this post was submitted on 30 Aug 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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Millions of additional salaried workers could get overtime pay under Biden proposal (www.npr.org)

submitted 1 year ago by stopthatgirl7@kbin.social to c/workreform@lemmy.world

18 comments fedilink hide all child comments

A proposal from the Labor Department would make an estimated 3.6 million salaried workers newly eligible for overtime pay. It covers workers earning less than $55,000 per year.

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[–] AdamEatsAss@lemmy.world 19 points 1 year ago (1 children)

People should be paid for the work they perform. If someone is hired for a 40hr a week job but it takes 80 hrs a week to do the job the company needs to hire someone else or pay the one employee more. Companies are stealing time.

[–] SheeEttin@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

If it takes 80h/wk then that means half the work just isn't going to get done. My personal time is more valuable than any amount of money.

[–] wintermute_oregon@lemm.ee 16 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Good start but really should be higher.

I would think at lease 80k

[–] BassaForte@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago

Nah, 200k. Then as inflation increases and wages inevitably go up, we'll be good for at least a couple decades.

[–] Potatos_are_not_friends@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I agree. A third of my engineering team were former teachers with bachelor's/master degrees. They're amazing people who would be teaching the future.

[–] wintermute_oregon@lemm.ee -1 points 1 year ago

Except in a few states, teaching high school doesn't pay. College can pay but it takes years to get there.

My high school science teacher was amazing. He loved teaching. Had to work a second job to pay for his lifestyle which was very basic. He was the teacher of the year many times and still had to work a second job.

If you are salary, the position should pay more. It is often used to work with someone without paying them fairly.

I think wages are often between the worker and the employer but I do think regulations should stop abuse. While fast food places are not highly profitable, they shouldn't screw people to make a profit.

[–] SinningStromgald@lemmy.world 12 points 1 year ago

It's a good start. Not perfect, but a start.

[+] donut4ever@lemm.ee 8 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

[deleted]

[–] cmbabul@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yeah I’m happy for the folks that benefit, and I ain’t complaining that Ive been more fortunate than them financially, but realistically salaried positions have gone from being desirable because it was consistent and favorable to those who can finish their duties in under 40 hours to a way for companies to squeeze more work out of people without having to compensate them for work done in excess of those 40 hours.

[–] 0110010001100010@kbin.social 3 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I'm probably well in the minority here but I'm curious how true that statement is across the board. Or maybe I just work for a great team, lol. I rarely put in more than about 30-35 a week with exceptions of crunch-time deadlines. I do pull some odd hours because we have a team in India but can just take comp time later in the day or week to offset that. I'm paid (by most standards I know) quite well too.

That said, this is great for the folks that will benefit! I really hope this helps push for a larger reform. Far too many people are getting screwed over by shit jobs, shit hours, shit pay, shit benefits, etc...

[–] cmbabul@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I’ve worked in salaried positions that were truly great and I had weeks where I barely put in 20 hours, but more recently I’ve seen a trend in ensuring that 40 hours of work is getting done. Both at jobs I’ve worked and from things I’ve heard from friends at other employers. Glad you have a good team and position though

[–] 0110010001100010@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Gotcha, yeah I don't have a ton of data which is why I said I was likely in the minority. I do appreciate the insights though as my current position is only guaranteed through 2026 because of our project. Hopefully we get more projects and it continues but it's good to know that the industry is (unsurprisingly) screwing over more and more salaried employees.

[–] cmbabul@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

This is just more anecdotal evidence but prior to my current job, my prior two roles were in technical consulting, which when I started was an incredible position for both work/life and to a lesser extent compensation. I left the first one because they were starting to tighten things and demanded a return to office(which we didn’t do before the pandemic) and excessively documented timesheets, down to quarter hours. The next was straight up exploitative. The age of a chill tech job is drawing to a close because the tropes have become known to management

[–] 0110010001100010@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I do appreciate it. I'll call my role technical consulting too to keep things rather vague. My boss, and his boss, and his boss are VERY in-tune to the work/life balance. And the company as a whole has zero plans to get people into offices as they were very remote-first well before the pandemic. Hell my team is spread out across the US so it's not like I would be able to see any of them in-person anyway. When I took this position in May I had to make a list of where everyone was located to keep track of timezones, lol.

[–] cmbabul@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That’s really close to how my role used to be, glad to know there still roles out there, I’ll have to get to searching again. Happy for you!

[–] 0110010001100010@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago

It's a rather niche role which is why I kept things vague since I wouldn't be hard to dox if I got into specifics, but yeah they do still exist. Hope your search goes well! And thanks!!

[–] wintermute_oregon@lemm.ee 0 points 1 year ago

I mean I’m paid kick ass money. I also don’t work much but this issue here is the Arby’s manager and not us.

They’ll make them a “manager” and then work them 80 hours a week.

That’s unfair and that’s abusive. Workers should be paid fairly and in most cases 40 hours should be the cap.

Salary should not be an excuse to work someone to death. It should be used to avoid tracking hours and making pay easier

[–] Maximilious@kbin.social 0 points 1 year ago

This is great for teachers. Overworked, underpaid, and under appreciated!

[–] FartsWithAnAccent@lemmy.world -3 points 1 year ago (2 children)

What a bunch of half-assed bullshit, thanks I guess?