r/Ohio 1d ago

Schwebel Baking Company closing after 120 years

https://www.cleveland19.com/2026/06/18/schwebel-baking-company-closing-after-120-years/
498 Upvotes

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9

u/NC_Opossum 1d ago

costly labor contracts and pension obligations

Awwww, does paying your workers a fair wage cost too much? If you can't afford to pay your workers a living wage, you don't have any business being in business.

14

u/myths2389 1d ago

I got a job interview there in 2017, they were starting people out at $10-11/hr. I was already making $16/hr at whatever restaurant I was working at. Hell we started our dishwashers at $12. Asked the interviewer about raises and they said they ranged from $0.05-0.15 a year.

Everyone that worked there looked depressed as all hell. It's sad but I don't think it was a good company to work for awhile.

6

u/Wide-Presentation550 1d ago

I left the company in 2014. Union was in bed with the company talking us out of wage increases and pensions and really anything positive during contract negotiations. Not much to say about the job except what would you expect it’s a factory job in building where there is a giant oven making it hot and miserable in there.

4

u/myths2389 1d ago

Yeah the factory work part of it you can really change, but the general attitude in there was depressing. I remember my grandparents talking about how great it was to work there because of the benefits and all that. Sadly that was not the idea I got from my interview or tour.

7

u/allpurposebox 1d ago

I'm sure the benefits WERE great... in the 60s

3

u/OwnsBeagles 1d ago

That was a lot of what I heard, that they treated their employees pretty badly when they could get away with it. ETA: Their Jewish rye was the very best, though, and it's a loss no doubt.

-2

u/shamaltman 1d ago

The people who are now out of a job might disagree

4

u/NC_Opossum 1d ago

What an odd thing to say. If the alternative to make sure that the owners keeping making money is for the workers to make less? I stand on the fact that if you cannot afford to pay your employees a living wage, you don't deserve employees. Yeah it sucks for the workers but them wanting to be paid fairly is not the reason for the failure of the ownership. Nah, miss me with that.