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Sign at Wegmans draws attention

Seriously, who willingly takes a job at a supermarket where they KNOW that LOTS of pork & alcohol products will be sold, and then after getting hired tells the boss:

"oh, by the way, I'm a Muslim, so I can't touch any pork or alcohol. I can't touch anything that has pork or alcohol in it. Even if its quadruple wrapped. sorry, but you're gonna have to figure out something for me. thanks!!!!"

does this mean nothing with ANY pork in it? cause a ****load of meat products & soups, have pork in it.

and lots of things have small amounts of alcohol, like candies, cakes, even cleaning products.


this is what we call "chutzpah".
 
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apdst said:
It's not often that Thunder and I see eye-to-eye on anything, but we're on the same page, here.

This girl was hired to do a job. She knew her job would include selling alcohol and pork products. If she can't do that, she needs to find another job.
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Wrong, mate. She was hired to do what she is doing with the work accommodation that Wegman's provided. Wegman's has decided that they way it is going to work for her is fine with them. Bravo! I would have thought free market capitalists would have been chuffed to see a company such as Wegman's do as it deems important. What I am hearing from you and Thunder is that businesses have no right to make decisions concerning how they will operate at the end user level. How socialist of you and Thunder!
 
Risky Thicket said:
....What I am hearing from you and Thunder is that businesses have no right to make decisions concerning how they will operate at the end user level. How socialist of you and Thunder!
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sounds like you have selective hearing, and might even be hearing things never said.

Wegmans can do whatever they want, and I have the right to call it stupid, counter-productive, bad for society and possibly bad for business.

freedom is a two way street, holmes.
 
Thunder said:
good for their conscience maybe

but bad for the bottom line.
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What concern is it of yours? Now you want to make decisions as to how businesses decide to make a profit and how much profit is best? Shame on you. Unless you have a share of Wegman's you don't have a dog in the fight. Why should you care? Because the lady is a Muslim?
 
Risky Thicket said:
Wrong, mate. She was hired to do what she is doing with the work accommodation that Wegman's provided. Wegman's has decided that they way it is going to work for her is fine with them. Bravo!
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She was hired to perform tasks spelled out in a ceratin job description, just like every other employee with the same job description. If her religion prevents her from performing those tasks to standard, then she needs to find another job.

I would have thought free market capitalists would have been chuffed to see a company such as Wegman's do as it deems important. What I am hearing from you and Thunder is that businesses have no right to make decisions concerning how they will operate at the end user level. How socialist of you and Thunder!
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Do they have the right? Of course they do. Is it a good business decision? Far from it.

If she can't pull her own weight, someone else will, that will effect employee morale and will cost the company money.

No one is saying that they can't do it, we're only criticizing the idiotic decision to do it.
 
Risky Thicket said:
What concern is it of yours?...
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sorry Risky, but I didn't author the thread, I just responded to it. is that a problem?

...Now you want to make decisions as to how businesses decide to make a profit and how much profit is best? Shame on you. Unless you have a share of Wegman's you don't have a dog in the fight. Why should you care? Because the lady is a Muslim?
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ah, a second person trying to snake in a bull**** accusation of anti-Muslim bigotry. I gotta keep score. ;)

i think its a poor business decision and bad for society. its my right as an American to voice such an opinion.
 
Thunder said:
sounds like you have selective hearing, and might even be hearing things never said.

Wegmans can do whatever they want, and I have the right to call it stupid, counter-productive, bad for society and possibly bad for business.

freedom is a two way street, holmes.
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LOL! You HEAR people who post on DP?

What do you mean "freedom is a two way street"? How does that apply in the context of the discussion? I'm confused.

It's "homes", not "holmes".
 
iangb said:
She isn't discriminating against people because of their religious beliefs. That's what 'discrimination on religious grounds' means. She is reluctant to handle certain items because of her religious beliefs - but that only means she doesn't want to serve you if you're buying those items at the time, not depending on what your beliefs are.
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But buying those items displays what your beliefs are - or rather, what your beliefs are not. She is intolerant towards customers who don't have her beliefs. That is still religious discrimination. "If you don't believe what I do, I won't serve you."

As to the UK law, I think it's silly. They should start their own butcher and not carry pork products, rather than trying to force the owner to accommodate them, and inconvenience their customers.

Besides that, there are halal and kosher butchers. Why not work for them if you're so wound up about it?
 
apdst said:
She was hired to perform tasks spelled out in a ceratin job description, just like every other employee with the same job description. If her religion prevents her from performing those tasks to standard, then she needs to find another job.



Do they have the right? Of course they do. Is it a good business decision? Far from it.

If she can't pull her own weight, someone else will, that will effect employee morale and will cost the company money.

No one is saying that they can't do it, we're only criticizing the idiotic decision to do it.
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Sorry, brother, but your argument started to suck hind tit as soon as you began making it. Wegman's made the changes and the changes probably include her job description. Wegman's seems pleased with its decision, why should you care?
 
Risky Thicket said:
What concern is it of yours? Now you want to make decisions as to how businesses decide to make a profit and how much profit is best? Shame on you. Unless you have a share of Wegman's you don't have a dog in the fight. Why should you care? Because the lady is a Muslim?
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If he shouldn't care, then neither should you. Or, are you saying that only "approved" opinions are welcome?
 
Risky Thicket said:
Sorry, brother, but your argument started to suck hind tit as soon as you began making it. Wegman's made the changes and the changes probably include her job description. Wegman's seems pleased with its decision, why should you care?
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To be fair, Risky, this is a debate forum. Why should anyone care? We debate the affairs of private businesses and people all the time.
 
Risky Thicket said:
Sorry, brother, but your argument started to suck hind tit as soon as you began making it. Wegman's made the changes and the changes probably include her job description. Wegman's seems pleased with its decision
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IOW, she does less work for the same amount of money as her co-workers. That's a stupid ass business decision.


why should you care?
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One could ask you the same question.
 
I think this is such a non issue. According to the OP there have been no complaints to date by the customers. Customers are happy, Employer is Happy, Employee is happy.

Win win as far as i can see.
 
Risky Thicket said:
Bad for the bottom line? Show me.
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If they have to hire pay another person to do the work that she can't--won't--that will cost the company more money. Surely no one needs to point that out to you.
 
Serenity said:
I think this is such a non issue. According to the OP there have been no complaints to date by the customers. Customers are happy, Employer is Happy, Employee is happy.

Win win as far as i can see.
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What about all the other employees who aren't getting special treatment?

That would be like someone hiring with my company, to work in the oilfield, that is allergic to dust. They would have to look for another job.
 
SmokeAndMirrors said:
But buying those items displays what your beliefs are - rather, what your beliefs are not. She is intolerant towards customers who don't have her beliefs. That is still religious discrimination. "If you don't believe what I do, I won't serve you."
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Not at all. If a Muslim was (hypothetically) to buy some pork/alcohol, she would also prefer not to serve them, too. She doesn't give a fig about their beliefs, what is affecting her is her beliefs about those two products.

As to the UK law, I think it's silly. They should start their own butcher and not carry pork products, rather than trying to force the owner to accommodate them, and inconvenience their customers.

Besides that, there are halal and kosher butchers. Why not work for them if you're so wound up about it?
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...they do? The point of the UK law is to say that you can't create a job which will discriminate against a religion - unless the job inherently has some aspects which one religion might not like. Butchers (non-Halal) will inevitably be handling pork, so it's not discriminatory to state that in a job description.

By counterexample - on the other hand, it would be clearly discriminatory for a job in a bank to include mandatory bacon sandwiches for lunch every day.
 
apdst said:
If they have to hire pay another person to do the work that she can't--won't--that will cost the company more money. Surely no one needs to point that out to you.
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There is absolutely no plausible scenario in which they would have to hire an additional worker just to take up the slack of ringing up pork and booze at a register. After all, she's obviously not the sole cashier.
 
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radcen said:
If he shouldn't care, then neither should you. Or, are you saying that only "approved" opinions are welcome?
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Actually I don't care. Wegman's can do what Wegman's does. I don't know if Wegman's is public, but I don't own any stock. I've been to Rochester and thought it to be a very nice place with good people - cold as **** - but good people.

I live in near a little town in the desert. We like that. I don't know that we have anything in common with Rochester. But, I don't support the idea of citizens telling a local grocer what it should or should not do. That is the issue as I see it. It is no one's business.
 
I can see a scenario where... as it builds up over time, not necessarily immediately... that other employees may begin to resent the fact that they have to work harder to pick up the slack.
 
Thunder said:
sounds like you have selective hearing, and might even be hearing things never said.
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Risky Thicket said:
LOL! You HEAR people who post on DP?
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I understand that's not a terribly uncommon effect of some of the nastier mind-destroying recreational drugs. “Synesthesia”, it's called.
 
apdst said:
IOW, she does less work for the same amount of money as her co-workers. That's a stupid ass business decision.




One could ask you the same question.
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I doubt she smokes. If anyone else in Wegman's smokes, they take smoke breaks. If she doesn't smoke she doesn't take smoke breaks, and, she is less likely to miss days off. But that's all a load of crap. If Wegman's and its employees support the young Muslim lady, then what is the issue?
 
iangb said:
Not at all. If a Muslim was (hypothetically) to buy some pork/alcohol, she would also prefer not to serve them, too. She doesn't give a fig about their beliefs, what is affecting her is her beliefs about those two products.

...they do? The point of the UK law is to say that you can't create a job which will discriminate against a religion - unless the job inherently has some aspects which one religion might not like. Butchers (non-Halal) will inevitably be handling pork, so it's not discriminatory to state that in a job description.

By counterexample - on the other hand, it would be clearly discriminatory for a job in a bank to include mandatory bacon sandwiches for lunch every day.
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If we were to apply that uniformly, in such a way that no job "discriminated" against any religion, we would have no businesses. We wouldn't even have modern communications, and people would still be dying of smallpox. In reality, these laws are applied selectively to especially squeaky wheels.

People can choose whether or not to patron a given establishment. Employees can choose whether or not to work for a company. Owners can choose what they are willing to sell or provide.

But saying you are going to sell/provide something, and then letting your employees refuse to sell/provide it, is ridiculous, and yes, discriminatory.
 
Risky Thicket said:
Actually I don't care. Wegman's can do what Wegman's does. I don't know if Wegman's is public, but I don't own any stock. I've been to Rochester and thought it to be a very nice place with good people - cold as **** - but good people.

I live in near a little town in the desert. We like that. I don't know that we have anything in common with Rochester. But, I don't support the idea of citizens telling a local grocer what it should or should not do. That is the issue as I see it. It is no one's business.
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Contradiction city. If you didn't care you wouldn't post to tell other people that you think they're wrong. If you post to tell other people that they're wrong... you care.
 
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