A core premise of Popular Information is that equipping people with information can empower them to create meaningful change. Today, this kind of populist advocacy often occurs online. Many people are skeptical of this approach. In the New Yorker, Malcolm Gladwell
One thing that was noted near the end of the article was the significance of Olive Garden restaurants being corporate owned and not franchises. In line with that, it's worth noting that bad behavior is rife in franchised brands in large part because of the high costs of operating a franchise. In most cases, this is deliberate. The franchising company puts the squeeze on their franchisers, knowing it will be passed along primarily to employees (and also to a lesser degree customers). The franchisers are mostly fine with this, knowing all the protests and pressure will be directed at the corporation because most people don't even seem to know they exist, let alone who they are.
I borrowed one of Malcolm Gladwell's books from the library and read it. I'm not impressed with his use/abuse of data, but I understand how an unquestioning reader could be persuaded to buy more books.
I appreciate your hard work finding and exposing this kind of information. I got a degree from the marketing department of my school, which "backfired" when I couldn't stand the disregard for fact. Your excellent follow-up shows you have moved Darden to act beyond marketing.
You reporting is amazing and powerful - and has led me to make phone calls and send emails to multiple public officials and corporations.
But I am not on Twitter or Facebook. I get my information from your newsletter and act on what you report. My hope is that newsletters like yours will become more popular so that people are less dependent on social media - which has probably done more to undermine democracy than support it - or at the very least that section 230 will be abolished and Twitter/Facebook will be held legally accountable for the harm they do to society.
Twitter/Facebook are extremely powerful publishing platforms and should be held to the same standards as any other publishing platform.
It is baffling to me why anyone would want people who are sick, potentially with COVID even, handling their food and/or serving them. Give these people their paid sick leave as a function of their fundamental human rights.
This is wonderful news! I have often wondered if the emails I send or the FB pages I post to ever makes a difference and on the surface it doesn’t seem to so this is good news. Having a competent resource like Popular Information, providing timely, carefully researched information is the key, along with willing readers doing the right thing. It’s good to know that caring people still exist in large numbers. Using the internet can be a lonely and isolating thing.
Proof of the value of this type of reporting is refreshing and is what we should celebrate. Personally, if I was still teaching history to young people in a high school, then Popular Information would be one of the places I would steer students towards to use as a means to meet the requirements in my class to be an informed citizen of the United States and not a pawn of those who use misinformation for personal, economic, or political gain.
Excellent work and I'm proud to support PI. I'm so glad to see that your great reporting and hard work is leading to actual, lasting changes. You should be proud!
However, given the dramatic shift in service worker "preferences" - aka the apparent change in the power relationship between restaurants and workers (aka the "labor shortage") - couldn't a lot of this be explained by the need by employers to (finally) increase working conditions?
The stories of restaurants unable to operate fully because of a lack of employees and increasing wages and benefits abound outside Darden. So I can't help but think that Darden is simply responding to the market the same way that they had in the past, by doing the minimum of what a capitalist corporation does.
Ascribing motives to an "awakening" has proven to be a category error over the years.
There couldn't possibly be anything more rewarding than helping people! The disgusting practices of most Corporations goes unchecked and thus unchanged. Great work, I'm proud to be a subscriber!
One of the old adages of politics is the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Good job, armed with your info, I have rattled many cages as Darden is an example.
Judd! Proof positive. Also, show this to your Republican friends who believe in the Bottom Line : "Adding a paid sick leave benefit does not appear to have interfered with Darden's ability to deliver value for stockholders. The stock is currently trading at $144.70, up from its pre-pandemic high, achieved on September 13, 2019, of $127.34."
Those of us on the Left must make it clear that we also care about fighting sexual violence and exploitation online (sadly, the Sex Trade is a sacred cow to the Left, which leaves exploited women and kids with nowhere to turn but to the Right).
We must show that we care as much about protecting vulnerable people from sexual abuse as the Right does.
We must support FOSTA - which basically does exactly what banning Section 230 would do (anyone who opposes FOSTA but supports banning Section 230 is brain dead - don't vote for them).
We on the Left are failing the most vulnerable members of society.
Good job.
One thing that was noted near the end of the article was the significance of Olive Garden restaurants being corporate owned and not franchises. In line with that, it's worth noting that bad behavior is rife in franchised brands in large part because of the high costs of operating a franchise. In most cases, this is deliberate. The franchising company puts the squeeze on their franchisers, knowing it will be passed along primarily to employees (and also to a lesser degree customers). The franchisers are mostly fine with this, knowing all the protests and pressure will be directed at the corporation because most people don't even seem to know they exist, let alone who they are.
Thanks again for your work.
I borrowed one of Malcolm Gladwell's books from the library and read it. I'm not impressed with his use/abuse of data, but I understand how an unquestioning reader could be persuaded to buy more books.
I appreciate your hard work finding and exposing this kind of information. I got a degree from the marketing department of my school, which "backfired" when I couldn't stand the disregard for fact. Your excellent follow-up shows you have moved Darden to act beyond marketing.
You reporting is amazing and powerful - and has led me to make phone calls and send emails to multiple public officials and corporations.
But I am not on Twitter or Facebook. I get my information from your newsletter and act on what you report. My hope is that newsletters like yours will become more popular so that people are less dependent on social media - which has probably done more to undermine democracy than support it - or at the very least that section 230 will be abolished and Twitter/Facebook will be held legally accountable for the harm they do to society.
Twitter/Facebook are extremely powerful publishing platforms and should be held to the same standards as any other publishing platform.
Thanks, Judd!
It is baffling to me why anyone would want people who are sick, potentially with COVID even, handling their food and/or serving them. Give these people their paid sick leave as a function of their fundamental human rights.
Thank you, Judd. We ALL are indebted to you for your excellent reporting.
This is wonderful news! I have often wondered if the emails I send or the FB pages I post to ever makes a difference and on the surface it doesn’t seem to so this is good news. Having a competent resource like Popular Information, providing timely, carefully researched information is the key, along with willing readers doing the right thing. It’s good to know that caring people still exist in large numbers. Using the internet can be a lonely and isolating thing.
Proof of the value of this type of reporting is refreshing and is what we should celebrate. Personally, if I was still teaching history to young people in a high school, then Popular Information would be one of the places I would steer students towards to use as a means to meet the requirements in my class to be an informed citizen of the United States and not a pawn of those who use misinformation for personal, economic, or political gain.
Congratulations on the confirmation that your reporting results in change, Judd. In the Olive Garden case, you have saved lives.
Excellent work and I'm proud to support PI. I'm so glad to see that your great reporting and hard work is leading to actual, lasting changes. You should be proud!
Thank you for the encouraging read this morning.
Well done, Judd! Now, 'once more into the fray'!
Love your work.
However, given the dramatic shift in service worker "preferences" - aka the apparent change in the power relationship between restaurants and workers (aka the "labor shortage") - couldn't a lot of this be explained by the need by employers to (finally) increase working conditions?
The stories of restaurants unable to operate fully because of a lack of employees and increasing wages and benefits abound outside Darden. So I can't help but think that Darden is simply responding to the market the same way that they had in the past, by doing the minimum of what a capitalist corporation does.
Ascribing motives to an "awakening" has proven to be a category error over the years.
(see BIF)
There couldn't possibly be anything more rewarding than helping people! The disgusting practices of most Corporations goes unchecked and thus unchanged. Great work, I'm proud to be a subscriber!
One of the old adages of politics is the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Good job, armed with your info, I have rattled many cages as Darden is an example.
Keep us armed. Thank you 💗
Judd! Proof positive. Also, show this to your Republican friends who believe in the Bottom Line : "Adding a paid sick leave benefit does not appear to have interfered with Darden's ability to deliver value for stockholders. The stock is currently trading at $144.70, up from its pre-pandemic high, achieved on September 13, 2019, of $127.34."
NCOSE is another fantastic organization that has successfully challenged powerful industries that thrive on sexual violence and exploitation.
https://endsexualexploitation.org/articles/first-mindgeek-site-scheduled-to-shut-down/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ncose&eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=841f559a-c7d4-41e4-b602-5866b971c1a5
Those of us on the Left must make it clear that we also care about fighting sexual violence and exploitation online (sadly, the Sex Trade is a sacred cow to the Left, which leaves exploited women and kids with nowhere to turn but to the Right).
We must show that we care as much about protecting vulnerable people from sexual abuse as the Right does.
We must support FOSTA - which basically does exactly what banning Section 230 would do (anyone who opposes FOSTA but supports banning Section 230 is brain dead - don't vote for them).
We on the Left are failing the most vulnerable members of society.
We can and must do better.
Thank You!