Yelp Employee FIRED After Posting Open Letter To CEO
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.พ. 2025
- Talia Jane was an employee for Yelp making minimum wage in San Francisco. She posted an open letter to her CEO decrying the conditions she has to endure because of her low pay. Cenk Uygur, Ben Mankiewicz, and Hannah Cranston hosts of The Young Turks discuss.
Do you agree with Talia or is she just an entitled millennial? Let us know in the comments below.
Read more here: medium.com/@ta...
“When I was a kid, back in the 90s when Spice Girls and owning a pager were #goals, I dreamed of having a car and a credit card and my own apartment. I told my 8-year old self, This is what it means to be an adult.
Now, seventeen years later, I have those things. But boy did I not anticipate a decade and a half ago that a car and a credit card and an apartment would all be symbols of stress, not success.
I left college, having majored in English literature, with a dream to work in media. It was either that or go to law school. Or become a teacher. But I didn’t want to become a cliche or drown in student loans, see. I also desperately needed to leave where I was living - I could get into the details of why, but to sum up: I wanted to die every single day of my life and it took me several years to realize it was because of the environment I was in. So, I picked the next best place: somewhere close to my dad, since we’ve never gotten to have much of a relationship and I like the weather up here. I found a job (I was hired the same day as my interview, in fact) and I put a bunch of debt on a shiny new credit card to afford the move.”
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The Young Turks February 22, 2016 Hour 2
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To be honest, what chance did this woman possibly have to get even 5 minutes with the CEO to discuss this problem? Any attempt to go up the chain of command would be squashed after her immediate boss. The CEO's lament that she should've come to him first seems a bit disingenuous, unless he's got the best 'open door' policy in the known universe. The sad thing is, if she's attempted to go about this the polite way, she still probably would've been fired, the only difference would've been we'd have never heard about it.
exactly
+LabTech Well she def should have the chance to talk with her CEO now unless he's lying, which then she can use as publicity against him for lying... it'd hurt Yelp's shares more than firing her ever could.
Yup, unfortunately what you said is true. I got fired for speaking (professionally) up as well to HR last year. Granted I had only worked shy of 5 months. But throughout that time I was only late once and never called in. And I was even told that I did a great job at doing my numbers.
+LabTech This fellow I was talking to the other day said he worked for Hyatt Hotels in Germany and once per month the general manager of the hotel would work under him (he was in charge of the restaurant) just so he would know what was needed on the ground to do the job right.
+LabTech That reminds me of what walmart tells its employees. This is why unions are important: there is strength in numbers.
She CHOOSE to move to San Francisco for a minimum wage job. Literally the most expensive city in the country with the lowest wage possible. There are lots of people in tough positions that truly need help. She is not one of them.
If Yelp believe that the minimum wage should be higher they don't need to wait for legislation, they can just pay their employees a higher wage so they're clearly not that big a supporter of it.
The worker has many other options. And what does everybody think happens when min wage is raised? OHHH yay, I make more so now I can afford to pay for.......Oh wait, the cost of everything has just gone up......Hey, min wage needs raised again. And btw, the cost of "everything" doesn't just go up after a wage raise simply to screw people. It's simple math. Every business now is paying much more for the same production, so in turn everything related will go up. And it's easy to simplify it down to greed, but come on, it is an awful business move to lose money at every turn. Every kind of business from the smallest to the largest will do the same. And it's a domino effect. Nurse's that went to school to become certified and make $15 hour will not and have not accepted all the sudden making the same as a fast-food worker when min wage bumps to 15. So it affects the majority of the system. Entry level jobs/min wage jobs should be a starting point, not a career, unless you can afford it which most can't. The whole idea is to continue moving forward, making changes and acquiring skills to get there. But sadly most people don't want to do that.
No investigation again. Do your jobs better. Was found out she was lying. I hope y'all sent her some money because that would make my day. But lets be honest, you'll sit there and cry about some sad little girl that can't get her way and have millions but won't talk about the real starvation around the world. The children that are starving. But you want to make a story about some spoiled brat that can't have millions of dollars thrown at her. What a joke. You should be ashamed of yourselves.
Meanwhile the greedy CEO is busy making millions of dollars. The rich get richer and poor get poorer. Capitalism is amazing.
If capitalism isn't amazing then why do so many people want to move to capitalistic countries? In which non-capitalistic country do you live? Because I think you are just talk, not actually doing it.
Capitalism is not the cause of what we see here. I greatly fear the possibility of communism, socialism, or authoritarianism. Capitalism works in European countries. This is the fault of a regulatory structure tilted in favor of the rich, promoted by talking heads that call themselves "conservatives" when in reality they support large amounts of huge sweetheart-deal legislation (i.e. they're "corporate-liberal") that benefits big companies at the expense of working people and smaller businesses.
She lives in San Francisco...did she not do the math beforehand?
+Jim Jones Not even math. Just a split second of common sense would have done the trick.
+Jim Jones I don't think that was the case, the problem was that she did not got promoted after a year. She was counting on that promotion and the salary that came with it to be better of. But when yelp decided not to promoted that's when it got ugly for her, now she is on a dilemma should she stay there for another year an wait for that promotion or leave the company a look some where else. I don't think she mined to have a minimum wage for one year.
I see tons of people on the internet everyday who are in the same position as this woman, but still for some reason defend trickle down economics, deregulation, lower wages, corporate lobbying power, conservatism, etc etc etc etc
Its sad.
exactly
+Michael P Its crazy.
somehow the irrational folk trump (no pun intended) the simple minded folk (us).
It's ignorance, man. A person I know, most generous nice person you'll ever meet, supports shit like this because he believes anything else will ruin the economy.
+Michael P Americans have this sense of "if i am suffering, i expect you to be suffering with me".
The wage gap between bottom level employees and CEOs is egregious, in every company. If the bottom level employees in your company barely make enough to live, but the CEO and board can afford yachts, that is disgusting and a problem that this country needs to address and refuses to
The complete lack of compassion in so many of the comments here is disgusting. Our society has jumped the shark. She’s working full-time and is college educated, so I don’t understand the idea she’s “entitled”. Isn’t entitled when someone wants something for nothing?
Renee Jewell Snowflake? Unbelievable. If you can’t find compassion for an educated woman, employed full-time, who still cannot afford to scrape by, I would say that shows you might struggle with compassion as a whole. The wealth gap in our nation is out of control! Speaking the truth about it does not make her a “snowflake”. It makes her a fighter for change.
She knew what she was getting herself into when she took the job. The system is broken but it's certainly not yelps fault or their problem. Get a different job then if you don't like it. That's what everyone has to do when they don't like their salary: deal with it or move on. Simple as that.
+Matthew Russell (Yoseaux) Easy to say. Have more sympathy and compassion for people. Yelp should not be paying anyone $700 bi-weekly. "Simple as that."
+Cee Breezy No it's not easy for me to say that. It cuts me to my core to read this blog post because I'm in a VERY similar situation. In her letter, she says:
"I also have to pay my gas and electric bill. Last month it was $120. According to the infograph on PG&E’s website, that cost was because I used my heater. I’ve since stopped using my heater. Have you ever slept fully clothed under several blankets just so you don’t get a cold and have to miss work? Have you ever drank a liter of water before going to bed so you could fall asleep without waking up a few hours later with stomach pains because the last time you ate was at work?"
Well I also had to do this exact same thing this winter (in fact, I still can't afford to run my heater) because i had a $300 heating bill (because I live in Kansas) with only a 600sq ft apartment that I live in by myself. Not to mention I have a disease which forces me to run to the bathroom 4 or 5 times a night to bleed several ounces into the toilet. I don't blame my employer. I knew how much I was going to make when I started. I didn't write a blog post about it shaming my CEO. It's not his problem. I took responsibility for my situation and called the electric company and set up a payment plan. I've also had to drink liters of water to stave off off hunger pains not so long ago when I made the minimum wage of $7.25/hour in Kansas. I currently make LESS than what she makes and that's after taking a CNA/CMA class and working as a CNA for FOUR years. Sure, I don't live in California, but Kansas has its own set of issues like cold winters, for example. We all have to struggle and I feel her pain like it's my own, but whining about it on the internet (or anywhere) is nothing more than a waste of energy. And it must not be all that bad since she has a cell phone and internet connection. The difference between me and her is that I value food over internet and cell phone. I've had to cancel both of those to feed myself and I would do it again. I don't want to come as "le wrong generation" but this girl is a paragon of laziness. If her job is so far away, why not get one closer? If she's making the minimum wage anyway, then she can go anywhere and at least get paid what she's making now. I'm working on making a better life for myself instead of trying to get strangers to feel sorry for me. Don't tell me to have compassion until you've walked in her shoes, because I have.
*****
Your approach is to basically roll over and take it or leave. I think that's one of the main problems in America. Nothing changes with that attitude.
+Cee Breezy If you have all the answers, what's your solution? Write a blog post shaming the CEO for making money? That's what he's supposed to do. That's why he's the CEO. See where it got her?
She should've checked out Yelp's Yelp review before applying for the job.
zinggggggg
zlistcelebrity bet she put it a low score.
If Yelp feels the minimum wage should be higher, why doesn't it just pay its employees more?
I worked customer service at a bank in the 90s and you deserve so much money to deal with customer service. Fyi they are paying less now than they did in the 90s I checked
Ironic; isn't it? A website designed for critiques cannot stand being criticized.
You told so much truth home-land security is looking for you lol
Dwayne White That's because your criticism might crush their soul!
Gillian Landry they have souls??? 👻🤔
This issue has stuck in my head since the letter was first released. I would LOVE to live/work in or near San Francisco, or Boston, Chicago, New York ... any big city. I've looked into, crunching the numbers numerous times and determined that I can not afford it and using my college degree will never be able to. Does that suck? Yes. But that's our reality. She made a HUGE mistake in moving to the city. It was impractical. I'm an 'old' millennial and it was preached that I can do anything, go anywhere by working hard, going to college, etc. I was told to choose and job that I love and I'll never work a day in my life. WRONG. Millennials aren't so much entitled as confused. We have to wake up to reality and get over it. I don't think anything will change in my lifetime, I think it will get worse. Throughout history there have always been the have's and have not's. The 'American Dream' is over.
She did go to her manager first. Her manager wasn't able to do anything about it.
If anybody's interested, cracked released a video interviewing her this year.
In regards to this woman being "entitled": This woman, just like everyone, is entitled to a living wage, especially in a city with a high cost of living like San Francisco.
A company builds a website for taddletails and fires one of their employees when they discover she’s one of them?
When I purchased house (cheap one) 18 years ago that was 14,000 hours of minimum wage, on today prices same house is 37,000 hours of minimum wage.Stop blaming on millennial's it's a problem with greedy employers that make more than any time in history but saying all the time: "We can NOT pay more because of bad economy"
i make 25 dollars an hour, cant afford my own place still.
Black&RedSN95 What city do you live in?
She needs to realize that she's a wage slave and no company cares. These places pay enough to keep you coming back. If you can't afford life, so be it. Shareholders and owners only care about how much they make. They aren't concerned if whether your life is comfortable or if you can pay bills. Welcome to life.
wage inequality is a huge problem and I understand that girls pain especially when owing over 20k in student debt with interest
If Full time Min wage does not supply enough to afford a Studio , Bills , health and whatever training fees needed for the job. It should NOT be paying that.
He doesn't understand that Yelps whole business model is based around people being able to give public reviews of businesses.
so while another company could legitimately be upset that an employee 'went public' like that, for yelp they are the ones encouraging others to publicly review businesses they interact with so it is highly hypocritical that they don't like it when some one publicly reviews them.
I have a suspicion that Hannah's key card isn't going to work tomorrow.
lol
+TurkishChubs haha.
+TurkishChubs Id give the key card... to my apt.
Hilarious
I hope that young lady gets a job somewhere because she had enough courage and guts to speak the truth it is ridiculous how greedy people are in America when there's enough money to go around even if you work and you have an MBA a PhD since 2010 they've been paying people less since 2010 look at how much they pay professors at top universities do you really think your child will get a top education .not
A company who pays you minimum wage is telling you " I'd pay you less if I could"
I don't know about anyone else, but I don't give companies a pass for paying the absolute minimum when employees are starving. If they could pay you less, they would, but it's illegal.
You want to EAT every day? PFFFT, ENTITLED MILLENIALS.
+Bread Canful ahahaha
+James Lourenco but you have to remember she has debt because liberals told her getting a worthless degree that won't give her a well paying job afterwords on student debt was such a brilliant idea.
+Daniel Spires That's why I did my research. I haven't wasted my time or money on a bs degree because I'm making more than my friends who have one. Another thing that pisses me of is these crappy trade school that take advantage of today's youth. when I was working in the kitchen, pushing food carts, at the hospital, I was making more than half of the CNA's there. It's all bullshit. If your going to waste your money on a degree make sure it's for something that there are enough jobs out there for you to find and it pays well enough to pay back your loans.
hahaha, and she wants to pay rent to put a roof over her head? crazy.
I'm being sarcastic by the way in case someone needs clarification.
That doesn't mean you have to live and eat in lib-tax-haven SF! Hee haw!
I hate yelp always coming up when I try to search
Yelp... The Noise you make right after you get fired, publicly.
lol
Yelp your cancelled 👌🏽
Jamais Vu
**You're
Jamais Vu I'm with you!
Minimum wage should be for high school kids who want extra cash for shopping and dating, not the ones whose survival depends on it.
You don't air your dirty laundry in public unless you're prepared to get canned, end of story.
It's not enough to live on, yet right at too much for government assistance
If a company cannot pay its employees a living wage, said company should fail.
The letter was ridiculous. First off, English literature major? Yea, you made a lucrative choice. Then the stupid, entitled girl moves to one of the most expensive metropolitan areas in the country without having a high-wage job secured and then demands that the founder of the company give her a high paying job because reasons. The just fate of the idiotic.
+Idiodyssey87 bet she's a feminist
+Idiodyssey87 Yep yet another self entitled SJW who finds the REAL world to much. She is such a precious little snowflake. And for gawds sake you can not make a living off EL.
She had healthcare, dental care and vision! Teachers in NY don't have dental and vision.
+can'tBEARit o_O Would that make you feel better for being awful to someone living on slave wages? :^)
You act as though you have it all figured out in spite of these things called facts.
I'm seeing people post that this woman's real problem is that she's renting an apartment instead of a room. So I decided to see how much she would save if she were willing to have a roommate or a few of them. Here's what I found on the first page of Craigslist for the San Francisco/San Jose area:
*Spacious private room with private bathroom: $1595*
*Quad room: $595*
*Beautiful room: $2200*
*Beautiful room in San Jose: $1230*
*Large room 25 square feet: $1450*
*Master bedroom: $1000*
*Bed in a double room: $750*
*Spacious room: $1699*
*Private room and bath: $3000*
*Renovated room: $1295*
*Shared room: $300 per week*
*West Menlo room: $2500*
*Amazing bedroom: $1875*
*Room with private bath: $1900*
Apparently, the cheapest rooms require a longer commute and that you share your bedroom with one or more total strangers. It seems likely, given the market in that area, that this Yelp employee *does already rent a room rather than an apartment of her own simply because she couldn't afford an apartment on her own* in that area.
ya it is possible that she is already renting only a room
I think to survive in SF one needs friends or two jobs if one is at minimum wage
that's my rough impression anyway
to live with total strangers can be dangerous... sometimes it is amazing and sometimes it is awful... it is a mixed bag :)
but I wonder if she has friends that she can split an apartment with or something
You guys, this is all going to change with the new tax cuts for billionaires. (Sarcasm)
You know, it might be neat if we elect another republican who wants to lower taxes for corporations even further.
Another couple years of this, stagnant wages and crippling poverty, and the working class will have the wealthy's heads on pikes. There is only so much that the poor and disenfranchised can take.
exactly
+Brian Kamras Its called communism. Fact is that taxes or not the wages are dictated by the leaders of whom are hoarding it all. Higher taxes without redistribution would not increase the wages any. Lower taxes also would not increase the wages.
+Brian Kamras In between vomit sessions on the internet, perhaps look at who has been in control the last 7 years.
Dietrich Lehleitner A DINO named Barack Obama who told everyone "hey look how progressive I'll be" and then proceeded to do republican policy 101 and cut taxes for the rich and spend insane amounts of money on useless wars killing young men who could have lived for more, all while giving us just enough "change" to keep us holding our hands out to be bitten thinking we'd get a lollipop.
Brian Kamras Maybe stop holding our your hands and they won't get bitten?
Nah. I don't blame her. I think every employee should write a public letter like this. Like, everybody, every job.
I want to see thousands of open letters like this to CEOs all across the country.
Shit's never gonna change if "we deal with it in private."
It an entry level job. She isn't going to make that much
I am 25, grade 9 education, mowed lawns in the summer shoveled snow in the winter. Had to save $2000 to get my first credit card (bad credit) 3 years later had enough credit and money saved to start a small landscaping company. Now making 80+ k a year and living comfortably. Work hard and don't bitch
+Gareth Dawson preach!!
That's what most Mexicans here do, some people have more ambitions than others I guess.
If you work 40hrs a week, you should make at least enough to pay rent, bills, and food. If you can't afford this then you're being ripped off by your company.
she is 100% right ceo is mking too much they dont care about entry level person.
a company can't say they believe minimum wage should bee higher while paying people minimum wage. it is entirely hypocritical
So if they think the minimum wage should be increased, why don't they just increase their employees wages to the level that they think is fair? Why are they waiting on the government to increase the minimum wage? Seems like BS to me.
Corporations are too greedy and don't care about the people on the ground who are driving the company.
No company believes it's responsible for it's workers conditions if it's not "mandated" by law. They blame the government. However, business basically owns the government, and they lobby heavily to reduce worker benefits and prevent anything being done to make things balance out better for workers. So sorry, no pass for anyone. You take advantage of unacceptable conditions, then you are complicit and you get to share the guilt of those who put them in place. Common sense, end of story. Yelp and everyone else is "guilty as charged".
That's minimum wage for you. It should raise with inflation. It does not cause inflation.
Minimum wage should be nett not gross. And it should be different depending on where you are living.
In the U.K., London has a different minimum wage to the rest of the country because the British government recognises that London has a much higher cost of living.
No-one should only being eating rice for their meals. They should have the freedom to eat a varied diet.
$1200+ a month for rent is insane.
Maximus earnings should have a ceiling; everything would be easier.
I am starting to think the phrase "entitled millennial" is just code for "expecting the same standard of living our baby-boomer parents got".
exactly lol
This is what most large cooperations do. In the U.K. it is mandatory to receive minimum wage at least. Technically she did break terms of contract because you aren’t supposed to talk about your employer on social media. I lost my job working for a health insurance company because of my disability, which is pretty ironic I know. The company then gagged me for the 3 months that I could have sued for. So now I talk about it openly. At the end of the day cooperations are only interested in their bottom line and they can easily fill the role. It’s horrible and unfair but it is the truth. Also it makes sense that she would need to be in her role for a year. That’s how things work. You can’t presume that you can just move into a different role. There might not be one available for a start. Also the whole millennial thing is bullshit. Millennials are between the ages of 22 and 37 we are hardly “entitled kids” . We know what our rights are and we cannot afford the lives of our parents and grandparents. We have student loans (uni fees were free for my parents), we can’t afford houses even though that’s the “done thing”. Essentially wages have not risen alongside the cost of living. It is right to be angry at a system that gave all the benefits to baby boomers and screwed the rest of us over in the process.
She was working at minimum wage, even though she graduated from college? That's the bigger issue in my opinion.
CEO of Yelp said's "How dare you point that out , you peasant" you're fired.
Do the math before you accept the job. transportation, food, living, childcare supplies, ect
Asha Black nice one.
The problem is-it is hard to find livable wages in this country because the corporations have lowered wages to maximize profits. This is why you have people working to to three jobs because they have problems making ends meet. Many do not have luxury to just choose jobs when they need to accept any job to get any kind of income coming in. Plus, the cost of living is way too high.
Asha Black. Very well said and a "no brainer".
Edward Cortes No it isn't! You move to areas that 1) aren't the number one place everybody wants to live and 2) where there is a demand for workers. San Francisco Bay Area is the most expensive place to live in the entire country AND, there are more people unemployed looking for work then jobs they can take. See, too many people all wanting to live in one place does what? Drives up rents. Not enough jobs to put those people to work to live in the most expensive place does what? Means a lot of people are doing much worse than this b---ch!
Dude, it is hard to just get up and go because it involves traveling money, leaving your current job, especially if you have a family. Regardless as to where you live, the jobs are not usually livable wages. You may go to a state where the rents are cheaper, but the jobs pay crap. It doesn't matter where you go, there are lack of jobs.
Today I talked with a middle aged white man without a pot to piss in and limited education, working a retail job and living paycheck to paycheck, telling me how only an idiot would vote for Bernie. Anybody but Bernie....I felt his ignorance like a physical blow. How do you fight against....that. One of those days I feel we are truly beyond hope.
+Dan Harris Don't get too upset by it because you don't need to have another panic attack on TV again.
If Yelp REALLY wanted to increase the minimum wage they pay, they could do that in a nanosecond. They don't have to wait for the government to tell them what they have to do.
The irony here...a company that prides itself in being an open and honest forum protected by the first amendment, fires their servant for exposing their depravity. How unfortunate. I'm canceling my Yelp account.
Only in Hannah's fantasy world can an employee go on social media and curse out her employer and expect for the employer to approach her and ask what they did wrong.
Income tax on minimum wage is brutal! In Australia the first $18,000 of everyone's primary income is tax free.
This screams for a need in fair pay for all Americans, the wealth in America is fucked, time to fix it
Something is trickling down on our heads, but it's not money.
Bernie Sanders should definitely use this to slam Hillary's $12 minimum wage proposal.
+Brandon Reed Bermie is irrelevant and so are his fanboys.
Denys Lightbow then why are you watching TYT? They are all his fanboys.
Brandon Reed
It's my version of a comedy channel.
Nobody is forcing this guy on the yacht to keep his wages so low. He's part of the problem.
I think she brought up the ceo and her wage to show the stark difference. There's been a growing distance between the salary of ceo and lower employees.
Just out of school means you don't yet realize the fundamentals of what you NEED to earn in general. If she moved to San Fran from somewhere else, then it was a VERY rude awakening for her. Her fault? No. Yelp however HAS BEEN operating out of that environment for a long time, HR knows damn well what the cost of living is and how little they pay and that it will not make ends meet for anyone. They actively choose to pay minimum wage anyway. No one is forced to pay minimum wage, it's a business decision that is purposely made. Yelp "IS" at fault, and Talia has a perfectly valid point.
+MN Heintzelman I was just about to say the exact same thing. They don't have to pay minimum wage. It's not a lawful requirement, and that's what they missed in this video. They could definitely choose to pay their employees a livable wage. But they hcoose not to
+MN Heintzelman I tend to be on the other side of the argument, or at least somewhere in the middle, but Yelp should know the details of their employees living conditions. That's a great point.
The point is that the CEO is making a disproportionate amount of income compared to the rest of the font line employees that ACTUALLY generate revenue. The problem is the corporate hegemony.
1. Free market society
2. Ask for a raise or find another job
3. Taking things public should be last recourse if you feel there was an unfair response by your employer after you had brought to their attention (sexual harassment, racism, anything to cause a hostile work environment)...not getting paid enough isn't one of them.
4. Reverse the roles, how would she feel if her employer just decided to tweet that she was a poor worker first instead of talking to her about it?
This woman needs to rethink her life choices! Why are you giving alone, paying $1200/month for rent with a job that pays $8.00/hour? At what point did you think that was going to work exactly?
+AmesKtown Her big mistake was assuming she could move up in the company right away. She said after she had taken the job and had moved into her apartment, she found out that she could not change positions for an entire year. *GASP* How this was news to her is beyond me. Did she think she would work there a month and then get promoted? Wow. Sorry, not much sympathy for assuming you'd get a promotion in less than a year. Some people work for years before getting a promotion.
Melanie Richardson Reality and logic do not seem to be a factor in some people's decision making processes. The promotion expectation is a definite sign of narcissistic privilege. Did she think everyone who started working in the company before her were a bunch of bafoons and she alone was going to bring YELP into some greater level of profitability as a customer service representative?
I have worked for the same organization for 9 years and I have received 3 promotions in that time which is a little bit faster than average. I am now lower level management and supervise a team of 8 people. I am fairly tired of some of the people complaining about why they have to perform the more repetitive/less interesting tasks when they still don't know what they are doing. It's like they think they deserve special treatment just for showing up.
+AmesKtown Seriously, after college, i moved back with my parents for 3 years to pay off college debt. Best decision ever. Some of my friends are still paying back student loans, and they are the ones that got $1500 aparements after college.
Minimum wage where she works is $12.25 an hour, her $8 an hour comment is kind of misleading.
ScarletKnight
Even so, she clearly cannot afford it
I don't think any company should get credit for promoting the increase of minimum wage if they're not doing it themselves. Let's face it, if a company wanted their employees to make more, they would.
+Alexander B This is a fight about government policy and regulation. Companies are generally not going to pay more than they need to in order to compete in the market place nor is it reasonable to expect them to.
If yelp suddenly decided to pay higher wages across the board than all they would accomplish would be handicapping themselves against their competition's pricing and likely eventually going out of business as a
result. Wages are a touchy, system wide issue and need to be addressed that way. Companies simply volunteering to pay more isn't going to fix anything in the long run.
+Alexander B That's a very ignorant way to look or approach a business. Problem is most people make these statements without ever running or owning a business themselves. It's a far more complex issue than saying hey you want 3 more extra bucks an hour? Here have it.
She's making a point about basic fairness. Part of that can be effected through changes in government, but part of is also about addressing by changing company culture. There are in fact companies who make a point of paying their employees fairly. Is she entitled? Yes! She's entitled to a decent standard of living, with access to a high quality of life and the ability to make things better for herself.
Generation X: I don't like the pay at my current job, let me find a better paying job.
Millenials: I don't like the pay at my current job, let me bitch about it on social media and start a go fund me page, I'm the victim.
By the way, I'm a millennial. She sounds like a majority of the yelp reviewers.
If you never make minimum wage for living, you won't understand how hard it is to pay for just the rent.
Talia was brave to do this and obviously at her wits end. I don't blame her. I don't fault her for mentioning the CEO's salary. Even though it seems irrelevant, it is important because it puts the issue of corporate greed vs. poverty wages front and center. I also don't blame her for wanting to point out labor injustices in the workplace; she's poor and struggling to the extreme. This is a serious problem all over North America and other parts of the world.
Cenk, the point of making it public and mentioning how much the CEO makes is very important, esp in the fight towards increasing the minimum wage. The income inequality problem in this country, coupled with the outrageous cost of college leaves young ppl desperate in today's times. I think if more ppl were public about the disparity in incomes, not the CEO having a yacht - but the fact that he does probably means he could afford to pay his employees more money, helps the argument to increase workers wages in this country. More power to her.
I disagree. Everyone who is able, willing, ready to work is entitled to decent wages.
Yelp didn't like their review.
That's the reason I will never use Yelp!
If Yelp claims that the minimum wage should increase, then why don't they take it upon themselves to do it? there's nothing stopping them from paying their employees 15$per hour. And don't tell me Shareholders, because payroll in any company is one of the smallest expenses, and making sure employees are happy is a surefire way to increase profits.
If minimum wage went up by even 2 or 3 dollars in every state, it would help tremendously. I've never understood why there's so little compromise on this issue. You think $15 is too high for minimum wage? Okay, how about $11? It's $8.15 an hour where I live (might be going up to $10.10, fingers crossed). Raising the minimum wage to even just $11 would go a long way to helping families get off public assistance without worrying about having enough to eat.
Missy Rose Ok, I can understand why you feel this way. But most of these jobs do not require a specific skill set. You are paid by eduucation, and skills. Raising the minimum wage does not address the real problem here. The fact that we are not filling jobs in this country that actually do require a specific skill, or requires the willingness to learn the required skill. The single biggest employers are having is finding an employee that can pass a drug test. I'm sorry but if a person puts drugs ahead of a advancing themselves they have absolutely no viable argument for getting better wages.
I'm not saying she can't pass a drug test. Just stating fact about the state of the country.
Also if she worked a year steady for the same company, and showed up on time everyday. And worked hard she just opened up a ton of opportunities. Would have been a lot better if she chose to look for another job. While still working there. With the Internet now many companies require an applicant to submit an application, and/or a resume online. Only interviews are done in person. So she has a ton of options.
none of your business As you stated above, earning more than minimum wage requires a specific skill set ir education level. What are we supposed to do when we can't obtain those skills or education? And no matter what your job is, you should not be working 40 hours or more a week and still not be able to afford food and rent. The cost of living has been continuing to rise with very little wage increase, which has made it impossible for many people to catch up, especially those with families. It's not as simple as just getting another job. I have two kids. I'm limited only to jobs that are willing to work around my oldest sons Headstart schedule and the typical daycare schedule. As well as be okay with the fact that I can only work part time because I have a special needs child, as well as both physical and mental health issues of my own. And a lot of places are not going to pay you a living wage since they don't have to. I'm not talking about this woman specifically. I'm talking about everyone struggling. Raising the minimum wage would benefit EVERYONE. It would boost the economy, more money would go into the government via taxes, a lot of couples and smaller families would be able to get off public assistance quickly, with bigger families eventually following. With less people on public assistance, we could give adequate help to those who still need it, setting them up for success in the long term.
Or perhaps instead of complaining she could take personal responsibility for herself and make some hard decisions. For example. . . get a room mate to split the rent, get a second job to increase her income, look for a better paying job (no time like the present given she is now out of work), or get some skills to deserve a better wage rate. Maybe she should review the life decisions she made that got her to this point and think about what she should have done differently - there might be some powerful lessons to learn here and the sooner the better for her future. Changing her attitude will change her reality. . . or she can just bitch and moan and complain about how tough life is.
Its because the minimum wage is broad and all encompassing, some companies may be able to pay it while it will bankrupt others. It is a stupid, simplistic bandaid to a more complicated economic issue.
GOT DA POKE Actually, no. Most people are poor because it costs more to live than what they make working 40 hours a week , especially if you have a family. Money management has very little to do with it. I'm excellent at managing money. That doesn't change the fact that if I were to move out of low income housing, I wouldn't be able to find a two bedroom for anything less that $700, excluding utilities. Meaning after rent, I would have less than $600 a month to pay for all of mine and my children's basic needs and expenses, because minimum wage where I live is only $8.15 before taxes.
If people are working a minimum wage job and work 40 hours a week they should be able to meet the minimum amount of cash to live. That means food, transportation, rent, utilities, with 100 bucks left over for some entertainment. This system as it stands is bringing America down. America can losing it's grip. America needs leaders not bosses.
+PanzerBaren i gotta agree, you should not have to be working multiple jobs and still be broke
+PanzerBaren Also it kills the economy. People cannot buy cars, houses, anything really if they do not have the money to do it. The economy is built on the backs of the masses and the middle class. No middle class, it is going to collapse. The 1% don't buy the volume needed to make the economy cycle.
+Johnny Unitus Yeah that is right.
And the employer should be responsible for that. If you're offering a job, it must meet certain requirements for standard of living.
In other words she complained on the web about her own decisions, attacking the CEO and company for their profits, got fired for it being the last straw and now she's the victim. Sure.
Nobody was forcing her to work there. If the minimum wage was any higher, she would be unemployable and out on the street.
wow Minorities been living like that for years
Here's two pieces of advice that these folks won't offer. To start with, you never call out the man who's writing the checks - and trying to publically embarrass him is a completely stupid move. Finally, get the hell out of San Francisco if you can't afford to live there.
Man she make 8$ an hour !
You are ridiculously stupid !
Nice try at grammar and punctuation - let me help out here: 'Man, she makes $8 per hour! You are ridiculously stupid.
Now, her wage is completely irrelevant, with respect to her actions and attitude. As I said, if you can't afford to live in San Francisco, which most of the country can't, then move somewhere that allows you to live better.
Finally, which part of don't embarrass yourself with a public letter about boss do you not understand?
No, I'm not the stupid one here.
Next ...
The new America - Shareholders have rights and workers have rice.
+drewzifer lol brilliant
Her talking about the CEO's wage isn't asking to make what he makes, it's talking about how the little people who make the CEO millions of dollars a year are making sub-standard wages. If you can make over $200 million, why can't you as the CEO allow your employees to make a decent wage to further improve the company?
EXACTLY RIGHT
YES!
U knew the wage. Why take the job. Just resign. Get a better job that earns more. Simple.
30 miles from where she works? San Francisco is only 7 miles square. She'd be way better off living in Oakland.
That's trickle down economics for ya. Keep lowering corporate taxes, republicans.
#truth
+Marc-André Wallenberg She would have probably been offered a raise or promotion if she was actually more productive or valuable. But you can't just expect to get free money if the economy is doing well. That's not how it works, you have to increase your productivity.
I don't think it is about "free money" or not being valuable to the company. I get the gist that it's about being able to survive and eat and pay your rent and earn a "decent" living. There is a huge difference between what you are suggesting and what she is experiencing.
+Ernesto Lopez Roig Increase your productivity or you don't deserve to live. Very pragmatic. It's hard to be productive when you're stressed out and hungry. Besides, if you actually watched you would know that the girl improved my lowering the amount of refunds she gave and that also the company had a BS rule about no raises until A YEAR at minimum. Which probably translates into three years at shit salary.
***** This is just one example of what's happening on a macro scale in the country - the costs of living have been increasing for decades while wages have remained stagnant. Corporations on the other hand, have recorded massive profits due to tax loopholes and subsidies they've acquired by bribing politicians. The middle class is slowly evaporating as a result.
Yelp is full of shit. If they really believed the minimum wage should be higher then why are they paying the minimum?
Lord Albrus As Chris Rock once said: "You know what they are saying when they pay you minimum wage: I'd pay you less, but it's against the law."
I got my first career job in 1989 and i started at $25,000 plus bonuses. and I had no collage education. This is just horrible that these companies pay so low for collage graduates. Sorry there are a lot things I can contribute to millennial entitlement but this is not one them.
+Jaye Jacobs Bernie 2016!
I pointed this out in class and no one believed me. we're doing worse than we were 25 years ago
hers's to corporations doing the right thing.....
rice & avocado toast, right?
I think McDonald's should swoop in and hire her for $13 an hour, that's a 1 dollar increase in pay! She'll be able to afford rice and beans now!!
College Degree is the new High School Diploma.
Amen!
Not if you get something in STEM. LOL are you trolling or just misinformed?
+Alemayehu Solomon
i was a member of an exclusively stem fraternity at penn state. many of my brothers cannot find work in their field. masters degree is the bare min in a labor market this tight.
employers are demanding a bachelors for admin assistants, and data entry jobs f.f.s.
+nycholaus the proboly got degrees in art like a idiot
Lol all I have is a high school diploma and I make more than her
She got results for future Yelp! employees that's crazy.
minimum wage should be based on the cost of housing where the wage is applied.
Shawn Greenaway Should be based on inflation which means it should be around 13 to 15 dollars an hour.
While Yelp is crappy for paying her so little, but at the same time she needs to be smart about her living situation. As someone who lives in the Bay Area, I know for a fact she could easily move to the East Bay, get a roommate, and she could easily cut her rent in half if not more and still have access to the train. Girl, do better.
+SaxyBoy91 Exactly. Take some freaking responsibility. Get a better job or move. She is an entry level employee...did she really expect to come fresh out of the box making mad green. Give me a break. She put a public letter out there because she thought that she could force the hand of the CEO by gaining public sympathy and support. She was being manipulative...plain and simple.
She accepted the job and it's pay. end
Of story.
And we always hear the GOP whining that if you want single payer healthcare and free college you will pay soooo much high taxes like in Europe!
I pay in Germany the same share of taxes she pays with her minimum wage job, about 30% taxes on her income but I earn more then 100k/year!
Maybe the problem is not the amount of taxes but the efficient usage?
DerIchBinDa there is a lot more inefficiency when you have 4 times as many people on about 30 times the amount of land.
"I left college, having majored in English literature," LOL what the fuck did she expect?
I find it offensive that Yelp fired her for Yelping against them. Is this the pinnacle of hypocrisy?
+Leslie Sinclair hehe great observation
Yelp isn't for that, glassdoor is smh
+Michael Woodruff
that mistreats its employees. Their employee yelped and they didn't like it. However, I'm pretty sure all those businesses that receive bad reviews on their website aren't jumping over the moon when it happens to them either. Yelp can dish it out, but they can't take it.
So, stop shaking you head. You might have shook something loose since you couldn't make that connection independently.