Frito Lays "Suicide Shifts" Spark Worker Strikes

I've been to multiple Frito-Lay plants. Chips and Pepsi products are free in the break room. Unless something has changed, Frito-Lay is owned by PepsiCo.

I knew multiple people who worked there and they actually took pretty good care of their employees.

As far as long hours go... I think that has always been the case at PepsiCo. 60+ hour weeks for drivers weren't uncommon and an additional shift or two for plant workers was typical although I seem to recall the company actually paying them double time for overtime work instead of time-and-a-half and I don't recall anyone complaining about it. The benefits were good.

Drivers were required to stop at a hotel at 8 hours and had to stay at least 6 and there was a logger in the truck and they got in trouble if they kept driving. The company reimbursed travel expenses, hotels, and meals and also provided budget for clothing and incidentals.

Maybe its changed now?

Lol yeah 4 months straight a day off required a no call no show.

Only reason I wasn't fired is because I was good.

I'd like to see a video of this. I know someone who was injured at the Kirkwood plant and the entire line was shut down for about 8 hours and access was restricted to that area of the plant. Yes, the other lines in the plant kept running - they weren't anywhere near where the incident occurred - the place was HUGE.

I don't recall them ever REQUIRING employees to work 100 hour weeks. The shifts were always voluntary and always had volunteers.

Haha THIS. Owning a business is more than a full time job. 16 hour days are NOT unusual, at least for the first few years. Taking a weekend off? HA! If you own a business you're NEVER "Off" and trust me, SOMETHING will happen that needs your involvement.

You choose to do this and you are the one profiting from your hours. It's not the same as a factory worker.

I remember the slope workers in Alaska did 84 hours a week for 2 weeks in a row. They did get 2 weeks off and made over 100K a year.

I think you meant week.. but I agree. When you own a business the work never really stops. You can be out doing something and you're "off" and have to step away to deal with a vendor or a situation you weren't expecting. Happens all the time. I think there is also a LOT of "partial working" time involved. I can be sitting around watching TV but also have the laptop open working on inventory or SEO or other some such shit that I'm technically not paid for by my own business. Get embroiled in something like quarterly taxes until 4am but guess what... at 9am when the doors open you have to be there NO MATTER WHAT.

These are not voluntary. They are not scheduled overtime hours - they are mandated at the beginning or end of the shift.

Sounds bad but no one tells them they have to stay employed there.

The. Frito-Lay factory workers get no days off in between their 84 hour work weeks and they make about $55K a year including 45 hours a week of overtime. With overtime pay factored in, their average wage is $12.60 per hour, 84 hours a week. That's before taxes.

Shit that’s nothing. Kellogg’s in Cincinnati will force you to work 16 hours a day 7 days a week for 20+ straight days. And you don’t even know you have to pull the second 8 until 15 minutes left in your first 8. It’s a shit place with 0 morale.

Hmmm... I dunno. If you're not in the wild west most of the developed and reasonable states have DOL restrictions and employers cannot REQUIRE overtime under any circumstances. Violations come at something like $10K/hr per infraction.

Sound like the plant had a sociopathic manager who ignored the laws and none of the employees complained to state regulators about it.

I was in this situation once. I contacted DLLR in that state (department of labor) and a case was opened and the company was forced to pay me for all of the hours I had worked beyond 40 as well as a penalty that was paid out to me and got a hefty fine from the state for breaking labor laws. They also got penalized for retaliation.

Then that is when you start looking for another job. With all those hours they should be able to save up enough to even move to a better place or take some time off to find another job.

The Detroit Woolworth's sitdown strike, 1937 -

[link to libcom.org (secure)]

Look at famous Pic!!

The employees had to strike becasue they don't want to work 80 plus hours a week. Most don't have a problem with overtime, but an 84 hour work week isn't healthy. They have seven hours between the end of a shift and the beginning of a new one to drive back and forth to work, eat, and sleep. They cannot be good parents, spouses, friends, or citizens if they don't even have time to rest, let alone have a day off.

Yeah. I worked for a major airline and we were jerked around all the time. Even with our unions. You just know you are signing up for a crazy life. Eventually I left and did something else because I was exhausted. There are always choices.

Why should they have to? Why shouldn't the company hire enough workers so they don't have to depend on 84 hour work weeks? Why should a business have more rights than the humans that work for them?

When flight crews just sit at the gate with the door open they aren’t getting paid. Only there per diem which is a couple bucks an hour. That includes arriving at work and getting the plane ready. If they don’t shut those door and take off then no money for them.

China model. Happened to me while working there. I showed up to the plant and there was a line of people milling around. I asked the drive who are all those people? The driver replied: they are looking for work.

I nodded in acknowledgement. As I walked into the plant there was a accident, a worker had fallen from a lift or building rafters and died. They opened a gate and let the next worker in before his body was cold.

Wow. They pay overtime? Good deal. Surprised that they just don’t have more people working for just 12 an hour with no overtime. It would save the company money and the workers can go home.

I've done shifts like that as needed. I worked 6+ months of 12-15 hour days 7 days a week. It sucked for my social life but was great for my bank account. It also probably helped me advance since I was always willing to work the extra hours.

Nobody is forcing them to work the OT. They can quit and find a new job, plus muh private companies can do whatever they want.

Frito Lay is under no obligation to provide them with a cushy 9-5 forty hour work week

Many people love working. Total workaholics. Their job is their life.

Doesn't add up.

$7.25/hr x 40 hrs = $290 x 52 weeks = $15080/yr
$7.25/hr X 1.5 x 45 hrs = $489.38 x 52 weeks = $25447.50/yr
------
= $40,527.50/yr BUT PepsiCo does NOT pay factory employees minimum wage.

According to payscale.com, the average Frito-Lay employee earns $18.77/hr base pay. SO:

$18.77/hr x 40 hrs = $750.80 x 52 weeks = $39041.60/yr
$18.77/hr x 1.5 hrs x 45 hrs = $1266.98 x 52 weeks = $65882.70
------
= $104924.30/yr

Not bad for picking and packing chips, I'd say. Sum ting wong with the story here.

Yeah I know someone who does that. He loves his work.

I get that. I have plenty of friends who are flight attendants and pilots. However, they have down time. Even if the aren't getting paid much to sit and wait, at least they are not working.

The Frito-Lay factory workers get no days off. Some have worked 5 months without a single day off. Many are working 17 hour shifts every single day.

They should be used to it then. Anyway they can go other places and make about the same money with less headaches. My Walmart pays almost 15 an hour.

Yea, gotta love that, end up getting paid half your wage for half the hours you put in, government gets it all in extra taxs. Barely worth working full time, make more working less, the rest just gets takin in taxs so your working for 3 bucks an hour, thats canada though.