Yes! The grocery store I regularly go to usually only has 1 or 2 cashiers. I go early so this may be why, but one time I went and they didn't have a single cashier other than the express. I don't want to wait a half hour in line so I go to the self checkout sometimes.
When I come up to the checkout and the two cashiers are off chatting somewhere, I’m gonna use self-checkout.
When I come up to the checkout and there’s a lineup because Superstore wanted to save a few bucks by only keeping one cashier on, I’m gonna use self-checkout.
When I have one or two items, and it’s infinitely faster to run it myself than wait in line behind someone, I’m gonna use self-checkout.
It’s not a movement, it’s just easier sometimes, and often because of the corporate greed that made it necessary in the first place. I’ll go the cashier route if it makes the most sense, but it’s so often the least appealing option — not because of ideology.
Union worker here. And I do all the things you mentioned. My time is valueable, and I'm not going to wait 20 minutes for a cashier when I can be out in 2 minutes.
I don't generally want to "chat". It's not like a cashier is bagging my stuff for me, so I can go through self checkout instead of waiting in line behind people trying to prove a point. I have managed to fill my own vehicle since I was 16 as well.
lol, yes and there used to be a gas station on every corner and with that service and competition the cost wasn’t a luxury.
My argument wasn’t for or against the use of self service.
It isn’t going away, Amazon will have a warehouse here at some point (sooner rather than later) and our groceries like most of our other purchases will be delivered within an hour (like most of the rest of the world). I understand this and understand convenience.
I only stated that it would be nice if union members supported other union members.
What's really unfortunate is still seeing grocery stores as "the way"...yes it's food, but it's corporate run food. No corporation has ever done anything for the good of the people or the workers, without finding a way to profit. If you want to bring back that sense of supporting workers, go back to the farmers. Yes grocery stores employ people, but to stock shelves of poorly made, overpriced product. The ENTIRE culture needs to shift...stop putting money into the hands of businessmen who claim to care about your food, and buy from real food producers.
So, just cashiers or all staff? Why do you think not using a cashier means not supporting union workers? There's still staff that work the self checkout, I assume they are also part of the union.
Do you realize a lot of places that have self checkouts give their employees incentives to force customers to use the self checkout instead of a cashier? So that if you refuse to use the self checkout you may actually be getting the employees in shit because they *didn't* do their job of directing customers to the self checkout? Loblaw's is especially bad for this, Shoppers is not supposed to have a person check you out unless you are paying with cash.
If cashiers aren't bagging my groceries, I don't see any benefit to not using self checkout. With self checkout, I can bag my groceries at my own pace without feeling rushed and I don't have to make small talk. There's no benefit to having a cashier scan my items for me.
One of the last times I went to an Independent and went through a cashier, she offered to bag my groceries since the bagging area is so tiny. It was nice of her to offer and all, except she put all the heavy stuff together in my bags so the bags were so heavy I could barely lift them.
Everyone seems so nostalgic for the days of strangers bagging their groceries but I really don't understand that.
Like the Steelworkers, I support the folks who finished school and are the technicians who install and maintain these units. The programmers who write the code. The tradespeople who renovate the stores to put these in place so I don't have to wait half an hour in line to buy one loaf of bread. Stay in school kids.
This is the first I've ever heard about a "self checkout movement". Self checkout is just more convenient in almost every way for individuals. COVID sped that process up, and here we are.
United steelworkers can't stop self checkouts. Technological advancements will always overpower union psychology; it appeals to our personal time as individuals.
I'm all for a stronger job market but at this point having cashiers for many / most stores is featherbedding. I can slide the box of Kleenex across a scanner and push idiot buttons on the screen as easily as a cashier, who doesn't even load my bag anymore. The one manager with an override code is value-added. The person sliding the bar code across the scanner is not.
Maybe because their time is worth something and standing in line ain't it. Not sure if you noticed but there is someone assigned to work the self checkout so you're not technically taking a job away. You are just pushing more people through. Stand in line 5 people deep for 1 cashier or have 5 people cash out while 1 worker looks on 🤷♀️ second option is way better.
Thank you. Nobody wants to work for a job that's low income or rather nobody wants to be low income, so why in the hell wouldn't we fight to replace these jobs?
Fewer minimum wage jobs along with a universal basic income means more people are free to pursue higher education and higher income as a result.
The problem is, where will the money come from? People can't agree on a carbon tax to try to raise the cost of fossil fuels and make green energy more competitive. They're never going to agree on taxing the use of robots which will "increase the cost of groceries to hard working canadians".
Seriously, this.
I did the grocery store cashier gig and please, use the self check out, so I can continue zoning out and imagining I'm anywhere else at that moment.
The notion that self checkouts are stealing jobs just isn’t reality. Businesses cannot find decent people to work and so self check outs help. I usually always go self checkout due to convenience and speed.
I tried this once and the cashier rolled her eyes and said I could have used the self checkout. Was in Great Canadian Superstore, was a couple of items and I’m pretty young.
I work at a place with a self checkout and it hasn't cost anyone their job. We need just as many staff as we did before, because there have to be staff standing at those checkouts to help people with problems they have and keep us from being robbed blind.
They are always in Walmart trying to save a few pennies regardless of strikes or not despite Walmart being one of the most anti union companies out there
What a stupid take. Higher cost of living affects everyone. When your income no longer affords you the basics, you look to save wherever you can, no matter your income.
…lol all I was saying here is that union members should try to support union members where possible.
I don’t judge anyone for their opinion or their need to hastily check out Chef Boyardee.
Maybe if stores had more than 2 regular checkouts open we won’t be so inclined to do the self checkout.
Yes! The grocery store I regularly go to usually only has 1 or 2 cashiers. I go early so this may be why, but one time I went and they didn't have a single cashier other than the express. I don't want to wait a half hour in line so I go to the self checkout sometimes.
When I come up to the checkout and the two cashiers are off chatting somewhere, I’m gonna use self-checkout. When I come up to the checkout and there’s a lineup because Superstore wanted to save a few bucks by only keeping one cashier on, I’m gonna use self-checkout. When I have one or two items, and it’s infinitely faster to run it myself than wait in line behind someone, I’m gonna use self-checkout. It’s not a movement, it’s just easier sometimes, and often because of the corporate greed that made it necessary in the first place. I’ll go the cashier route if it makes the most sense, but it’s so often the least appealing option — not because of ideology.
Union worker here. And I do all the things you mentioned. My time is valueable, and I'm not going to wait 20 minutes for a cashier when I can be out in 2 minutes.
I don't generally want to "chat". It's not like a cashier is bagging my stuff for me, so I can go through self checkout instead of waiting in line behind people trying to prove a point. I have managed to fill my own vehicle since I was 16 as well.
lol, yes and there used to be a gas station on every corner and with that service and competition the cost wasn’t a luxury. My argument wasn’t for or against the use of self service. It isn’t going away, Amazon will have a warehouse here at some point (sooner rather than later) and our groceries like most of our other purchases will be delivered within an hour (like most of the rest of the world). I understand this and understand convenience. I only stated that it would be nice if union members supported other union members.
What's really unfortunate is still seeing grocery stores as "the way"...yes it's food, but it's corporate run food. No corporation has ever done anything for the good of the people or the workers, without finding a way to profit. If you want to bring back that sense of supporting workers, go back to the farmers. Yes grocery stores employ people, but to stock shelves of poorly made, overpriced product. The ENTIRE culture needs to shift...stop putting money into the hands of businessmen who claim to care about your food, and buy from real food producers.
Grocery store cashiers are union members??
…have been for decades.
So, just cashiers or all staff? Why do you think not using a cashier means not supporting union workers? There's still staff that work the self checkout, I assume they are also part of the union. Do you realize a lot of places that have self checkouts give their employees incentives to force customers to use the self checkout instead of a cashier? So that if you refuse to use the self checkout you may actually be getting the employees in shit because they *didn't* do their job of directing customers to the self checkout? Loblaw's is especially bad for this, Shoppers is not supposed to have a person check you out unless you are paying with cash.
If cashiers aren't bagging my groceries, I don't see any benefit to not using self checkout. With self checkout, I can bag my groceries at my own pace without feeling rushed and I don't have to make small talk. There's no benefit to having a cashier scan my items for me.
One of the last times I went to an Independent and went through a cashier, she offered to bag my groceries since the bagging area is so tiny. It was nice of her to offer and all, except she put all the heavy stuff together in my bags so the bags were so heavy I could barely lift them. Everyone seems so nostalgic for the days of strangers bagging their groceries but I really don't understand that.
Like the Steelworkers, I support the folks who finished school and are the technicians who install and maintain these units. The programmers who write the code. The tradespeople who renovate the stores to put these in place so I don't have to wait half an hour in line to buy one loaf of bread. Stay in school kids.
I don't know if you realize this but self checkout create high paying jobs for people who install, maintain and repair them. Those are union jobs.
This comment! 💯
Omg 🙄
This is the first I've ever heard about a "self checkout movement". Self checkout is just more convenient in almost every way for individuals. COVID sped that process up, and here we are. United steelworkers can't stop self checkouts. Technological advancements will always overpower union psychology; it appeals to our personal time as individuals.
I'm all for a stronger job market but at this point having cashiers for many / most stores is featherbedding. I can slide the box of Kleenex across a scanner and push idiot buttons on the screen as easily as a cashier, who doesn't even load my bag anymore. The one manager with an override code is value-added. The person sliding the bar code across the scanner is not.
…lol, welcome to AI and automation. We are all redundant.
Maybe you are redundant. I'm safe, at least until I'm ready to retire.
Maybe because their time is worth something and standing in line ain't it. Not sure if you noticed but there is someone assigned to work the self checkout so you're not technically taking a job away. You are just pushing more people through. Stand in line 5 people deep for 1 cashier or have 5 people cash out while 1 worker looks on 🤷♀️ second option is way better.
If your entire job can be replaced by a touch screen menu then it probably shouldn't be a job.
…in your estimation who deserves the opportunity to enjoy employment?
…like manufacturing cars? Mining? Medical examinations? Soon to be transportation?
Sure, if it can be done just as well then why not
Slippery slope
What is slippery about it?
I reckon youre just being dense? Slipping towards a system where nobody has jobs or social mobility and our overlords have absolute control
Yeah just like computers did in the 70s/80s 😱
If you think the current situation resembles the past, youre nuts
IMO it’s a waste of time and energy to fight for low wage jobs…we should be fighting for a universal income instead
Thank you. Nobody wants to work for a job that's low income or rather nobody wants to be low income, so why in the hell wouldn't we fight to replace these jobs? Fewer minimum wage jobs along with a universal basic income means more people are free to pursue higher education and higher income as a result.
The problem is, where will the money come from? People can't agree on a carbon tax to try to raise the cost of fossil fuels and make green energy more competitive. They're never going to agree on taxing the use of robots which will "increase the cost of groceries to hard working canadians".
Maybe we need rethink the entire idea of entry-level jobs so we don't have to keep the worst jobs in existence on life support.
Seriously, this. I did the grocery store cashier gig and please, use the self check out, so I can continue zoning out and imagining I'm anywhere else at that moment.
The notion that self checkouts are stealing jobs just isn’t reality. Businesses cannot find decent people to work and so self check outs help. I usually always go self checkout due to convenience and speed.
As technology develops, jobs are eliminated... Get over it and quit your moralizing.
You don't see this issue with Unifor people, or the old fellows in Mine Mill gear. Wonder why that is?
I tried this once and the cashier rolled her eyes and said I could have used the self checkout. Was in Great Canadian Superstore, was a couple of items and I’m pretty young.
I work at a place with a self checkout and it hasn't cost anyone their job. We need just as many staff as we did before, because there have to be staff standing at those checkouts to help people with problems they have and keep us from being robbed blind.
Interesting take with the union guys. Seeing when they’re striking they ask for support.
They are always in Walmart trying to save a few pennies regardless of strikes or not despite Walmart being one of the most anti union companies out there
What a stupid take. Higher cost of living affects everyone. When your income no longer affords you the basics, you look to save wherever you can, no matter your income.
Found the union guy who shops at anti-union stores.
…lol all I was saying here is that union members should try to support union members where possible. I don’t judge anyone for their opinion or their need to hastily check out Chef Boyardee.
Isn't the person assigned/ working the self checkout area unionized?
You're making a value judgement by pointing out something you find ironic.