High flyin' retail

[kayjayuu.livejournal.com]

In case the video above doesn't embed (thanksalot, LJ, I myself can't see it), Menard's hiring local workers [Eau Claire, WI] to commute weekly to North Dakota store:

...in Minot, that is part of the problem. There are too many jobs and not enough people to fill them.

"You hit that labor pool and you start running out, and we have this need, and we think this is the best way to fill it," said John Leonausks, the Marketing Director for Menards.

The oil boom is a mini gold rush in a way, driving people out west for work. Leonausks says it is a way to bring some of that prosperity back to Eau Claire.

"From our perspective, we have planes, let's find people in Eau Claire and get people hired in Eau Claire and fly them out there to take care of those jobs," he added.

The starting wage is $13 per hour. On top of that, a weekend bonus, extra for working in the yard, overtime and meal stipends, too.

From the Leader-Telegram:

In Eau Claire, a community in which residents often cringe at the idea of commutes exceeding 15 minutes, Menards officials concocted the idea of the air commute of more than 500 miles one-way in response to being unable to find enough staff for their 16-year-old store in Minot, where the latest unemployment rate is 2.2 percent, as many workers flock to higher-paying jobs in the Bakken oil fields.

MacMartin said he is aware of oil companies that arrange charter flights to bring work crews to the area every two weeks and recalls that Olive Garden brought in workers from other locations temporarily to staff a new restaurant in Minot, but he hasn't heard of other retailers going to such lengths to find employees.

"In Menards' case, they are reacting and trying to do whatever they have to do to make their business model work," MacMartin said.

...

MacMartin, who insisted the good far outweighs the bad when it comes to North Dakota's booming economy, said he sees no end in sight for the state's rapid growth.

And Menards is committed to continue fueling its planes if that's what it takes to do its part to keep fueling the boom.

"This is going to be a permanent solution for as far as we can see," Leonauskas said.

North Dakota has an unemployment rate of 3.1% (Oct); Ward County, where Minot is located, 2.4% (Sept). The oil patch in the western part of the state has it the worst/best -- some counties have registered rates below 1%. Those who aren't working are either unable or unwilling, neither of which is necessarily "a bad thing," aside from those who are unable and would like to work, which a bad thing from a personal perspective.

(In before "But it's North Dakota!" -- not every state has the weather and amenities of Southern California, so why in the world would anyone go anywhere else for a job? Just sayin'.)

In the spirit of TP, I'll take the opportunity to point out the evils of capitalism: a company with private jets, money to send 50 employees 600 miles away, and pay for their room and board... so why don't they pay their employees in Eau Claire better? Or any one of the other states in which they are located? Answers in the comments below, I'm assuming. ;)

I'd posit that like most chain stores, this kind of variance in pay is directly related to the profitability of the store: if, for example, Eau Claire's Menard's brought in the kind of revenue that Minot's store is doing, they would need more employees; if the employees were hard to find, they'd raise the pay to attract applicants. If the potential workforce can get more money elsewhere, either through other employers or other means, then why bother working at Menard's? As for Minot's case -- it's either this or they can't serve the community and may as well close down in the face of stunning demand for their products and services.

John Menard started building post frames to put himself through college in 1959. So he didn't start out with a silver spoon in his mouth. Whether or not he's a bad man now (see environmental and labor complaints at the wiki page, he was one of the 99% who were struggling to make a life for themselves fifty years ago. Most of us start out that way, I assume, and I doubt we intend to become an evil capitalist along the way.

But in the meantime, let's break down what's being offered here, from the comments at the page linked (Tyler Polzin, ten year employee who moved out to Minot before the fly-in option was offered):

Perspective from a 10 year veteran on what the fly-ins would be making, best case scenario: If they worked in the Receiving/Outside Yard areas, they'd be making $14.50/hour, +$2.50 more on weekends, +20 hours of overtime, +$15/day for food, plus a free hotel stay WITH continental breakfast/pool/hot-tub, plus they get to be home in Eau Claire two or three days a week depending on their schedule. I'm grossing anywhere from $1,300-$1,500 a week and am on track to bring in $75,000 next year. Somebody in management could catapult that into 6 figures.

That they're still looking for applicants in this economy boggles my mind.

(ETA: sorry, I meant to put an LJ cut in the initial post. Mea culpa!)

Comments

[kayjayuu.livejournal.com]

Which is why my next two sentences were " It's the mobility of those latter two categories that are in question, really. And even that will settle out eventually, it's just difficult right now."