Antiwork

I try and drop subtle hints around the office, like "my family members in unions don't have this kind of problem" and "friend of mine has a union that got them out of a return to office order". Feel like I need to go with stronger hints.

Yep. Everyone knows the other person’s pay rate. Heck, you can probably look up most union’s pay scales online even if you’re not a member.

I was leading a team of engineers (in contrast to managing). There was another team that hired a cohort of engineers straight out of a boot camp. One of them was a shit-hot Jedi of a woman, so I totally poached her for my team. It helped that my team was working on cool stuff and most people wanted in.

After she joined my team, I asked what her salary was (leads don't typically have access to pay info like a manager would). She was making $70k while most engineers of her tenure and skill were making $110k to $145k. I went to talk to motherfucking HR about this problematic disparity.

The HR jerkwad had the nerve to say, "Discussing your salaries is a terminable offense."

"I will give you five seconds to amend your statement."

He stammered a bit and made some non-committal statements. I went to the division VP, to whom I directly reported. He fixed that shit the next day and got her back pay to her previous review.

So yeah, absolutely discuss your salaries with your peers. And FFS don't be cowed by these douchebags.

I was pulled into a meeting with my director and told we’re not allowed to do this.

An employer telling employees that they can't discuss salary is such a massive red flag

The rule with discussing salaries is that you can do it (and you should do it), but you shouldn't let your managers know you're doing it. The law is on your side, but nobody with actual authority wants to support you doing it.

So, if you're on your way out in a contested wrongful termination case, there's definitely leverage in pointing to your employer firing you for discussing salaries with your coworkers. But in every other case, you gotta play those cards close to the chest. Nod and smile and agree with every manager who says you shouldn't discuss salaries. Then do as thou wilt.

All-male team here, but my colleague made considerably less than what I was offered as a new hire few years back. We discussed about salary at coffee break and now we all have the same salary and it's even better than what I started with. I never understood why it'd be a secret that I make 4,5k€/month before taxes.

It isn't just women, although it does affect us more for sure.

I used to work at a small startup making peanuts and a male colleague hired on was making even less. Thankfully, we went against the company policy of not being allowed to discuss salaries (an illegal policy in my state, btw), and managed to negotiate him up a bit.

It's everyone. Corporations screw everyone as much as they can. You think if they could hire the same equally qualified person for 30% less they wouldn't do it in a heartbeat? Corporations care more about profits than they do being anti women (barely) otherwise every field would be dominated by low paid women. As OP, best solution is to discus wages openly so no one gets fucked over.

well, sounds like a skill issue on her part at this point.

I have a very high suspicion they are pulling same trick to a degree depending on overall background like race too.

Unfortunately, people who sell themselves to the company make more than people who don't. Hell, sometimes just asking for a pay bump during the hire/on-boarding process can make a difference. Two of the last few gigs I've been at have given me 5-10k more a year simply because I laid out my creds and asked for the high end of the scale when I probably would have been given the mid range if I didn't ask and justify it.

Many people don't understand that you're selling yourself to the company, and they're buying your time and labor. If you present a mediocre product, don't surprise when you get a mediocre offer. I can't stand it, but not playing the game doesn't get you anywhere.

Though everywhere I have ever worked (in tech, in the US) it was highly discouraged to talk about salary.

If you’re in an at-will state, they can fire you this without saying this is why, and it’s very hard to prove this was why.

Being important can be tricky.

I work in a very small city, and I wear a lot of hats. I do plan review, permit processing, GIS, Open Records, vested rights determinations, some code enforcement, am the in-house IT guy, city photographer, and more.

What makes me valuable is my ability to multitask, and if I left it would be very hard to fill all those roles. But I'm also kinda a specialist in keeping plates spinning. My role is essential where I am now, but it's fulfilled my specialists in each of those duties in other cities. My skills etc isn't in high demand because there's only a few cities in the country that have the the extreme development complexity we have while also having a municipal staff of fewer than a dozen people due to the city's size.

"can you believe they only pay us X to do this shit?"

As someone who detests small talk, this is one of the few times when it is essentially.

First step is learning if they are a snitch. Second is seeing if they can be critical of workplace. Third is bringing up your own salary. Fourth is asking for theirs if they don't immediately reciprocate on step 3.

In practice there are many ways this can happen. Here is one reasonable example:

Did you see the bosses [insert anything, tie, shoes, car, your pick] today. OmG!

[Wait a day or two for any sign that made it back to your boss. Prepare a convincing cover up story in the event he/she/it is a snitch.]

2-4

Our health insurance is terrible isnt it? I swear its like they pick the cheapest option. [Replace the above with any other unpopular opinion depending on how critical the response is of your workplace you can jump immediately to steps 3-4]

I heard a lot of employers like to pay people differently for the exact same work and I dont think thats right. Thats why I want you to know I make Y. If you make less I can help you argue for more. Do you mind sharing your salary too?

You can sometimes just jump straight to step 3 or 4 if you are feeling confident. But do be aware. You can save someone's job and the boss will corner them in an office and some of them will still rat you out. Happened to me personally. The above isnt without risk. But do not be afraid of humans, especially middle management humans. They are usually the weakest people I've ever met.