Employer Brand Rankings: July ‘22
This month’s crop of baddies and goodies is mostly about money—because it’s what we all kinda need to survive in the U.S.—and also one employer who can’t handle a bad review.
Bottom of the barrel
3. Publishers won’t pay
Union employees at the publisher HarperCollins went on a one-day strike at the end of July. They’ve been asking for higher wages and benefits, among other protections.
The union leader Olga Brudastova told Publisher’s Weekly that HarperCollins, at least for some period of time, refused to take meetings with the union. A petition that included some high-profile signatures brought them back, but no progress was made, so they decided to strike.
“We know that HarperCollins reported record-breaking profits in the past three years. We’re asking for a decent wage that allows people to exist in a city like New York,” Brudastova told PW for the story, which was reported by John Maher.
Publishers like HarperCollins are feeling more pressure from employees to pay them real-world salaries. Workers at the New York Times have gone more than two years without a pay raise, despite the company bringing in plenty of money, and negotiations have been dragging out slowly and painfully.
If this sliver of the job market is unfamiliar, I recommend catching up with this story from Book Riot: The ‘Great Publishing Resignation’ Exposes the Failings of the Industry
2. Restaurant owner steals tips to pay wages
A restaurant owner in Eugene, Oregon, was scraping workers’ tips to pay their own wages. Instead of paying out credit card tips, the owner took $43,000, which the U.S. Department of Labor was able to recover.
Guys, this isn’t hard! Pay your workers. And, uh, don’t steal.
1. A toy company plans to sue employees for defamation over Glassdoor reviews
Without question, this belongs at the bottom of the barrel.
A judge in Northern California ruled that Glassdoor has to reveal the identities of workers who left what are being called “defamatory” reviews of a toy company called Zuru.
Jane Thier, reporting for Fortune, writes: “In January, Zuru filed a subpoena against Glassdoor to compel it to reveal the identities of the person or people who slammed Zuru on the site, calling it a ‘burnout factory’ with a ‘toxic’ culture and ‘incompetent’ leaders. In court, Zuru said it plans to file a defamation lawsuit in New Zealand against whoever posted these on Glassdoor, once their identities are revealed.”
Cream of the crop
3. Connecticut towns try out a four-day work week
Municipal employees in the small Connecticut towns (are there large Connecticut towns?) of Vernon and Ellington are trying out a four-day work week.
Unfortunately, the four-day plan does not reduce the overall number of hours worked, but it does guarantee a three-day weekend for some employees. The cities are trying to compete for talent and are hoping this might entice new hires.
2. Texas bar and restaurant owners are stepping up for abortion rights
Amanda Albee reported for Texas Monthly about small business owners in Texas who are supporting their staff following the Dobbs ruling.
For example, when one bartender approached her boss, the establishment’s owner, to ask for the day off to go protest the decision, he decided to close the bar so the staff could participate together. Others are donating what they can to organizations like the ACLU and the Lilith Fund in a show of solidarity.
1. Companies are raising wages and handing out bonuses to offset inflation
Chip Cutter at the Wall Street Journal reported that big companies are raising wages and paying bonuses to reflect good earnings and offset inflation.
He writes: “Exxon Mobil Corp. gave U.S. employees a one-time payment in June equivalent to 3% of their salaries. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP says it will hand out raises in July to reflect its performance in its fiscal year that just ended. Microsoft Corp. told employees this spring it planned to nearly double its global budget for merit-based raises.”
Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza writes about workplace culture, DEI, and hiring. Her work has appeared in Fast Company, From Day One, and InHerSight, among others.
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