"Here’s a suggestion for practical and almost painless charity: In the grocery store, go to the checkout line with a real person at the cash register. It costs you only a little time and it may help save the job of someone who'll otherwise be thrown out into a difficult labor market.
"About 10 years ago, our local grocery store, part of a big local chain, installed several self-checkout machines. We live northwest of Pittsburgh, and because this is still a union, Reagan Democrat area, people lined up for the few checkout counters with a person. Very long lines formed. People complained about the store not putting enough people on duty.
"A few days later, the management put up signs saying that people weren’t losing jobs because of the machines. They claimed they couldn’t get enough people to work the checkout counters. That was generally thought to be a lie and, given how many people I knew who wanted jobs and would happily have worked a cash register, I have no reason to think it wasn’t. . . . "
"Many people still go to a person. I do, because the demand helps people keep their jobs - the chain would cut them without a second thought if it could. It costs so little, just a few extra minutes at the most crowded times. Those minutes one can spend fruitfully thinking or observing or praying. And, as a friend said, if you don't want to think or observe or pray, you have your cell phone."
In a recent commentary, writer David Mills reflected on a simple step each of us can do to help save jobs.
To access his complete post, please visit:
Aleteia: Want to save some local jobs? Get in line! (15 MAR 17)
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