jlrivera Loc: Round Lake, Illinois

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jlrivera Loc: Round Lake, Illinois

Blah Blah Blah! Amen Amen! Etc! Etc! Etc!

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

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WayneT Loc: Paris, TN

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lowkick Loc: Connecticut

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There is something very fishy here. If B&H is willing to risk $46 million in government contracts and have given a "take it or leave it" settlement offer of only$112,000, it means that B&H feels it is in the right and will win the lawsuit. The settlement was offered because it probably would save them some money from the cost of defending themselves, even in a winning defense. In their estimation, they may believe that it is to their benefit to spend over the $112,000 to defend themselves if their offer were to be turned down, which it apparently was. It defies logic that people who were smart enough to build a successful company like B&H, and who had apparently already had a problem with labor laws, would be stupid enough to run afoul of those laws again just a few years later.

torchman310 Loc: Santa Clarita, Ca.

I love shopping at B & H Photo, but their employment practices suck. If they wish not to be dragged through the courts every other week and loose law suites day in and day out, then these cheap bastards will need to abide by the laws of the land and treat its employees equally.

There is something stinky about this conflict. A company as successful as they are, would normally know about labor laws, so there is something going on that we are not being told of. Missing data means we are not able to draw correct decisions on the subject.

abc1234 Loc: Elk Grove Village, Illinois

Something is fishy here. In the first paragraph, you condemn them but in the second, you admit to not having all the facts. Is this a case of "don't confuse me with the facts, my mind is made up"? I do not defend B&H if they are breaking the law but this looks like a rush to judgment.

torchman310 Loc: Santa Clarita, Ca.

Not a rush to judgement. I have worked for people like this in the past. It was no fun. I do like their products and customer service though..

All I'm saying is that you must treat people the way you would like to be treated. And, there seems to be missing data in this controversy.

abc1234 Loc: Elk Grove Village, Illinois

What do you mean "people like this"? The newspaper is not always the best source of information. You never know if one of the parties is trying the cause in the press.

PAR4DCR Loc: A Sunny Place

Saw it but the jury is still out.

Don

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

If B&H loses this lawsuit, they will lose 46 million dollars in governmental contracts. That's a lot of money to lose. This must be resolved in a satisfactory ending. Otherwise, Adorama would be happy to get the contracts, if offered. They will find a way to accommodate for that amount of contract money.

lovelylyn Loc: Fort Wayne, IN

Most of us order online so discrimination isn't a factor. The only color most businesses care about is green(money).

henryp Loc: New York, NY

We appreciate your concern and your loyalty, and want to take this time to help you understand what has been happening recently. At B&H we value each and every customer; your concern is our concern. We know you have choices when shopping and your choice of our establishment is something we do not and must not take lightly. We want to continue earning your business and instilling pride in your choice for photo and electronics.

B&H is a family owned business, a success that has been built for over 40 years from a small storefront in New York City to the worldwide enterprise we are today. This is credit to our dedicated and devoted employees, many of whom have been with our company for decades.

Every one of our employees is treated with respect and dignity, no matter of race, religion or gender. The average employee tenure at B&H far exceeds most of our competitors and as well as most employers of any kind. Our employees are well compensated, offered generous benefits, and they are given 17 paid days off in addition to 3 weeks paid vacation. Few companies offer this.

The allegations you have been hearing about are largely made by people who have never set foot in a B&H facility. For the time being, we will address several of the accusations, as they are far from factual. We can declare outright that B&H does NOT have any segregated bathrooms by race or religion, and anyone working at B&H knows that to be true. Additionally, any similar contentions are not only inaccurate, but bizarre.

There are always areas where we can better ourselves, and these are issues that B&H is committed to strengthening as we move forward. Our goal is to create an even friendlier environment for our employees, where there can be no doubt that their needs, concerns, and well being are noticeably our primary focus. Our roots are from a place where discrimination affected so many of the very people who are now part of the B&H family, and we built this company and brand to defy what were the norms around us, and to give everyone the chance to succeed, to care for their families and homes, and to be happy. That will not change, but will only be improved upon.

What you may not be told in these scurrilous narratives is that B&H chose to keep its jobs in New York, rather than opting, as many others do, to outsource jobs to areas overseas where labor rates are lower. Our call centers and online management teams are right here. We chose a very different route, and we continue to make daily decisions taking into account first and foremost our dedicated employees and customers and we will continue to do so.

Over the next few weeks and months, you will hear more and see the growth, and we will make sure our customer and our employee are kept keenly aware of the situation. Please feel free to reach to us with any of your concerns and we hope we can continue to earn your business in the future.

henryp Loc: New York, NY

I'm sorry for your dissatisfaction. For the past 20+ years we've been very careful to identify any "grey market" product as such so customers know before completing a transaction exactly what is being purchased.

ygelman Loc: new -- North of Poughkeepsie!

More relevant question: Do many businesses think that part of their operations policy is to treat their employees, especially at the lowest grades, as if their employees are worthless pieces of sh*t?

Please remember that until unions organized workers to be able to stand together, employers ran roughshod over them. Workers' standards of living became mostly decent (until a few years ago) due only to unionization. And businesses are able to do the same now whenever union "leaders" see there is more money for themselves (i.e. corruption, ever hear of it?) by cozying up to business owners. And all this while the income gap is increasing, and opportunities for workers' families (like schooling) are decreasing!

Sure, NYT sometimes twist stories to suit themselves, and even skew stories that seem to be straight. It depends on which side they favor. But that's enough for now . . .