this post was submitted on 30 Oct 2023
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Work Reform
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A place to discuss positive changes that can make work more equitable, and to vent about current practices. We are NOT against work; we just want the fruits of our labor to be recognized better.
Our Philosophies:
- All workers must be paid a living wage for their labor.
- Income inequality is the main cause of lower living standards.
- Workers must join together and fight back for what is rightfully theirs.
- We must not be divided and conquered. Workers gain the most when they focus on unifying issues.
Our Goals
- Higher wages for underpaid workers.
- Better worker representation, including but not limited to unions.
- Better and fewer working hours.
- Stimulating a massive wave of worker organizing in the United States and beyond.
- Organizing and supporting political causes and campaigns that put workers first.
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The real number I'd like to know is how much value my labor is actually producing versus what they pay me.
That would be some fun transparency. You could compare ratios and that ratio would be a number people talk about.
The national average is $128,502 in 2017 dollars, $160k+ today. That's well over 3 times the median wage of $45k.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)_per_person_employed
They do hold that data of course, where possible. I've heard it called personal P&L.
But tbh I reckon it would only be a new source of depression to know. :p
The full value of labor can be considered meaningfully only at the level of the whole enterprise.
You and your coworkers collectively contribute labor worth the value of the products you create collectively, minus the costs of inputs and operation.
How such value is distributed within the enterprise is simply a choice by those who control the enterprise. No objective solution is available. Owners pay each worker the minimum possible for the labor to be provided, which under current systems is different for each kind of labor, due to labor commodification over markets represented by the law of supply and demand,.
I am not understanding the relevance or meaning of your objection in context, but if you are seeking to protect the interests of insurance companies, then perhaps you should not be participating in a space created for advancing the interests of workers.
Doctors are not in control of society, and no society has ever been controlled dominantly by doctors. Doctors also are not a completely uniform group who all share the same values and beliefs.
What appears is that your attitude reflects a sense of hostility and superiority, which is not representative of how every doctor looks upon every janitor, and from my own experience, such animus is quite uncommon among doctors.
I support doctors. I support janitors. I support all workers.
I perceive no meaningful conflict among workers, and I perceive confusion in anyone who locates the overarching antagonisms in our society as between various workers based on the kinds of labor they provide.
I still have no understanding of any objection you are giving that would seem relevant.
I also have no idea why you are fixated on signs in the hospital, but I hope you find a way to resolve your distress.
I have been consistent. I support all workers, and have failed to apprehend your objection.
Your comments have seemed to me generally as circuitous and distorted.
If you invoke rhetoric dismissive of the struggles or importance of workers, or of particular classes of workers, then you should not expect to be well received, regardless of any causal factors, especially since they could not be apparent to anyone else.
That's actually rather easy if you work for a publicly traded corp, at least to ballpark it.
Company profits / total workers. (<-this seems facile, what am I missing?)
OTOH, beware comparisons of pay scales.
"CEOs make too much!"
Do the math. CEO pay is typically 1/100th of a penny earned, sometimes 1/1000th, not a drop in the bucket. Don't matter. When I was a kid, sports star pay was the thing to rage about. LOL, haven't seen a single lemming comment about that. Whatever.
"I don't make enough!"
And that's very likely true, but you cost far more than you think. Good rule of thumb? Double your pay, that's what you actually cost. You make $15/hr.? Company probably pays $30, or a bit more. Company has to pay worker's comp insurance, taxes, benefits, unemployment insurance, payroll processing fees, all that and more.
SOURCE: Worked IT for a payroll company, got the inside scoop.
When companies pay peanuts compared to the C-Suite AND post record profits each year, I think the company could give me more than a 3% raise.
Well, that goes without saying. I was commenting on the idea of "fair market value".
The downvotes say otherwise.
It's impressive how deftly you avoid the comment to spout your own opinion
If you have to underpay your workers to make enough profit, then your business model sucks, and your company should fail.
Economics 1B