this post was submitted on 31 May 2026
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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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If a bunch of burger flippers started making what I make I would demand a raise. If my raise was denied I'd go get a job as a burger flipper and probably be a lot less stressed out than I am currently.
Fast food work is pretty stressful, IMO.
It can be but it's a different kind than what I'm dealing with though. It's repetitive busy work and stupid scheduling bullshit vs. big projects that go on for months with deadlines and coordination between vendors and half a dozen internal teams where nobody wants to take ownership of anything. Fast food work never kept me up at night.
Get a union job, and you won't have to take your work home either
We take our work home because we're thinking about the problems and how to solve them all the time, some of my best solutions came to me in the shower.
I have a home lab and I often carry what I learn from my lab to work, I'm not working my job when I'm working on my lab, but there mental overlap is there.
I can't imagine I'll be solving many burger flipping problems in the shower.
Fair enough, if that works for you.
I enjoy the work/life balance too much, and love being able to leave my work at work. And being in a union makes that a reality for me.
I don't know how being in a union would stop my brain from thinking about a problem I haven't solved in my work day... It's not my employer dictating it, it's my brain.
No unions in my field as far as I'm aware.
Be the change you want to see in the world
This. Having homework is stressful. Being responsible for the uptime of systems and the inevitability of getting calls in the middle of the night is stressful. Having stuff follow you home is a different kind of added stress.
If fast-food workers began earning wages comparable to electricians, I wouldn't necessarily expect electricians to become poorer. I'd expect employers who depend on skilled labor to increase compensation to remain competitive. The question then becomes whether those higher labor costs come from reduced profits, increased prices, greater productivity, or some combination of all three.
Anyway, it is better for all workers.
what you'd actually see is increased unemployment, because that's the most effective regulator of salaries. the system requires a mass of people without jobs in order to balance itself.
I don't know where you got this idea, it seems more like the system requires desperate people and lack of jobs does help in causing that. However, fuck the system
it's pretty simple; given offers of two identical jobs with different benefits, you'd pick the better one. if there isn't enough people to fill all open positions, employers need to compete by raising benefits. in short, price follows demand. the more people that are looking for jobs, the lower employers can push salaries and still hire someone.
when neolibs campaign on how "everyone should have a job" and use that as an excuse to cut unemployment benefits, that's them trying to distract from the fact that unemployment is necessary for the system they built to function. as unemployment approaches zero, salaries approach infinity.
so yeah, fuck that system.
If the floor were higher for everyone, I wouldn’t see a problem with some jobs earning more necessarily. What you’re describing will probably always be with us: some work is just harder or less pleasant.
Yes, to be clear I'm saying the floor being raised would be a benefit to me and others like me as well. Either I make more money or I can go to a less stressful job without losing income. Regardless of if it benefits me or not everyone should make a living wage for a full days work.