Yelp doesn't pay its employees enough to eat, says former employee Talia Jane. It's a sad story, but hopefully instructive. Miss Jane thought that moving to the Bay Area would be fun, but she didn't realize that California is basically a feudal system -- just because the dukes are having a blast doesn't mean it's fun to be a serf.
I haven't bought groceries since I started this job. Not because I'm lazy, but because I got this ten pound bag of rice before I moved here and my meals at home (including the one I'm having as I write this) consist, by and large, of that. Because I can't afford to buy groceries. Bread is a luxury to me, even though you've got a whole fridge full of it on the 8th floor. But we're not allowed to take any of that home because it's for at-work eating. Of which I do a lot. Because 80 percent of my income goes to paying my rent. Isn't that ironic? Your employee for your food delivery app that you spent $300 million to buy can't afford to buy food. That's gotta be a little ironic, right?
Miss Jane was (unexpectedly!) fired soon after posting this open letter. Naturally the Duke of Yelp, Jeremy Stoppelman, blames her predicament on the government, disavows all knowledge of her firing, and hides behind Human Resources.
"Late last night I read Talia's medium contribution and want to acknowledge her point that the cost of living in SF is far too high," Stoppelman tweeted.He continued by noting that he's "been focused" on the high cost of living in San Francisco and has backed a group trying to bring awareness to the issue.
He added that there are "[t]wo sides to every HR story" and asked the "Twitter army" to put down its "pitchforks."
Laugh. Out. Loud. At least Miss Jane and Stoppelman Duke of Yelp have brought more awareness to the issue!
