a MIT/AGM in the grocery stores (another chain) we were already seeing the management philosophy of “if you get everything done in a day, you’re not pushing hard enough”, as one of my store managers said.
But still, it’s everywhere. In doctors offices, hospitals. Have you ever walked into a Walgreens before? There’s like one person in the whole store.
As someone working in healthcare, i agree. God forbid you go over your 40 hrs because you’re trying to get as many patients coordinated or the assistance they need navigating care. “F the patients if it means we have to pay you more because we’re too greedy and spineless to properly staff our hospitals” shareholders or some bizworm
Well, I guess it's a good thing that I can't afford to shop there 😂
We have found many items much cheaper at Whole Foods compared to our local Meijer stores. You just have to compare prices, but that gets tedious.
There are a few things that are reasonably priced, but you have to pick and choose.
the people that can dont give a fuck about workers rights
"...and since there's no place to go...let it snow, let it snow, let it snow..."
Being poor is not good or helpful either. It's hard to boycott or have a choice if people are poor.
I've seen comments say they know Temu or Walmart is bad but they didn't have a choice but to shop there because they were poor.
This is 100% the experience of Whole Foods. After Amazon bought it, Whole Foods and the culture was literally eviscerated. The people I enjoyed talking to for YEARS- are no longer working there. Amazon has literally destroyed the brand. CUSTOMERS SEE IT AND FEEL IT TOO.
It's not Whole Foods anymore; it's Amazon Foods...
Whole foods was unprofitable because the workers didn't work. I used to go in and they would be lounging around.
@ 100% accurate. This is the same dehumanizing approach people like Musk and Ramaswamy will attempt to drive into literally every business and interpersonal interaction we have. It’s like forcing a form of autistic interaction onto the entirety of US society. This will lead to deeper erosion of human culture. Bezos, Musk and their ilk must be stopped.
@ and now we have a sh*tty version of Walmart where the shelves often go unstocked and the employees are disconnected from customers. Whole Foods used to have a positive vibe and a friendly environment - now it is a sad, dystopian desert staffed by people who aren’t even remotely connected to the people who shop there.
Definitely. The atmosphere is depressing and dead. It’s the sort of place that makes you feel bad just for existing.
I stopped going there. I go to mom's organic instead where they treat their workers like human beings and they have better products. better prices.
I worked at MOMs from 2013-2016, Rockville and Arlington.
Unfortunately we started seeing a little of this philosophy start coming down in management. Not to the same level as described here, but yes, MOMs is the still the best of a bunch. I miss it sometimes, but unfortunately I needed a real job paying living wages.
As long as people are willing to work for money there will continue to be neglected workers. They solution should probably be to refuse to use money or spend as little money as possible until the money problem is solved.
I've had a Whole Foods store in my area for a few years but I've avoided it because of the bad vibe the place gave me, this tells me why that place has such a vibe.
Agreed, same experience
Their palm pay bs creeps me out. They are clearly conditioning the masses for the coming system of technocratic control people like Bezos have in mind for us.
Bro me too! I've only been in a Whole Foods a few times, but yeah it creeped me out.
@@soninalphin2771 I'm so sick of this platform hiding comments. Hit the stupid newest tab if you want to see my other one I left. This one will probably get hidden too though.
Anyone who says these people don’t deserve a union needs a wake up call. Every worker deserves to live and work with dignity. Solidarity forever.
Unions can help but they should also be looked upon with suspicion because they are sometimes used to take over successful people's businesses.
The convenience culture is breaking people. The class factor is not even a surprise.
If you get injured at work & they won't let you go, that's probably false imprisonment. Call 911 get the cops there get someone arrested get a police report call a lawyer.
True!
Bro ... Call me an ambulance!
I'd get all the tests.
Then I'd be headed over to my favorite injury attorney.
Right - as a former worker/manager in a large corporate retail business, it was exactly the same - glossy printed words for workers and customers to be impressed with...and every measure of how workers were treated (and customers were helped) fell so far below those wonderful words as to be ludicrous. Corporations are NOT people (the Supreme Court was WRONG). Corporations of massive scale all play loose with the truth. They cut their own throats by cutting their employees to the bone...unable, not unwilling, to take care of the customer. Corporations are investing heavily in robotics. They will replace a machine when they wear it out. They treat their human workers the same. These corporations invite retaliation via unions. We only have to look to our history to see it being repeated - big business squashing its workers in the blind march to profits.
This video just made me aware of something I do and have done which I didn't think was a big deal but now I know it is. I am a senior disabled person (legally blind/Deaf) and when I shop at W or WF or wherever, I can NEVER find someone to assist me if I need to find something or read something for me (another thing they've done cutting employees to service the floor). So I ask the online shopper person who is always present now. Not thinking they are being surveilled or even have a time quota. They of course are very nice and do assist me (I have yet to meet one who refuses) but it never dawned on me that I am cutting into their squeezed time making their job that much more stressed. I really despise what corporations have done to our world (and the politicians who give them the power to do whatever they want). I'm old enough to remember pre-1980's shopping and it was a whole different world where customers and workers had a symbiosis relationship that was wonderful. Corporations drive was to make customers happy, profit came from that.
I stopped shopping at whole foods as soon as it was acquired by Amazon. It was inevitable they would operate like the warehouses
The only time I have ever used Amazon is to find the company making a product then going on its web site to order.
This is the way.
even that's pointless now, Amazon's search is filled with cheap knockoffs and fake reviews, and that's after you scroll through multiple pages of sponsored products
Ordering directly from suppliers is a good idea but they are likely going to charge for shipping which is bad if you pay for prime, plus you have to sign up for an account which is an inconvenience.
@@akreation We are paying for that so called convenience with the loss of our small business sector across the country though. Of course we are going to have to pay a bit more and be slightly inconvenienced if we want to support smaller and local business. Some of us believe the cost is worth it. When these few companies have complete saturation who is to say that they will continue to give us those savings anyway.
I usually look up your videos for updates! Our government has no idea how people are suffering these days. I feel for people with disabilities not getting the help they deserve. Thank you Ms Patricia Grover, imagine investing $12,000 and received $305,500.
You're correct!! I make a lot of money without relying on the government. Investing in stocks and digital currencies is beneficial at this moment.
Ms Patricia Grover was my hope during the 'bear summer' last year. I did so many mistakes but also learned so much from it, and of course from Patricia Grover
The first step to successful investing is figuring out your goals and risk tolerance either on your own or with the help of a financial professional but is very advisable you make use of a professional .
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I worked at Whole Foods in 2010, way before Amazon took over. We were constantly made to watch videos about how to handle abusive customers. They didn’t help. Worst customers by far of any retail job I ever worked. And insane levels of micromanagement.
When will we as a people/society get over the facade of business and business people?
Business leadership in America is all about "what's good enough for me is not for thee." When it comes to employees and even customers. We have really fallen.
"Amazon-owned" explains it all
Gross food. Bad quality. It’s all marketing. Marketed food is fake food. Whole Foods ruins towns.
Unions are important as a first step to ownership.
And as if that wasn't bad enough, John Mackey, co-founder and former CEO of Whole Foods, argues against a fully government-provided healthcare system.
I bet he has really good heath care. That's all that matters.
I used to be a regular shopper but the food quality is not what it used to be either. I haven't set foot in one for years and can't see ever going back.
I'm 59 years old and have never been afraid of hard work but I know I couldn't handle working in a situation like that. That sort of scrutiny is inhuman. I would be fired by the third day for punching a supervisor on the nose.
Amazon can’t keep getting away with this
Vote with your dollars! I'm starting to exit anything Amazon that I possibly can. It's more possible now that Shopify has the shop app making it easier than ever to buy from Mom and Pop sites instead with much better service.
@@gregyoungman wanna bet?
As long as people invest in that company and it's profitable, Amazon will continue. You can bet they got government contracts, too.
I live in Austin and I remember going to the original Whole Foods it was incredible back 15+ years ago they had restaurants inside now they have nothing compared to that time. Even the pizza has gone down in quality. I cannot shop in the produce and meat section not just from an affordable standpoint but because the stuff just isn’t good like at all the employees are the best part and I’m sure pretty soon they won’t even have that. When I see a shopper I usually get the F out of the way because I knew this I wish more people would do the same. Unfortunately people love Amazon and Whole Foods for that convenience but the reality is someone is always getting squeezed on the other side of the business.
UNION FOREVER
I know someone who worked at an Amazon fulfillment center and as a delivery driver who broke a rib while trying to meet the company's metric.
I used to worked at WF back in 1993 - it was so hippy dippy and fun. I would only assume, once corporate got a hold of it, it became just another chain supermarket.
I worked at Whole Foods before and after they were bought by Amazon (two different time periods). The first time was 2013-2015 and it was great, they cared about the workers and it showed. When I came back in 2019, there was no soul, and whereas before, people were happy, after Amazon, it was like working with zombies. Good for those folks unionizing, that’s the only way they will learn.
I went to a Whole Foods the other day because I had a terrible headache and decided suddenly just to get food to try to relieve it. I almost got bumped into several times by employees who were almost running through the aisles, and it was clear that they were avoiding any possible conversation with customers who might be trying to find something. The cashiers seemed obviously unhappy. I hate going there and I really hope they're successful at unionizing before Bezos replaces everyone with robots or something.
Amazon often pays competitively, but they have extremely unrealistic expectations of their workers so it’s not worth it at all. Get paid a bit more for doing 3x the work in the same amount of time is just not right. Note that competitive wages is NOT always a livable wage. It’s often $1-2 more an hour than their competition for entry level positions.
Early in my job as a supervisor at a walgreens my boss told me that i can’t expect everyone to work as fast as me and it’s MY job to learn their pace and plan and time manage accordingly. Amazon just doesn’t give a crap about that. They just want max numbers all the time. And honestly if someone can hit the numbers they expect for some positions they could easily get a job that pays more elsewhere for many positions. So that means that amazon is likely only attracting workers who aren’t at the level they expect based on the pay they offer and then they work them to sometimes death. I just wish they set expectations better and more up front upon hiring. Also when you go faster than you are comfortable you make more mistakes so it’s not a smart move on amazon’s part but i get it, they just wanna weed out the ones who aren’t up to their standards, but eventually you just run out of people to hire. So it’s a lose lose game imo.
"Competitive wages" means "as low as the market will bear."
@ yup always! 1-2 bucks an hour isn’t doing much. But for some people that’s the difference between paying bills and not.
I worked as a shopper at a midwest grocery chain (Hy-Vee) when I was in college. Paid a lot less than these guys get, but this was also in a town of 22,000 in South Dakota. Over the two years I was there, they never raised the UPH though. It was 75 for the whole time I was there. Every once in a while the lady from corporate would show up and was super mean to everyone. Our shopping manager was a super nice lady, and this corpo-chick would come in and tell her to be more strict, despite our manager explaining that she wouldn't have staff at all if she was mean (she was right, we were short-staffed for most of the time I was there). There was never any talk of a union, mainly because most of us were college kids and would be in and out of there in a few years. Hope these workers win and demand a 22 dollar an hour starting wage.
Is Hy-Vee no longer an employee owned company? They used to have that part in their slogan.
@@ne2448 Dude they never were. They still have it in their slogan, but the corporate bullshit is rampant just like everywhere else.
The faster we realize that they don't care, and proceed to act accordingly based on that knowledge, the better off we all are.
'Amazon owned' yeah that tells us all we need to know.
I love seeing these young people take their power back! Best of luck I hope the vote passes!
I worked at this store a few years ago and I fully support my former coworkers! The treatment there has progressively gotten SO much worse since I've been there. I hope everyone can see what an important step this is for worker's rights
I hope all the stores can become unionized. Those working conditions sound terrible and for what? Pay that isn't enough to get by. That should be criminal.
Could we start calling out the names behind the …corporations?!?
I feel like when we say the corporations it is just too hard to fight. If we could call out human names behind these corporations we could atleast shame them at the least
I was worried about this when Amazon bought them. I will be canceling my delivery service through them. I stopped getting my main groceries from there a few months ago, so it’s time to nip that in the bud.
Every sector of work has fallen prey to enshittification.
Just like Amazon warehouse, makes sense since Amazon owns Whole Foods.
This is how business works.
As a casheir or bagger or shelf stocker, you will not be paid well.
The reason I stopped shopping at whole foods years ago when Amazon bought it
I have never shopped at Whole Paycheck and don’t intend to start now. The smell of smug is overwhelming.
I recently discovered this channel, and I am extremely glad I did. The stories are impressive and eye opening. It's amazing to see real journalism emerge on this platform to make up for the shills who call themselves the news journalists.
This is nothing new. This is how most businesses treat their unskilled employees, and it gets worse the bigger the business is. To your employer, you are a machine they are renting.
Nothing about this is surprising. And once businesses get to that level, all they care about is enriching the pockets of the rich.
When I saw the title I thought it was about all the hidden poisons, antibiotics, water, GM, and lack of nutrition, in US unprocessed food : just as bad though.
14 IPM? Must be nice. At Loblaws in Canada, we're expected to scan 17.
Boycott Whole Foods and Amazon.
I have.
No excuses.
We were fine without them before.
We will be fine without them after.
Just do it.
We call it “Whole Paycheck”.
When we shop there, it takes BOTH of our paychecks!
Walmart is just as bad, but at least Walmart don't brag that they care more about their employees than most companies.
Im shocked that when Amazon bought WF things went south........
It seems all good things must come to an end. Whole Foods was really cool at one point, but like all business, it eventually gave into corporate greed.
Amazon destroy WF “prestige”.
sellouts
DONT WORK THERE! If its that bad walk away.
These are easily solvable problems they are complaining about. Two words “just quit!” If enough people quit, it would undoubtedly change for the better
In a perfect world, quitting would be a great solution. But most people don’t have that privilege when they need to survive. Organizing is better since a community is more likely to make a change than an individual.
20 years ago WF was making the best places to work year after year. When Amazon bought them, I figured that wouldn't last long. Not surprised by this.
So many channels will censor their speech and content, as someone who swore an oath to the constitution, I thank you for your service, and hope you thrive where so many others have failed.
Worked at Whole Foods for a few months. Was one of the worst jobs I've had. I was five minutes late one day and was taken to the managers office and received a written notice. I was told the next time I was late they'd let me go. Had never done anything wrong while I was there. This alone was one of the reasons I got out of there as soon as I could.
Unhappy workers who aren't allowed even to take care of their own bodily functions 🚽 when they need to...?! 😩 I don't want that kind of negative energy attached to my groceries, and brought into my home. NO 🚫 BAD ENERGY ALLOWED!!!!
This is why I do my own shopping with positivity and good intentions 😊🙏✨🙌
Our markets are set up so that all the benefits of successful publicly traded companies go to shareholders. This is a huge problem with people across the globe. Everyone wants to blame inflation, but the real problem lies with the stock markets and CEOs (and executives) who are awarded in stock-based compensation.
Will not shop at Whole Foods anymore. Really has gone downhill...
Kroger is just as shitty. Feed the Human soul? More like Feed OFF the human soul.
Edit: I worked E-commerce for Kroger. JUST AS ABUSIVE. And they kept increasing the items picked too.
Once bezos took over it went down hill fast and I stopped shopping there. I think I saw an article once that their organic foods aren't necessarily organic because they come from china and aren't subject to the FDA. Even more of a reason to never shop with them.