Rolex not taking care of their construction workers??

Saw this on an NYC subway yesterday... Anyone know anything about this? I assume it refers to the Rolex boutique that is coming to NYC, seems like Rolex isn't taking proper care of their construction workers...

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I lived in New York for 20 years, this is so typical.  I'm guessing, but it is usually when they use a non-union contractor on the job.  Everyone knows what up and ignores it, lol.

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Leave it to the union goons to make me cheer for Rolex. They're a business, not a charity. They aren't obligated to take the first outlandish collusive asking price.

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PoorMansRolex

Leave it to the union goons to make me cheer for Rolex. They're a business, not a charity. They aren't obligated to take the first outlandish collusive asking price.

Actually they are a charity, the Hans Wildorf foundation is a non-profit that owns Rolex and Tudor 

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MarkHackman

Actually they are a charity, the Hans Wildorf foundation is a non-profit that owns Rolex and Tudor 

They’re a family foundation / nonprofit, which is just another means of shielding oneself from taxation. In other words, they’re a business that has the benefit of avoiding paying taxes. 

I don’t say this as a pejorative. I say this as someone who has been known to use these kinds of vehicles himself to shield himself from taxation for business / profit maximization purposes. 

Rolex is a charity focused on doing good for the world in precisely the same way my nonprofits are focused on doing good for the world - not at all. 😂

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SurferJohn

I lived in New York for 20 years, this is so typical.  I'm guessing, but it is usually when they use a non-union contractor on the job.  Everyone knows what up and ignores it, lol.

This 100% happens in Boston too. No one cares. What’s funnier is they are targeting Rolex vs the actual store doing the construction, say Tourneau, but why let facts get in the way.

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Why is Rolex building more stores, they have nothing to sell.

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Mr.Dee.Bater

They’re a family foundation / nonprofit, which is just another means of shielding oneself from taxation. In other words, they’re a business that has the benefit of avoiding paying taxes. 

I don’t say this as a pejorative. I say this as someone who has been known to use these kinds of vehicles himself to shield himself from taxation for business / profit maximization purposes. 

Rolex is a charity focused on doing good for the world in precisely the same way my nonprofits are focused on doing good for the world - not at all. 😂

I think they’re structured as a for profit tax paying business that is owned by the not-for-profit Foundation, and the Foundation receives the dividends for mostly social/healthcare, cultural, and educational work focused around Geneva.

https://www.rolexmagazine.com/2018/02/amazing-rolex-insight-hans-wilsdorf.html?m=1#/page/1

https://hanswilsdorf.ch/chiffres_cles.html

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thekris

Why is Rolex building more stores, they have nothing to sell.

That made me laugh a bit. After a search, I’m thinking it’s likely about corporate office space, not so much empty retail boutiques on this one. 
https://therealdeal.com/2021/11/10/building-time-rolex-files-for-199k-sf-midtown-building/

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Bobofet

I think they’re structured as a for profit tax paying business that is owned by the not-for-profit Foundation, and the Foundation receives the dividends for mostly social/healthcare, cultural, and educational work focused around Geneva.

https://www.rolexmagazine.com/2018/02/amazing-rolex-insight-hans-wilsdorf.html?m=1#/page/1

https://hanswilsdorf.ch/chiffres_cles.html

@HotWatchChick69 I missed an opportunity to make a joke about Rolex supporting causes like yachting, equestrian, tennis, golf, and motor racing education and awareness. Probably for the best, though… They do help fund some exploration, conservation, and research endeavors around the world, too. 

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Bobofet

I think they’re structured as a for profit tax paying business that is owned by the not-for-profit Foundation, and the Foundation receives the dividends for mostly social/healthcare, cultural, and educational work focused around Geneva.

https://www.rolexmagazine.com/2018/02/amazing-rolex-insight-hans-wilsdorf.html?m=1#/page/1

https://hanswilsdorf.ch/chiffres_cles.html

No, you're right.  I'm just being my a$$-hat, reductive, cynical self.  I'm sure they pay taxes, and they then pool all the money they've generated in order to then donate to causes they care about.  My issue is that 99.9%  of all donations, giving, etc., is entirely about virtue signaling and has nothing whatsoever to do with actually doing good in the world.   

So, for example, nobody ever does this:

https://thezvi.substack.com/p/when-giving-people-money-doesnt-help

This is perhaps the ONLY truly in-depth, transparent analysis I've ever seen with regard to "charity" outside of the Effective Altuism movement.  And the folks who set this up specifically set it up purely as an experiment with the express purpose of getting to epistemic truth.  

NOBODY does that.  This is what is typically done:

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2010/07/29/128850861/rangel-charges-released-by-house-ethics-panel

So, my assumption is that Rolex is doing the latter, rather than the former.  And unless and until they are able to provide transparent reporting on A/B testing, analyses on effectiveness of giving showing how each marginal dollar spent has produced the greatest marginal impact, etc., etc., (like GiveDirectly and GiveWell actually do) my priors tell me that they are doing as much good for the world as my nonprofits do, and as much as Charlie Rangel's eponymous Center for Public Service at City College of New York, as detailed in that NPR article, does - which is ZERO good, if not negative good.

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Wait, Rolex has construction workers? Doing what, exactly? OK, I can imagine they might contract companies which hire construction workers if they're building something. A project with a beginning and an end. But they wouldn't have construction workers "on the books" all the time, would they? As such, the conditions any workers are under would relate to whatever construction company they work for, surely?

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What else Rolex has? there delivery trucks, cleaning food service as well. No wonder NYC has union on almost every job.