
Canadians Are Mad as Hell at Tim Hortons - rmason
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/wjppaw/canadians-are-mad-as-hell-at-tim-hortons
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valuearb
LOL. Minimum wage laws always have unintended consequences that create more
problems than benefits. The anger is driven because advocates are attempting
to deny this is true. And this is just a minor consequence, stripping
completely optional benefits to keep costs down is a pretty normal reaction.

Look at it this way, assume Tim Hortons thought they needed to pay $14 per
hour to attract the type of help they needed. Previously if the minimum wage
was $12, they could either pay $14 per hour, or add $2 an hour in benefits. If
they were paying $12 + $2 in benefits, and the minimum wage goes to $14, they
aren't going to raise their labor costs to $16 per hour, they don't need to in
order to attract the types of employees they need.

Minimum wage benefits are also focused on those who need them the least. It
causes companies to reduce hiring and jobs, and to invest more in automation.
Those who lose jobs because of it are much more likely to be of color, in
poverty, and single parents. Those who keep their jobs are much more likely to
be middle class, more highly educated, or students still being supported by
their parents.

Instead of a minimum wage, we should have government programs provide benefits
to the working poor and single parents earning less than living wages. Without
giving a dime to yuppie kids and yuppie spouses. That would make the job
market far more robust and open, easier for everyone to find work, while doing
far more to help the people we should be trying to help, all at a much lower
overall cost.

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djmips
stick it in your ear. This is the rich owners of a particular Tim Hortons
franchise, who are the heirs to the billion dollar Tim Horton fortune, being
petty.

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valuearb
Maybe, but these are people who also voluntarily gave benefits in excess of
minimum wage before it was raised.

Clearly the change increases their costs and lowers their profitablity.
Whether they are billionaires doesn’t matter, it’s a business, not a charity.
It’s easy to tell others they don’t need to make as much money, how would you
feel if told the same?

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grawprog
Tim Hortons is a shitpile. I worked in one once...for a week....just after
highschool, I left when A&W called me back to offer me a job. As crappy as A&W
was, Timmy's was so much fucking worse. The pay was crappier, the work was
harder, they didn't supply me with a uniform, they made me use one from the
dirty uniform bin, my breaks were not paid as it was, I got no benefits and
there was zero hint of any future benefits. The schedule was ridiculous and
illegal, they had people working opening shifts right after graveyard shifts,
they gave even the people who'd been there for years less than 32 hours
effectively making them part time employees. The owner of that particular
location also owned a Wendy's, he would make his employees work at both of
them without a proper working agreement. Right around the time I worked there
was also when Claus, the owner, began bringing philipino workers in on visas,
keeping them in homes he owned and deducting rent and expenses directly from
their pay cheques. Which is fairly illegal. The last time I was in either of
his establishments all his workers had been replaced by them.

I really try not to support Tim Hortons. Also their coffee sucks and their
food is frozen garbage.

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thecortado
Yeah, but we were mad when it sold to the Americans, like many other Canadian
companies like Eatons (sold to Sears) and Stelco was sold to US Steel. CN Rail
is majority (over 50%) US-owned.

This is an interesting article on the "pennies matter" franchise of Dunkin
Donuts, which falls into a similar target market:
[https://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2014/09/17/the-
secret-w...](https://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2014/09/17/the-secret-world-
dunkin-donuts-franchise-kings/pb2UmxauJrZv08wcBig6CO/story.html)

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rmason
For those not in the know Tim Horton's (named after its founder a famed hockey
star) is a Canadian donut chain. They're also very popular along the Canadian
border. Here in Michigan they're everywhere. Recently they've expanded into
sandwiches and are trying to be seen as more of a restaurant.

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yingbo
"Tim Hortons Inc. (known internationally as Tim Hortons Cafe and Bake Shop,
colloquially known as Timmies or Tim's) is a Canadian-based multinational fast
food restaurant known for its coffee and donuts." \-- Wikipedia

Most ppl go Tim Hortons for coffee, not donut.

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jasonkostempski
Uh, Timbits? They're a kid favorite.

