Okay, bisexual retail worker here.
Just because it’s illegal to dock pay for theft, doesn’t mean they can’t make your life miserable in a 1000 other ways. You can be written up for theft on your shift, because you failed to prevent it. Get written up enough, and guess what, you can get fired! Completely legally! They can chew you out, dock your hours, give you shitty shifts, and generally make a terrible work environment for you if they feel that you haven’t been doing your best to prevent theft.
But lets assume that you have a great work environment, that your boss is reasonable, and your company is understanding, and everything is hunky dory. Theft still hurts people on the bottom. Yes, every company makes fiscal allowances for theft, but do you think that money is carved out of CEO salaries? That the president shells it out from their pockets? No, it’s money that could have been better spent giving pay raises or benefits to workers, but has to be sequestered to cover theft instead. Also, if theft is exceptionally high, it can start to outweigh the bottom line in small stores. If your margins are already tight, and suddenly you’re not only not making money, but losing it? Well, then your store becomes a liability, and when corporate starts looking to close stores in a crunch, which ones do you think will disappear first, along with all the people who relied on it for jobs? The ones with the highest theft.
Also, as someone who’s worked retail for 10+ years, we fucking hate you. If i worked in a grocery store, and people were stealing bread to feed their kids, I’d probably feel differently. Instead, at my store, people stole slime, and pens, and popsockets. Nobody needs those to live. If you steal that shit, you’re saying that your temporary enjoyment is more important than my job security. You’re treating me like I’m stupid, and gullible, and disposable. You are not a hero for the working class, sticking it to the man. You’re an immature fuck getting kicks at my expense. I am the fucking working class, and I’ve never felt vindicated finding a shredded wrapper in my store.
Be gay! But don’t do dumb fucking crimes because it makes you feel edgy. Want to help the working class? Protest, advocate, support strikes, support unions, vote, or fuck, just buy us a coffee or tip your waitresses well. Don’t do shitty, self indulgent crimes.
