Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company: American Workers in the Service Industry

For four years I had the opportunity to work as a simple A&P bakery clerk, with my grandmother at the Ortley Beach A&P stores: many may not have remembered the Great Atlantic and Pacific, but these stores had become one of the first supermarket grocers, driving customers from their mom and pop bakeries, butchers, etc. Cheap prices had seen them at the highest of their population during the mid-1950s, until sales receded and eventually began dropping well into the 20th and 21st century; while battling competitive supermarkets such as ShopRite and Walmart, they have filed for bankruptcy that cost thousands of loyal employees their jobs.
We managed to stay afloat because of our close proximity to Seaside Heights, NJ. Business boomed during the summer, but died down in the winter. For part-time employees, the promise of 48 hours is quickly reduced to a meager 12 or, at most, 20 hours. Full-time employees were offered buy-outs or coerced to retire while we suffered through pay cuts, reduction in hours, or ridiculous demands from our employers.



The American Worker has transformed the meaning of industrialization into a service based economy. Us workers were expected to serve our loyal customers with high quality food service; we baked much of our merchandise, but rarely mixed anything; our job was to service people with as much courtesy as if we were praising the king of England. And, unfortunately, we don't hate our jobs. Most American workers do love their jobs. I did, though it was for barely minimum wage; every department manager loved their jobs, they disliked the top businessmen behind what has destroyed A&P today.

In a sense, most American Workers band together against most corporate higher-ups. We were a family, both on the job and off; American Workers care for their job, no matter how many times they work to screw us over.