I am a military spouse (for context). There are signs in all of the commissaries I have been to, which state something along the lines of “baggers are not employees, they rely on your tips.”
They are considered “self-employed under a license agreement with the installation commander.”
Meaning they don't even fall under “tipped employees” statute – which is still trapped in the $2.13/hour federal cash wage law. They make $0.00 if you don't tip them.
I used to see a more even split between elderly baggers and young teenage baggers. Recently I've noticed about 90%+ (at the commissary I go to) of the baggers are young teenagers. There are always a LOT of teens standing by to bag, so there's no way they make a lot of money.
I have multiple problems with the non-payment “self-employment” approach.
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PEOPLE DESERVE TO BE PAID FOR THEIR LABOR.
1a. People deserve to be paid a LIVING WAGE for their labor. Yes, even teenagers.
1b It is the responsibility of the business requiring work, behavior, etc. to provide that payment. -
Making teens work for literally a couple dollars an hour instills in them a precedent that their labor, time, effort aren't worth anything.
*This has pros and cons. Pro: they are educated early that the working class are abused and taken advantage of. Con: everything else about it, including that what they learn about working in this country is pretty accurate. -
This takes advantage of young, older, displaced, and otherwise desperate workers. It's bullshit.
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Like with conventional tipped workers, it shifts the responsibility of the business to the consumer to support the workers of that business. It is my position that this is unethical.
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Yes, the DECA/commissaries are able to get good/better prices for the products they offer, so maybe they would/do(?) argue “if we pay our baggers, the cost of our products would have to go up.”
*Or maybe just hire enough baggers to fit the need of the store and if you “really can't afford it,” shift to a self-bagging concept as many stores were doing during the pandemic.
*While I have previously and currently worked for the federal government, I do not work in an area related to the DECA/commissary system. This said, it is my opinion that it would not actually (have to) impact their prices, and if it would, not a lot. To me, it's worth it to have a 5% increased total on my groceries to know that the person who bagged my shit can afford to live/support their family.
Just something I've been thinking about.