Let Us Bow Before Our Corporate Masters
By Esther Cepeda defends Whole Foods disciplining two Spanish-speaking workers violating its English-only policy while on the job in a very special way.
But say they were. What’s the problem? Not too long ago people understood that when you enter into an employment agreement with a company, you’re generally expected to follow their policies.
Whole Foods’ rules state: “English-speaking Team Members must speak English to customers and other Team Members while on the clock. Team Members are free to speak any language they would like during their breaks, meal periods and before and after work. Additionally, this policy does not apply to conversations among Team Members and customers if all parties present agree that a different language is their preferred form of communication.”
Hardly draconian. Either way, employees can choose to follow them and work there or find a different job.
No. Actually, not long ago, you had a union when you were on the job. If you worked at a grocery store, you would be a member of the United Food and Commercial Workers. And that union represented you as a worker. It negotiated ridiculous rules like this in order to protect workers from bosses’ tyranny. If the boss tried to discipline you or change the rules outside of the contract, the union would grieve the process and probably win.
I guess if by “not long ago” Cepeda actually means “before the National Labor Relations Act when bosses could fire workers for literally anything” then I guess she has a point. And that’s clearly what she wants anyway.
I’ve leave the rest of the editorial, which basically consists of “let’s all be good immigrants and assimilate into white America” to the rest of you to parse.