01-21-2014, 04:22 AM
Russell, I did not know that you were active on this forum. It is great to have our politicians participating in a pubic forum.
For those that do not know, Russel owns the island naturals food chain. I would like to take this opportunity to ask you why it is that you treat your employees like potential thieves. Again, for those that do not know, Russel requires that before any of his employees leave the island naturals hilo location they must first submit to a search of their purse or bag. This is supposedly to discourage shoplifting.
What you may or may not know, Russell, is that your employees harbor a great deal of resentment towards you, the owner, for paying them just above minimum wage and daily demeaning them with these mandatory bag searches. Maybe you have had problems with employees stealing in the past, but that happens at most grocery stores and treating all of your employees like they might also steal from you is no way to prevent this type of behavior. it would be wiser to maybe be more selective in your hiring process and more importantly try to gain the trust of employees rather than assuming they are untrustworthy. People are less likely to steal from someone they like and respect and, as some of your employees have pointed out to me, the bag check wouldn't actually prevent them from stealing if they wanted to. There are ample opportunities to do that during the rest of their shift. That being said, all of the people I know who work there are honest people who would never steal whether they like you or not.
Your employees all find it very strange that they have to go through this check whenever they leave the premises, even for a break. Are you aware that the managers checking for stolen items (who, btw, also must be checked by other managers or employees), do not even really look thoroughly when they are checking bags? They do not want to participate in this program because it is embarrassing for them and the person they are checking.
So you have a bag-checking program that all of your employees find humiliating and serves no purpose. And if you think it deters shoplifting, it does not. Your employees have compared it to the "blood diamond" mines in Africa, where everyone is checked, even their body cavities, before they leave. For where else do you find a place of empoyment so suspicious of there workers? What insecurities within you are causing you to treat your workers like this? How about a raise instead?
It is also interesting to note that this practice only happens at the Hilo location, not pahoa or Kona. When told of this, the workers at those other locations find it appalling that hilo workers are treated like criminals.
What say you, senator of the people? Are you this suspicious of all the citizens of Hawaii that you "serve"?
For those that do not know, Russel owns the island naturals food chain. I would like to take this opportunity to ask you why it is that you treat your employees like potential thieves. Again, for those that do not know, Russel requires that before any of his employees leave the island naturals hilo location they must first submit to a search of their purse or bag. This is supposedly to discourage shoplifting.
What you may or may not know, Russell, is that your employees harbor a great deal of resentment towards you, the owner, for paying them just above minimum wage and daily demeaning them with these mandatory bag searches. Maybe you have had problems with employees stealing in the past, but that happens at most grocery stores and treating all of your employees like they might also steal from you is no way to prevent this type of behavior. it would be wiser to maybe be more selective in your hiring process and more importantly try to gain the trust of employees rather than assuming they are untrustworthy. People are less likely to steal from someone they like and respect and, as some of your employees have pointed out to me, the bag check wouldn't actually prevent them from stealing if they wanted to. There are ample opportunities to do that during the rest of their shift. That being said, all of the people I know who work there are honest people who would never steal whether they like you or not.
Your employees all find it very strange that they have to go through this check whenever they leave the premises, even for a break. Are you aware that the managers checking for stolen items (who, btw, also must be checked by other managers or employees), do not even really look thoroughly when they are checking bags? They do not want to participate in this program because it is embarrassing for them and the person they are checking.
So you have a bag-checking program that all of your employees find humiliating and serves no purpose. And if you think it deters shoplifting, it does not. Your employees have compared it to the "blood diamond" mines in Africa, where everyone is checked, even their body cavities, before they leave. For where else do you find a place of empoyment so suspicious of there workers? What insecurities within you are causing you to treat your workers like this? How about a raise instead?
It is also interesting to note that this practice only happens at the Hilo location, not pahoa or Kona. When told of this, the workers at those other locations find it appalling that hilo workers are treated like criminals.
What say you, senator of the people? Are you this suspicious of all the citizens of Hawaii that you "serve"?