So why can't I be paid a living wage again?

[and-justice-for-all]

NAPERVILLE, Ill. (AP) -- Office supply retailer OfficeMax Inc. said Thursday it posted a $10.7 million second-quarter net income, reversing a loss a year ago that stemmed from hefty restructuring charges.

The Naperville, Ill.-based company also announced plans to reinstate its quarterly common stock dividend, which it suspended more than three years ago.

OfficeMax's profit amounted to 12 cents per share and compares with a loss of $3 million, or 4 cents per share in the 2011 quarter. Last year's results included 11 cents per share in charges related to store closures and severance costs.

Revenue fell 2.7 percent to $1.6 billion from $1.65 billion.

The profit beat Wall Street predictions, while the revenue fell short. Analysts, on average, expected a profit of 7 cents per share on $1.64 billion in revenue.

Excluding the effects of changes in foreign exchange rates, stores closed and opened during the year and a shift in the company's fiscal calendar, the company said its sales edged up about 0.3 percent.

OfficeMax said it expects its third-quarter revenue to be about flat to slightly up from its year-ago total. The company's third quarter 2011 revenue totaled $1.77 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet expect $1.79 billion.

For the full year, OfficeMax said it expects its sales to about in line with its 2011 total of $7.12 billion. Analysts expect $7.07 billion.

OfficeMax also said Thursday that it reinstated its quarterly cash dividend, which it had suspended in December 2008. The 2-cent dividend will be paid on Aug. 31 to shareholders of record as of Aug. 15.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/officemax-swings-10-7m-2nd-130143611.html

[metalbot]

1. Huh?

If OfficeMax were to pay the profits out evenly to all of it's employees (becoming a non-profit), you'd get an extra $20 a month.

I'm not sure that's going to transition you to a living wage...

[and-justice-for-all]

2. I'll disagree. thanks

[snooper2]

3. As we say, you got the math?

[Zalatix]

8. What are the CEOs paid?

[bhikkhu]

7. Well, assuming 25,000 employees -

$10.7 million would be $428 each, or $143 a month extra if it were distributed as wages to employees rather than dividends to shareholders. Which isn't really a great deal either.

I hope the company does well, but it must be a pretty tough business to be in, looking at the numbers. One way to evaluate the possibilities is to look at the gross sales per employee, where 1.7 billion works out to $68,000 in sales per employee. Assuming a 40% profit margin, then payroll as it stands, then the normal costs of running a bricks-and-mortar business, that leaves next to nothing to work with.

[quaker bill]

9. Actually, if you do the math

It comes out to $122 a month, basically $0.75 an hour. The $10.7 million profit reported is for 1 quarter (3 months), they report 29,000 employees. This calculation assumes that all 29,000 are full time. They probably aren't. If they aren't full time, say on average 30 hour a week positions, the raise would be roughly $1.00 an hour.

They operate at a very slim margin. Reported profits are 0.6% of revenue. Being generous, lets say that they pay on average 150% of minimum wage ($10.87 / hr) with the required employment tax matches, then their cost for employee compensation is roughly a bit more that 3% of revenue. If you calculate monthly revenue per employee, and say that you give them all a $2.00 an hour raise, it would make a difference of +/-$0.32 on a $20.00 office supply order to stay with exactly the same profit. The economy will not collapse if people start paying decent wages.

[porphyrian]

4. The only reason they pay you at all is that they legally have to. n/t

[and-justice-for-all]

5. Well that is fucking refreshing

[porphyrian]

6. At least we're disposable, too.

[drm604]

10. That and the fact that no one would show up to run their stores if they didn't.

[porphyrian]

11. That's the only thing we have over them, really.

Well, we also have the little economic fact that if we don't have money to spend in the store, we can't, but that is not part of the new conservative mythology; they believe tax breaks fix everything.

[drm604]

12. I wonder what would happen if everyone everywhere refused to show up for less than a living wage?

I know that won't happen, but it's an interesting thought. Would it work? Would it be inflationary? I don't know.

[porphyrian]

13. If we had the resources to do it, we probably already would.

Where states haven't passed union-busting "right to work" laws, we can organize and fight that way. Otherwise, however, we would have to resort to charity and crime to outlast them, and they would be more than happy to put as many of us in prison as possible. Under these conditions, people with mouths to feed usually cave way before it gets to this, however.