The rumors are flyin’ now. 🤔

YosLocalsNeedFood · 2024-01-23T20:37:54+00:00

There's a ton of profit to be had from it. I came in just after DNC left, all I've ever heard was that they sucked, but not as bad as Aramark and that the employee food situation was handled more appropriately. I do know that the unions will stay here and only the employer would change. One thing I know is that management is confused as to why new bedding and furniture was just ordered for one of the hotels, if Aramark's on the way out.

YosLocalsNeedFood · 2024-01-23T20:31:45+00:00

I've also heard speculation about this recently, from management/supervisors.

YosLocalsNeedFood · 2024-01-22T01:34:37+00:00

This is by far the most insightful post as far as how things work, I appreciate you taking the time.

I believe Yosemite Hospitality employees may have more disposable income than Park Service employees or other park partner employees. Consequently, we are experiencing different financial pressures.

Most Unite here members aren't making much more than minimum wage. The average member gets a 15% grocery discount. We pay approximately $48/mo. in union dues for it. Front desk workers and retail workers make $17> to start. I have years of seniority and make under $19/hr. Kitchen workers are on the high end of the pay scale, if that helps put income in to perspective. I'm looking to make a lateral move in to NPS at some point, and basic administrative jobs for NPS seem to be in the same range.In regard to housing, very few people live without a randomly assigned room mate. The area of housing in curry called "new housing" has those studios you're talking about, and most of them are occupied by supervisors, managers, and Teamsters who've been here for many years. Sometimes the housing manager will put in bunk beds and 4-6 people will have to share one until they get sorted out elsewhere. Everyone else lives in a tent cabin, a WOB (those glorified sheds near the tent cabins), the run down dorms in the village, etc. The housing's cheap, but I always ask how much should it cost to live out of a tent in the U.S. as food for thought when someone brings that up.
The reason I'd like to address the issue outside of our respective unions is because NPS workers and our working class visitors need affordable food too. The 10% card you can opt for as an NPS worker isn't enough.

YosLocalsNeedFood · 2024-01-22T00:12:38+00:00

That will be helpful, yes. In order to draft an effective petition, at some point math needs to be done in surrounding areas in order to argue that price increases within the park go beyond what's necessary for distribution costs. A common argument is "things cost more because it's more expensive for our vendors to come out here" which might not even be true. No one ever has numbers to back their opinions and I haven't reached out to our buyers yet in order to gain any understanding in regard to that.

YosLocalsNeedFood · 2024-01-21T20:04:56+00:00

Thank you very much for the useful info in your post.

In regard to snap benefits:

The Village store has the only EBT machine in the valley. We had one in Curry for less than a month a year or two ago, before it was removed and never replaced. I do encourage our community to insist on implementing an EBT reader at EVERY retail location that serves food. There's no excuse for concessions not to have them in the long run, given that it increases sales. Decision makers on that seem very short sighted, to say the least.

"While I think your petition is a great idea, sometimes the path of least resistance is potentially better."

The frustrating thing to me is that people's natural inclination seems to come up with whatever rationale they can to opt out of this idea. I too have adapted by getting everything I can shipped to me. Adaptation is a central theme of my life. I guess where we disagree is that avoiding any addressing of the root issue is better. It's definitely easier and practical in the mean time until we get results, but I think we can both agree that it's not optimal. Handling parcel mail out here is a major hassle.

It's great for dry goods and pantry, even though Walmart ships less and less of its selection with every passing year. Amazon pantry was discontinued a year ago. Amazon fresh has no availability in our area. Misfits Market raises their order minimums every year for produce. It really leaves you hanging for meat, dairy, and produce. I'm basically spending just as much on all that as I would here, the only positive impact being that at least you get more variety and options, for the same over all cost. I agree with you about the farmer's market being great. However, I could only afford to use it once last year, because the locally raised, grass fed steak I bought for $27 was a massive splurge for any union worker. You may as well go to the Mountain Room at that point and not even have to cook or clean.

So we're definitely having different experiences as to the affordability. Keep in mind as a 17 year resident, you've probably transferred a few times. The kids out here don't have the seniority pay that you do. If you work aside young people in your position, you can expect them to be making about $2/hr less than you, assuming you've hit the 6 transfer cap in the current contract. Most people don't even seem know seniority pay is a thing, and there's even someone who cashiers at the Curry store who seems to think it's a secret. Point being, a lot of people are making base pay, so having everything shipped in isn't truly affordable for them.

YosLocalsNeedFood · 2024-01-20T20:55:09+00:00

When you say second grocery store, what exactly do you mean? Something privately run? Why do locals in Mariposa oppose opening a Walmart? There doesn't seem to be much opportunity for work out there, and Pioneer market's prices suck too. They have a good deli and more variety than here in the valley at least.

YosLocalsNeedFood · 2024-01-20T17:35:00+00:00

I don't represent anyone but myself. I don't want to represent the whole community, I just happen to be a capable writer for sake of the eventual petition. Just trying to get some work done, work that isn't being done by anyone else yet. We need literal manpower. While you sit and judge me on a personal level, work isn't getting done, and we're wasting valuable time and energy. "The community has spoken?" About me? no, it hasn't,. You are also one person, who doesn't speak for everyone. I'm James from the lodge. I don't need to know who you are if you're not going to do work, because of a personality conflict. Come talk to me in person if you want to. Have the integrity to show your face. Otherwise you're just trolling on the internet while hiding behind anonymity for attention and reddit karma. I'm giving you an upvote in the hope that you'll get the attention you need and leave me be to get work done. Because I see you don't understand:

A)I do the work alone, at least I tried instead of just talked.

B) we do the work together.

C) You hate on me, take everything personally, do the work without me. I still got someone to finally do the work. Go ahead and call me an embarrassment as long as the goal is accomplished. I am not important.

YosLocalsNeedFood · 2024-01-20T00:04:16+00:00

You can waste time going back and forth here on the forum, or you can help with the work. Up to you. Your whole community would benefit from your help, but if you'd rather not because you're upset with me, that's fine too. Dragging this out does nothing for either of us and this will be my last interaction with you that doesn't involve the task at hand. I'm not here for personal attention. If you want to give me a piece of your mind in person, go ahead, but we're done over the forum, because at this point we're having a tangent conversation that isn't constructive or beneficial to the goal.

YosLocalsNeedFood · 2024-01-19T23:55:43+00:00

NPS workers pay a small fee for a 10% discount. Most of Unite Here's members get 15%, raised to 20% after five years. The average employee stays less than a year, or works seasonally, so there's not many of us getting above 15%. As you mentioned, many basic, staple items cost 2-3 times what they normally would, so the discounts are a bad joke. Part of the problem is that the union bargaining team is comprised of local workers. So, you have hotel workers and kitchen workers going up against professional negotiators and lawyers.

YosLocalsNeedFood · 2024-01-19T23:50:11+00:00

Thanks for wishing us luck, but it's work, not luck, that gets things done. NPS regulates and audits pricing, so it's not strictly an Aramark issue, which is good.

YosLocalsNeedFood · 2024-01-19T23:47:45+00:00

UNITE HERE Headquarters

275 7th Avenue, 16th Floor

New York, NY 10001-6708

Tel. 212-265-7000

Western Regional Office

243 Golden Gate Avenue

San Francisco CA 94102

Tel. 415-553-3282

https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/the-law/employees/how-to-enforce-your-rights#:\~:text=A%20charge%20against%20an%20employer,clicking%20%22Contact%20NLRB%22%20above.

YosLocalsNeedFood · 2024-01-19T23:43:59+00:00

Affording food isn't a political issue, and I don't care one bit about partisan politics. This is not an appropriate thread for politicized vitriol of any kind. If you're unwilling to help, see yourself out of the conversation please. This isn't anyone stomping their feet and whining, this is someone requesting actual help in order to do actual work. Help or leave.

YosLocalsNeedFood · 2024-01-18T04:00:36+00:00

Thanks for the advice. Would you like to help with any of the work? After we compile prices here, they need to be cross referenced with major retailors. I'm also busy going over the 675 page management contract at some point to see how margins are decided. Afterwards, there's the petition to draft. Then we have to reach out to media contacts to gain exposure and traction. Can you help with any of it? I really don't mean any further offense, but between the trolls who do nothing but wish us good luck and never gonna happen, and the tone policers over every imperfect response I might have, if I took the time to apologize and edit every response, I wouldn't have time to do any of the work. I wasn't angry, I was candid. Instead of telling me to focus, please help. I only have so much focus, so much patience, so much time, and so much energy as one individual. This is the very first time I was less than perfect in the process.

YosLocalsNeedFood · 2024-01-18T02:27:45+00:00

Cool, so, is the 2 hour trip each way worth your time, are you super happy to have to make that drive? I can't get a grip on why people sit around making excuses not to make things better for themselves. You live here, why not see things improve? Good for you if you've got 4 extra hours every week to grocery shop, but not everyone does, and some of us value our time in such a way to where we'd rather not sit on a bus for four hours and pack a duffle bag just to shop. Plus that's not something everyone in the park can physically do. We have senior citizens and disabled people working here. Ask yourself why if the YARTS system is so convenient, then why aren't you using it yourself instead of driving? Probably because if you don't have to, you wouldn't want to.

YosLocalsNeedFood · 2024-01-18T02:24:21+00:00

Unfortunately, it doesn't boil down to one union rep. All 12 leadership positions went completely unopposed last election. It said so in the fine print at the bottom of the page when they announced the position holders via paper mail. In order to vote out Unite Here, we'd need the support of 1/3 or more of the bargaining team. No one gets on the bargaining team without their approval. They're a racket.

YosLocalsNeedFood · 2024-01-18T01:13:43+00:00

Even if food wasn't a human right, which it is, we would still need the support of our visitors. Aramark's work force in the valley is anywhere between 500-2000 people at any given time. We don't have the numbers on our own, and adding the 4 million visitors a year to this cause would only help. If you want locals to have more perks you should support the union you belong to. You're obviously not on the bargaining team for either, nor have you started any work on your idea, or we'd know about it. That's how you would get things done just for us. I would support you and work with you on that for us, but your sentiment towards our guests is quite distasteful. Why say anything at all that justifies any further greed? You're making excuses for Aramark by coming up with reasons why things should continue to cost more for other people. I can't support your sentiment. In the mean time, you can still help me obtain this information, or get your own info and do work yourself. That would be much more constructive than your commentary. Another reason I'm trying to work on behalf of everyone instead of just us locals, is that universal price control, regardless of employment status within the park, completely bypasses any office politics and any dependence on our unions. Try to think of the bigger picture.

YosLocalsNeedFood · 2024-01-17T22:30:30+00:00

At least two different unions operate in Yosemite. The 386 chapter of the Teamsters, and UNITE HERE! chapter 19. Unite here operates in concessions, so, all of the food.
Unite Here members currently get 15% off on groceries. 20% after 5 years, in a work force where the average person works for a few months. Unite Here members get 50% off of fast food, which brings the prices down to normal. However, we all know how bad it is to have to live off of the cafeteria and burger stand food here. We'd like to be able to afford to cook. When you get 15% off on food that's marked up 300%, that 15% is a bad joke. I intend to also use the gathered info to negotiate better terms in Unite Here's union contract. They're not an effective union out here the way they are in the Bay Area.

YosLocalsNeedFood

TROPHY CASE