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Michael In Santa Barbara, it also happened that we were handed a flyer by protestors. The clothing store GAP, a very well-known clothing chain in the USA, was accused of employing people under unacceptable conditions. The title of the leaflet was "GAP treats workers like slaves." The demonstrators said that GAP employs Asian women on an island in the Pacific called "Saipan," which supposedly belongs to the USA, who sew the clothing of the retail giant under harsh conditions (12 hours a day, 7 days a week). I have no idea if this is true; I just found it interesting because in the USA, unions have no power. If the union at the parcel delivery service UPS organizes a strike once every 10 years (as happened a few years ago), it is already considered a sensation. However, a law requires that the employer must pay at least a wage of $5.15 per hour.
Pretty much everything else is voluntary: Most employers only contribute to health insurance in higher level jobs. Angelika once knew someone who worked at one of the big car rental companies. He reported that the people who receive or wash the returning cars do not get health insurance provided by the company. But if you climb further up the career ladder and serve customers at the counter, the company pays the employee's contributions as a special bonus. I just wanted to share the story with the flyer because in the GAP in San Francisco, you always feel like you're at Stachus in Munich: Lots of German tourists. I wouldn't be surprised if they soon start hiring German-speaking salespeople. They would then have to take an extra course in being unfriendly, talk to colleagues all day, and react annoyed if their conversation is interrupted because someone can't find their pants size. You have to provide people with their familiar environment!
If you ever have a question like the one above ("What is the minimum wage in the USA?"), I can recommend the virtual butler Jeeves on the internet: Go to http://ask.com and type "What's the minimum wage?" into the search field -- the helpful servant will show you the way to the answer. It's really not bad, I often search there and usually find what I'm looking for.
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