Aldi's Grand Opening
From:
Laura Waterman Wittstock
Date:
Jan 17 07:53 UTC
Short link
On Jan 17, 2008, at 12:36 AM, Tim Bonham wrote:
>
> Hooray? For another non-union, foreign-owned competitor
> undercutting our own local grocery stores? (SuperValu, CUB,
> Rainbow are all at least partially unionized workers.)
>
> Hooray for the Wal-Mart or the grocery business?
>
> Aldi's exceptional profits come at the expense of the employees,
> who are part-time, contract labor (thus reduced benefits). The
> company is notoriously anti-union, getting rid of any workers who
> try to join one. And the secretive, billionaire brothers who own
> Aldi's are real-life conterparts to Mr. Burns of the Simpsons.
Thank you Tim! The irony of an Aldi's on Franklin Avenue where the
inner city residents can find "reasonable access to shopping" for
food and other necessities is appalling. It's not much - or does seem
like much - in this modern, union-busting era. I don't consider
myself a Wal-Mart zombie. However add in Target and Whole Foods to
Aldi and the non-union presence creates a bigger pinch for workers
and consumers. We just don't seem to get the math on this.
snip from Strib 7/25/2003:
Closely-held Aldi, founded in Germany some 40 years ago, is owned by
brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht, considered Europe's richest men with
a fortune worth an estimated $41.3 billion. There are about 5,000
Aldi stores in more than a dozen countries, including 685 corporate-
owned units in the United States.
Laura
Southeast/Como
Laura Waterman Wittstock
President and CEO
Wittstock & Associates
913 19th Ave SE
Minneapolis, MN 55414
612-387-4915
www.laurawatermanwittstock.com