MNB took note yesterday of a New York Times report about how “more than 7,000 Nike employees will be getting raises after an internal pay review, undertaken after claims of workplace misconduct and discrimination against women, shook the company and forced out several of its top executives … Such an overhaul is rare in the corporate world, but the shake-up at Nike has been seen as an illustration of how pressure from employees is forcing even huge companies to quickly address workplace problems.”
I commented:
I bring this up because I wonder how many companies would find themselves with similar results if they did an internal, across the board pay review.
One MNB reader responded:
I have two millennial sons and both say that talking about their salary is a common subject , it’s not a taboo subject. In my historical career, I just assumed that I was being treated fairly. After I found out that I was not being treated fairly, I left a company after 20 years because they would not adjust my salary. If millennials truly do talk about what they make on a regular basis, I think pay reviews will be more in line with what they should be and there will be no discrimination.
Women in particular can help other women. Once I left the company of 20 years and got into upper management I made sure that the women who worked for me were paid well and recognized for their contributions.
My last company was thrown into a tizzy when they fired a female employee after three weeks of work and she was an excellent worker. Needless to say my experience of not being treated fairly helped me to speak up for this woman. In the end they settled out of court but I was only one person and I made an impact for several women. Just can’t be afraid to speak up.
Same is true for any group being discriminated against, you can’t be afraid to speak up.
Regarding the Albertsons acquisition of Rite Aid, one MNB reader wrote:
Starting to wonder, KC, if the Rite Aid vote is going to pass. Judging by the message board posts, they are all against the merger, and adding more debt. Above my pay grade, and I'm sure there are institutions that own more shares than most, and will push it through, we'll find out soon enough.
And, about the new, upmarket Albertsons store, another MNB reader wrote:
I'm guessing the store isn't far from corporate HQ, and will be visited often by bigwigs. I think it's a great concept, not sure if it can be widely rolled out but it's a good learning tool for the company. It'll be interesting to see where it goes, at the least.
We repeated yesterday the story about a young man who walked 20 miles to work when his car broke down, prompting one MNB reader to write:
Kevin, thank you for sharing that story. I have printed it out and plan on reading it to my kids (ages 7 and 8) tonight at dinner before putting it in a plastic sleeve to keep in my parenting tool box. My wife and I both had jobs starting the summer after 6th grade, and both worked part time in high school and college. We are blessed to have both been professionally luckcessful (all success is part luck) and I attribute 90% of that to our early start in the workforce. Our kids will have the same advantage. And I plan on lovingly reminding them, when they don’t want to wake up for work at 7 am some July morning 7 years from now just exactly what a strong work ethic entails (and how it rewards) by threatening to re-read this story to them again for what will by then be the 1000th time. So thank you for passing along that story and helping give them the lifelong advantage that comes from getting out of that bed 7 years from now.
And another MNB reader wrote:
Thanks for sharing this story, KC, it shows there is still a lot of good in this world, where only the bad gets reported, unfortunately.
I commented:
I bring this up because I wonder how many companies would find themselves with similar results if they did an internal, across the board pay review.
One MNB reader responded:
I have two millennial sons and both say that talking about their salary is a common subject , it’s not a taboo subject. In my historical career, I just assumed that I was being treated fairly. After I found out that I was not being treated fairly, I left a company after 20 years because they would not adjust my salary. If millennials truly do talk about what they make on a regular basis, I think pay reviews will be more in line with what they should be and there will be no discrimination.
Women in particular can help other women. Once I left the company of 20 years and got into upper management I made sure that the women who worked for me were paid well and recognized for their contributions.
My last company was thrown into a tizzy when they fired a female employee after three weeks of work and she was an excellent worker. Needless to say my experience of not being treated fairly helped me to speak up for this woman. In the end they settled out of court but I was only one person and I made an impact for several women. Just can’t be afraid to speak up.
Same is true for any group being discriminated against, you can’t be afraid to speak up.
Regarding the Albertsons acquisition of Rite Aid, one MNB reader wrote:
Starting to wonder, KC, if the Rite Aid vote is going to pass. Judging by the message board posts, they are all against the merger, and adding more debt. Above my pay grade, and I'm sure there are institutions that own more shares than most, and will push it through, we'll find out soon enough.
And, about the new, upmarket Albertsons store, another MNB reader wrote:
I'm guessing the store isn't far from corporate HQ, and will be visited often by bigwigs. I think it's a great concept, not sure if it can be widely rolled out but it's a good learning tool for the company. It'll be interesting to see where it goes, at the least.
We repeated yesterday the story about a young man who walked 20 miles to work when his car broke down, prompting one MNB reader to write:
Kevin, thank you for sharing that story. I have printed it out and plan on reading it to my kids (ages 7 and 8) tonight at dinner before putting it in a plastic sleeve to keep in my parenting tool box. My wife and I both had jobs starting the summer after 6th grade, and both worked part time in high school and college. We are blessed to have both been professionally luckcessful (all success is part luck) and I attribute 90% of that to our early start in the workforce. Our kids will have the same advantage. And I plan on lovingly reminding them, when they don’t want to wake up for work at 7 am some July morning 7 years from now just exactly what a strong work ethic entails (and how it rewards) by threatening to re-read this story to them again for what will by then be the 1000th time. So thank you for passing along that story and helping give them the lifelong advantage that comes from getting out of that bed 7 years from now.
And another MNB reader wrote:
Thanks for sharing this story, KC, it shows there is still a lot of good in this world, where only the bad gets reported, unfortunately.
- KC's View:
