Robert Coe
On Fri, 21 Mar 2014 11:43:07 +1300, Eric Stevens <eric.stevens@sum.co.nz> wrote: : On Thu, 20 Mar 2014 18:10:39 -0400, Tony Cooper : <tonycooper214@gmail.com>wrote: : : >On Fri, 21 Mar 2014 09:08:09 +1300, Eric Stevens : ><eric.stevens@sum.co.nz>wrote: : > : >>On Thu, 20 Mar 2014 08:21:19 -0400, Usenet Account : >><nospam@invalid.invalid>wrote: : >> : >>>On 20/03/2014 4:50 AM, Eric Stevens wrote: : >>>>On Wed, 19 Mar 2014 22:32:54 -0400, Robert Coe <bob@1776.COM>wrote: : >>>> : >>>>>On Thu, 13 Mar 2014 12:31:07 -0400, Usenet Account <nospam@invalid.invalid> : >>>>>wrote: : >>>>>: http://petapixel.com/2014/03/13/calumetphoto-us-declared-bankruptcy-gave-employees-zero-notice/ : >>>>> : >>>>>That's very sad. (I've been pretty busy and hadn't heard about it until now.) : >>>>>Calumet has been very good to CIPNE ("Commercial/Industrial Photographers of : >>>>>New England"), whereof I think I'm still a member. Come to think of it, CIPNE : >>>>>isn't doing too well itself, I'm afraid. Anybody who could spare a few hours a : >>>>>month could probably take over as President, with the heartfelt gratitude of : >>>>>the membership. : >>>>> : >>>>>But anybody who blames Calumet for screwing its employees should get a grip. : >>>>>That's the way capitalism works, and is intended to work. : >>>> : >>>>Rubbish. : >>>> : >>>>>That too is sad, but it's the way it is. : >>>>> : >>>>But not the way it should be. : >>>> : >>> : >>>Employees should be considered as secured creditors, and IMHO should : >>>have a level of protection. : >>> : >>>In an era where we see bank and wall street executives with gold and or : >>>palladium parachutes, while the working class gets nothing? There has to : >>>be some fairness. Don't give me that it's capitalism.. so sad too bad : >>>nonsense. : >> : >>Of course it's not capitalism. It's nonsense to claim that capitalism : >>won't work unless you treat your employees that way. : > : >"Capitalism" is too broad a brush to use to describe this. What went : >down was a strategic move by a company, and we can only guess what : >determined that strategy. It's probably one of two things: : > : >a. Management refused to recognize the seriousness of the problem : >until there was nothing else possible except closing the doors, and : >that was probably forced by creditors. The "strategy", in this case, : >is "do nothing and hope a miracle happens". : > : >b. Management was trying to find a bail-out solution and didn't want : >to jeopardize their position by announcing intended closures or : >lay-offs. : > : >In either case, it was bad strategy. : > : >Realistically, while it may seem unfair, what could have been gained : >if the employees *did* have notice? Their jobs are gone either way. : >It's not like they would have been able to put feelers out with other : >camera stores in the area. They'll be drawing unemployment : >compensation a little earlier. : : If the employees had notice, word would have leaked out into the wider : community and the business would have ground to a halt in a confused : shambles. They would still have been broke but their affairs would : have been in just that more of a mess.

Translation: There wouldn't have been time for the officers to find a way to take care of themselves before the s*** hit the fan. Understand that I don't know that that's what happened in this particular case, but it IS a time-honored capitalist strategem.