
There are a surprisingly small amount of musical instrument outlets with the kind of recognition that Guitar Center has been able to develop. It may be easy to joke about the people who frequent their stores and the countless times one’s heard an aspiring guitarist attempt to play “Stairway To Heaven” on a Les Paul they could never afford (or need, given their skill level), but even if that is the case the people who work in these locations – some of whom have even been UTG members in the past – deserve to be fairly compensated for the work they do. Apparently that has not been happening, and now a group of upset employees have launched an online petition hoping to unionize workers in an effort to gain leverage against the company.
In a description posted to the official petition website, which details a plethora of issues facing employees, the group writes:
But there’s been a problem ever since the company was bought by Bain Capital. Now, those of us who are non-sales workers barely get paid more than minimum wage and rarely get raises. Guitar Center doesn’t offer part time workers health benefits and we almost never receive paid sick days or vacation time. The sales workers amongst us used to have decent commissions and benefits but now our commissions have been cut. We also don’t get paid sick days and we can make as little as 7.25/hr. We have ever increasing mandatory sales requirements but we are being forced to do more and more non-sales work that makes it harder to reach those requirements. If we don’t sell enough Pro Coverage (aka “extended warrantees”), our commissions take a hit.
So we decided to come together and address these problems. We are organizing with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union and we are asking the company to recognize our union and negotiate for a fair contract. With Bain Capital’s track record, we need your support. Let Bain Capital know you support our right to come together for a fair workplace.
Whether you shop at Guitar Center or not, chances are that you know (or listen to) an aspiring musician who works at one of their many brick and mortar locations. It’s the opinion of our staff that these workers deserve to be more fairly compensated for their efforts, not to mention the amount of poor musicianship they have to suffer through on a weekly basis, and ask that everyone reading this post help get the word out about their struggle. It may not seem like an argument that involves you directly, but even if it doesn’t a similar situation could easily take place at your place of employment one day. If that were to happen, wouldn’t you want to know you had the support of other, sane-minded individuals?
Please, take a few minutes from your day to click here and read about the struggles facing these people.
James Shotwell
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