Thread regarding Macy's Inc. layoffs

Just ask yourself why do companies fight so hard when the workers try to unionize? It's because the union results in a more level playing field.

As a former manager, none of my staff people wanted the union. They were forced to pay dues and got nothing for it. They questioned me about why they had to join. The union claimed to offer protection and representation for disgruntled staff. I never saw this. . Unless proper procedures are followed ,staff can’t be fired without full documentation and proper steps to demonstrate a legitimate reason.The union had no influence. If anything , my experience was Macy HR challenged the manager and defended the associate.
Another sore point in union stores was all associates got the exact same raise. You could work extra hard , be extra talented and have initiative or you could do the very bare minimum…..you both got the same raise. In union stores , better performance was not rewarded like it could be in a non union door. This created an environment of less motivation to do a good job. As a manager in a union door ,I was not able to reward my best staff with better raises.
I have worked in Union and non union doors.
This is only my observation in New England Unionized stores.

A union that serves its members is a good thing. It offers something for the dues it demands. My experience however…of unions at Macys stores in NE …is they offer nothing and demand dues. You have no choice. In order to work in some stores in NE , you have to join the union and pay dues. You get nothing for the dues paid. The union is another business taking advantage of the retail workers. If the union made some kind of impact on employee’s grievances, pay scale , scheduling etc….maybe they would earn their dues. Currently they offer nothing.

Unionizing all depends on the workers, doesn’t matter where you work.

Macys would likely close any neighborhood store that attempts to unionize. Although, it does seem that ppl are being treated unfairly (a Union May or may not help). Also, unions are usually terrible for part time employees bc they have to pay Union dues, but don’t typically get equal representation as full timers.

At the end of the day. A union may be all that’s going save Macys. Loyalty means nothing. So maybe a union would open different doors.

It depends on the union. Not all unions are the same. Some are better than others.

You need a stable work force to have a union. Unfortunately most Macy's stores have too much turnover and understaffing too have a union store.

Benefits working at an union store are not dubious at all. I got a MUCH, much better raise working in an union store than I did when I was non-union thanks to the contract. Non-union store I received 35 -40 cents raise every year 🤣. I don’t feel threatened by the managers or scared they will fire me cuz they don’t like me.

Union also helped people during the pandemic when Macys was laying off everyone, some people that were laid off came back to work because the union fought for them and got them their jobs back. If you worked at Macys long term, union is much more beneficial. Non-union Macys stores are always looking to lay off the people making more money because they worked there a long time but the union will protect you based on seniority. In my opinion and experience, union store is much better. I work in one now and I wouldn’t transfer to a non-union store.

I have to agree with @fqe and I've worked at both union and non-union jobs over the years. You basically pay big brother money for some dubious benefits, and you're forced to endure a horrible work culture as a result.

Being unionized is much better. I worked at both union store and non-union store. You get job protection and better raises and so many more benefits. Being unionized is bad for management but it’s wonderful for the associates. We had senior managers from nonunion stores get transferred to our store and they couldn’t do a lot of things they wanted to employees like they could in their previous store mainly getting rid of people they didn’t like or demoting them or getting security to fire them for bogus charges.

Absolutely no, I don't want a union. I would quit immediately if a union got a hold of our store.