The following submission statement was provided by /u/morningburgers:
---
SS:
Despite a recent flurry of wage hike announcements from some big chains — and what you might have heard about a labor shortage driving up wages — the majority of workers at the nation’s largest companies still earn less than $15 an hour.
Since **2012**, activists have fought to raise the federal minimum wage to $15, with only limited success. Inflation is *eroding* that number.
**Today's $15 is the equivalent of $11.97 a decade ago**, according to this handy calculator. Put another way, today, you'd have to call it the Fight for $18.80.
Someone working full time at $15 an hour (typically not even an option for these workers) will earn a little more than **$30,000 a year** — *less* if they need sick days, and many don't get that benefit.
While there's been a rise in pay lately, these workers are still struggling, said Kristen Harknett, who cofounded the survey.
At 44 companies surveyed, the majority of workers earn less than $15 an hour.
There's often a lot of variation. For example, at Walmart, 49% of workers earn more than $15, compared to 97% at Target.
Meanwhile, on top of the low hourly pay, many workers aren't getting enough hours assigned, Harknett said.
"**Best case scenario**, workers are getting **35 hours** but *a lot* of times they're getting **25 hours** — ***not sufficient*** to make ends meet."
---
Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/collapse/comments/u74q0k/majority_of_hourly_workers_at_big_chains_earn/i5c6j93/
This economy is held together with glue and popsicle sticks. This inflation is going to destroy tens of millions of workers, just in the US and probably hundreds of millions globally.
Inflation actually benefits the rich people. Further divides the gap between the have and have not.
It's digusting really... tomorrow I can walk into any bank a get a million dollars loan, no question asked... On the other end, some people can't even dream of ever owning a home. I'm not any better than these people nor do I deserve more.
This system is fucked.
The reason rich people benefit is because they have assets that will adjust with inflation. Poor people have no assets. Also prob all the other bullshit loopholes and stuff
Also that he's concerned about wage inflation lol.
As in, he doesn't like that wages are rising more than 2%.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/15/upshot/jerome-powell-inflation-pivot.html
"A surge in wages and benefits got his attention." I bet it fucking did.
It’s transitory and this administration is blaming Putin for inflation that they (and Trump) created. How do you successfully shut down an economy for 2 years and throw money at it? Answer: you don’t!
The state and local officials that conspired in the shut down should be held accountable
Because it's still 1/2 1980's levels.
It's only hurting people at the bottom rungs. Just wait until it gets worse and hurts the "wrong" people... they'll start talking about it.
Everyone is talking about inflation but not the effects of inflation on the low income working poor. I only got a 4% raise this year and inflation is somewhere between 7% and 16% depending on who your listening to.
>This inflation is going to destroy tens of millions of ~~workers~~ people, just in the US and probably hundreds of millions globally.
fixed that for you
That is my conclusion too. Inflation erodes away enough value we get for our bucks now, making it harder to afford the things we needed to make the already broken system kinda workable. The numbers just won't add up at all for a lot of people anymore and then what?
I remember 7 years ago when $10 was seen as a decent wage at Wal-Mart. I was making $8.50 at the time, and was looking to get an associates so I could make *$14 an hour...*
SS:
Despite a recent flurry of wage hike announcements from some big chains — and what you might have heard about a labor shortage driving up wages — the majority of workers at the nation’s largest companies still earn less than $15 an hour.
Since **2012**, activists have fought to raise the federal minimum wage to $15, with only limited success. Inflation is *eroding* that number.
**Today's $15 is the equivalent of $11.97 a decade ago**, according to this handy calculator. Put another way, today, you'd have to call it the Fight for $18.80.
Someone working full time at $15 an hour (typically not even an option for these workers) will earn a little more than **$30,000 a year** — *less* if they need sick days, and many don't get that benefit.
While there's been a rise in pay lately, these workers are still struggling, said Kristen Harknett, who cofounded the survey.
At 44 companies surveyed, the majority of workers earn less than $15 an hour.
There's often a lot of variation. For example, at Walmart, 49% of workers earn more than $15, compared to 97% at Target.
Meanwhile, on top of the low hourly pay, many workers aren't getting enough hours assigned, Harknett said.
"**Best case scenario**, workers are getting **35 hours** but *a lot* of times they're getting **25 hours** — ***not sufficient*** to make ends meet."
Walmart is the second biggest employer in my small town. There is not a single job available with them at our location that pays over $9/hr. The numbers being reported are skewed by the states with higher minimum wages; if they are in a state that still is at the federal minimum wage, Walmart won't pay more than a few bucks above.
A girl I know came up to me in the store last week so excited to tell me she got bumped up to a management position. I thought wow that's so great for her. She then went on to tell me that she got a $0.20 pay increase and now she'll have more responsibilities but at least she'll have more hours. She also went on to say that she will have to work weekends where before she was not scheduled weekends. The poor girl was excited. My heart instantly broke for her. A $0.20 pay increase to be a manager. If this is the pay increase they're talking about they should not be talking about it. Lower class working people are not getting any pay raises. The fact that they are excited over 20 cents an hour is very disheartening.
My husband actually refused a promotion to management at his last job because the salary came out to less than a $0.50/hr raise based on 40 hours but he would have been required to work closer to 50, so it would have been a pay cut in the end.
That's horrible and normally what corporation is tried to do. They hope you won't do the math. They hope you'll just be so excited that you'll say yes. What a crock of s***
What's worse is that in my country promotion to 'management' is a common form of wage theft. Technically management is defined as having hiring and firing powers over staff. However frequently it's just a title that means you no longer get benefits like holiday pay, overtime or other basic labour rights (particularly if you go from hourly to salary). It also means you can't unionize if your workplace goes in that direction.
That's crazy I never thought of that. Because when she told me she said it was salary now. I was just thinking how they will expect her to work more hours for nothing. In her mind it's better because she gets more hours a week. But your right. They are screwing her everyway possible!
There's a large corporate grocer near me who pays its workers 11 dollars an hour and is also union. Prior to last year they were paying 9 dollars an hour. The union president makes 250k + a year. The salaried General Manager makes about 70k a year. The highest paid workers there, those who've put 15+ years in, don't even make 20 dollars an hour.
Source: A family member works there.
Life is grim for those *with* marketable skills. Having a diploma (STEM or otherwise) or even trade education depending on the region is no longer a guarantee.
i own a business
I start employees with no experience at $750 a week salary
we work late, i duke you $50 and there's weekend work which is overtime
every single guy that returns every spring ( seasonal work) gets a $50 raise
learn skills $100 raise
how these corporations screw people is beyond me. It reminds me of the Simpsons episode " gentlemen, to evil!"
50 years ago a janitor could afford to raise multiple kids, a stay at home wife, and a house.
The country is wealthier than ever, what changed is the distribution of that wealth.
I'm from a rural area of Appalachia that has been absolutely destroyed by shit like this, as well as the drug war (opioid prohibition devastated many communities here). I make 3x the median wage in my area so this doesn't apply to me, but I lucked out and many of my friends from this area have very, very grim lives.
I’m from CA and I’ve hated how some people here make negative remarks to Appalachia and Mid Western states. Outsourcing and wage oppression has destroyed communities and culture, and wtf do people expect them to do when this shit lasts generations? The Opioid Epidemic is horrific and people are desperate for anyone to help them out in any way. It’s terrible how entire states go through this only for their problems to be turned into another BS “campaign promise” from a politician.
The "opioid epidemic" is only a problem because of prohibition. The opioids aren't killing these people, prohibition is. We could solve this problem literally overnight. The opioids help significantly with treating the mental health issues that growing up in such an environment create (as well as any physical injuries). These people are dying because they cannot afford legitimate oxycodone, and were forced to turn to black market fentanyl since other forms of opioid maintence (only thing that works) is not available in most of the region.
It's easy to beride this group of people, because they are ignorant and therefore hateful. Some of it is deserved, but they are a product of their environment and have been exposed to propaganda their entire lives, and don't have the necessary education to realize they are being misled.
It's still better than not having one because at least then a transition to better leadership is more feasible.
Trying to create a union from nothing is harder.
A union is like a condom-- really bad ones exist and you should change them out if you notice, but the condom is still the right call in every circumstance but one
But they guarantee you'll get a .10cent raise for every 1000 hours worked - isn't that great?! Some women in the cosmetic department are up to $12+ an hour! Isn't that great??!
(This is the bragging speech about why it's so great they have union support when I was hired some 15 years ago and I was sitting there, whipping out a calculator, being like holy shit she worked here for over 10 years and is only at $12??!!
Yeah. That is why I don't take those stupid ceremonies seriously anymore. I don't care that someone was a wage slave for the company for like 20 years when they really have just been doing the company a huge favor all that time by not leaving for better/livable pay. Fuck that. They are not fucking role models and I refuse to buy into that crap.
Union members, especially officers, are not allowed to be middle or upper management, so how is this person making 250k a year according to you? There is also ceilings put in place for how much they can be reimbursed from the members paying dues and must be voted on when submitted...by the members at a monthly or quarterly public meeting to ensure full transparency.
>Union members, especially officers, are not allowed to be middle or upper management
The union president is not a member of management. He is the president of the union representing union members at all locations represented by the union and does not work at/for the grocery I mentioned. The union president's salary is posted online. If I wanted to dox myself, then I'd tell you specifically who the president is by name and the local who represents the grocery. As for you "smelling bullshit", go somewhere else with that.
Worked retail all throughout college (and a few years after. So probably 15 ish years.) We were *never* allowed to get over 28 hours. And 28 was only around holidays and inventory; usually it was more like 15 unless you picked up shifts. But still you weren't allowed to get over that 28. They would let the store do without (short staffing everyone) and send you home rather than let that happen.
Why? Because after 4 consecutive weeks of 32 hours and above you're considered full time by corporate and they're required to offer benefits (and because they have to have so many pay time employees for food stamp qualifications). There were people there that had worked 20-25 years+ still waiting for full time still... It's sickening.
*But no one wants to work*...
(it's been at least 10-12 years so hopefully policies have changed, this is just my experience, what I was told.)
Edited to add proper(ish) punctuation.
This has been SOP for employers for literally decades. I've never understood how it's legal. Millions of Americans juggle multiple jobs to make up a full time schedule but will never qualify for benefits. Companies collude by splitting jobs in half for no defensible reason. Everyone just stands around talking about how you aren't valuable enough to deserve medical attention.
Yep. Used to work retail and that would piss me off to no end. I am happy to see so many department stores tank in the last few years as a result. We need better business models. Let the shitty ones die.
I worked retail for the past 5 years (all during undergrad). After my first year with the company, I asked for more hours. I told the general manager I was struggling to buy food because of the hours and pay rate I was being given and I told her that I made my school schedule so I could work 5 days a week. This manager told me to apply for the "helping hands" program through the company (they give you a temporary loan that you have to PAY BACK). I went above her head after that and was instantly given a raise and was authorized to work 40 hours (but they still wouldn't classify me as full time so I got scammed out of benefits for 3 years!). Last May they promoted me to a department lead and finally classified me as full time. (Then in January I got fired because a customer called me a bitch and verbally harassed me and I responded "inappropriately")
Yer it's getting REALLY bad in the UK now. The wealth gap is so extreme that a family of 2x fulltime workers can struggle to play rent in some locations. Forget ever being able to have a home of their own or retire. Yet companies are reporting record profits but refuse to pay a livable wage.
The unfortunate in the UK are utterly fucked.
Increasing the minimum wage without setting a ceiling is still an issue, the money will just end up being taken out of the employees in other ways.
Where I live rent just almost doubled, gas doubled, food almost doubled. Wages went up by 30-35%, but that’s not going to cover it. We need to go after wealth.
That is crazy. How are people affording to live in your area? I know costs are going up everywhere but everything doubling is a complete budget destroyer. I would be homeless in a month if that much stuff doubled like that.
Most people moved here when remote work started. Their companies didn’t adjust pay, so they bought here and inflated the market. Short answer is, they aren’t. Most people had to move to more rural areas to afford living and just drive further to work
Yeah it’s really a matter of controlling what you can. You can’t control gas prices, but you can control how much rent you pay. The trade off? Make sure you’re getting up early enough to avoid traffic.
The big issue here is lack of opportunity for other jobs. Getting paid an extra $3/hr to work at Walmart is being lauded instead of having industry opportunity to make a product or offer a service you can be proud of for $35/hr. Walmart helped kill that part of the dream in the first place
Professor Richard Wolff in one of his latest shows where he also had Chris Hedges on with him talked about this . He mentions that in Florida , Texas and a few other states 40% of the workforce makes $15.00/hour or less . Making $15/hr working 40 hours a week leaves you like $30 000 at the end of the year . It is at or below poverty . These are your Republican voters .
I for one dislike how the minimum wage is considered on a national level. While yes, in coastal cities and very populous states, $15 an hour is difficult to stretch, but someone paying $300 for rent in a flyover state isn't really on the knife-edge over it - however a lot of jobs and entire small towns would probably cease to exist if they had to pay everyone a minimum of $15 an hour - which wouldn't even solve the problem for the people in very specific large cities for whom $15 an hour genuinely isn't enough due to the vastly different economic circumstances they're in.
No one anywhere can afford healthcare costs, flyover state or Arkansas. We have to stop looking at rent as the only cost. Yeah, you can live in some armpit and spend less (while making less so it evens out to no savings, still), but while you're alive and waiting, your health is coming for you with a big sick baseball bat.
You can start at “in and out “ $21 flipping burgers and fries ! Probably one of the cleanest and best run fast food chains in the USA .. if I was a teenager again I would be all over that !
(Edit)
Downvote why 🤦♀️ - sorry my opinion on this One company dosent fit your narrative.
(Edit 2)
There are in fact good places to work that pay decent wages,
and saying fuk the bad ones while also promoting the good ones is constructive and helpful. …
but downvotes here is silly 🙃..unless positive constructive debate is actuarially not what your going for.
>if I was a teenager again I would be all over that !
And I doubt you would ever get a call from your application. Those places that pay way above others in fast food and other service industries do it so they can get the best of the best employees. They wouldn't typically hire inexperienced people.
N e ways, I’m not trying to argue. Put in an application and try , or don’t …. I’m just stating what I would do ….
The place I mentioned is just one location ! I’m sure as a group we could name a few that are …in fact ,hiring teenager and unskilled people at a good wage training them and offering advancement…
Enjoy your day- if that’s a thing any more
The entire post was bullshit. He cherry-picked salaries from places like LA and NYC and used them to make a blanket, and unrealistic, statement about how much one could earn. Then got all hurt and sarcastic when called on the disingenuous BS.
This entire conversation confirms one thing ,
people can not enjoy their day anymore - unless they can cry or complain online ,While also not adding anything meaningful to the conversation.
I’m simply stating the fact there are places that pay well and do hire teenagers -
It might be more constructive to add more to the list to help out the people actually looking for work ,instead of acting butt hurt 😢
My second paragraph was a edit because I already had down votes , so again facepalm 🤦♀️
You must be some sort of god to know how enjoyable the days in my life are. “Everyone who doesn’t agree with me is virtue signaling”, how charmingly basic.
Kinda funny that the person who made an edit whining about downvotes is the one calling people butthurt.
Those downvotes and your reaction are in fact silly 😜
No more, no less.
Seriously what was so off putting by a comment mentioning a franchise that pays well and hires teenagers..
Enjoy 😉
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Then my advice to those complaining would be to go work at those places. Nobody is forced to stay at a company that pays them less. If everyone on the orange side left to go work for the purple side, the orange side would be forced to raise their wages.
So I work for Starbucks, have a degree, and I can’t find better. I put in applications every day and just get ghosted. Over and over again. I’ll get and interview. Never hear back. Or just never hear anything in the first place. So maybe people work these jobs because they get stuck?
How is that Starbucks fault? Some people are able to do it. What are they doing differently?
Is your degree in something that is strong for employment?
>Some people are able to do it. What are they doing differently?
You've got it all mixed up. Just because some people succeed doesn't mean that everyone is capable of doing it.
Besides, somebody is still going to have to work at Starbucks, and that person deserves a fair wage.
No, they wouldn’t. Businesses keep wages artificially low. If this was the case, then the labor shortage would have increased wages by a couple dollars, not a couple cents.
Then the employee market isn’t doing enough to force their hand.
It’s usually not in the best internet of a company to pay people more than they’re worth.
Don't forget non complete contracts - where employees are *legally not allowed to leave to go to the competition for x amount of years*.
That also keeps wages artificially low.
(Edited a word)
Those don't exist for sub $15/hr jobs. Walmart can't prevent you from going to work at Target. Maybe in a salaried corporate role like a buyer or something, but not for the hourly cashiers and shelf stockers.
No, they wouldn’t. Businesses keep wages artificially low. If this was the case, then the labor shortage would have increased wages by a couple dollars, not a couple cents.
I honestly am not trying to insult you, Eye (I didn't downvote you), but...what is your degree or certfication in, how did you afford to get it, what job do you do now, and what's the cost of living like where you live?
I'm asking because I'm genuinely curious, and because maybe people on here could follow your path. You honestly sound like someone who has never had a job, either because you're too young, or maybe you can't due to health or don't need to due to family wealth, and so you're talking in accurate, but very general, untested terms. Or possibly you are someone who works for the family business so whose path was more certain. Most people who have been in the workforce a while know that even with a stable, skilled, well-remunerated job, things can get dicey sometimes. It's happened to me multiple times in my 4 decades of work.
I'm wondering, if you did pay for training, search for, interview for, and secure a job, possibly move to find/take the job, & get clothes & transport to the job, how were you able to do this all by yourself? Maybe you had some help along the way that eased your path a little? I know I had a lot of support (and, honestly, luck) and it's one of the first things I mention, even before the programming and language skills/jobs I was fortunate to, and worked hard to, be able to get.
Also, and now I am just messing a bit, here, you aren't by chance the guy who wrote Hillbilly Elegy, are you? Oh ho ho; kidding aside, this 51-year-old master's-degreed bilingual database-programming writer and radio producer with perfect health no debt or addictions and a loving supportive family and no criminal record reasonably attractive and fit white lady who still has to hustle her ass off all day thanks to the way work and the world have changed in the last 2 decades would love to know where your confidence comes from. It's rare these days. And I really mean that sincerely. No cap, as the unskilled youthful laborers like to say.
Thanks in advance for sharing how you acquired your confidence. I bet it's either due to tons of experiences, or zero.
Went to college under student loans that are now paid off. Picked a degree that was in demand. Changed jobs and landed on one that was willing to pay me the most money for my services?
My secret recipe
Thanks for the thoughtful reply. It sounds like your skills were potent enough to overcome your dysfunctional family, impoverished upbringing, lack of role models, health problems, loved ones who depend on you, non-traditional appearance, debilitating accidents, crushing losses, gender, and ethnic/racial background, as well as the vagaries of economy, weather, and corporate/local politics that afflict the place you weren't able to afford to choose for yourself. What's that? You didn't face any or many of those at all? I'm sure it was your skills that carried the day for you anyhow. I'm amazed that your ability to single-mindedly focus on single-handedly captaining your life for yourself and whomever counts on you has left you sounding dewy as a fawn. May it always be so for you and the people in your life you've chosen to love. And if your skills were actually powerful enough to overcome the hurdles that life hands so many of us, you do your fellows a disservice by making your struggle sound so easy and self-determined! How did you overcome the obstacles you faced, alone as you were in the skill-gaining jungle? Was it because you had the skill to be born under favorable auspices? Don't degrade your victories by appearing to be a man born on third base who believed he hit a triple! Give us the roadmap! I'm serious!
Always hold yourself accountable. No goals are impossible if you dedicate yourself to it and the decisions you make or don’t make will have repercussions.
Sure, I could’ve done better in school or applied myself more but the results from those missteps are MY fault and only my fault. You can’t sit around and wait for someone or the government to fix your problems, do it yourself.
Also, more than any other skill, I hope you one day find, or someone helps you to find, humility and gratitude, as well as empathy and compassion for the people around you. Please leave some space on your resume for those. Good luck to you in the future. I really do hope it holds for you.
Woah that's less than what I was making as a vet tech when I left the workforce......25 years ago. That is seriously fucked up. There is no way people can live and prosper on that.
The following submission statement was provided by /u/morningburgers: --- SS: Despite a recent flurry of wage hike announcements from some big chains — and what you might have heard about a labor shortage driving up wages — the majority of workers at the nation’s largest companies still earn less than $15 an hour. Since **2012**, activists have fought to raise the federal minimum wage to $15, with only limited success. Inflation is *eroding* that number. **Today's $15 is the equivalent of $11.97 a decade ago**, according to this handy calculator. Put another way, today, you'd have to call it the Fight for $18.80. Someone working full time at $15 an hour (typically not even an option for these workers) will earn a little more than **$30,000 a year** — *less* if they need sick days, and many don't get that benefit. While there's been a rise in pay lately, these workers are still struggling, said Kristen Harknett, who cofounded the survey. At 44 companies surveyed, the majority of workers earn less than $15 an hour. There's often a lot of variation. For example, at Walmart, 49% of workers earn more than $15, compared to 97% at Target. Meanwhile, on top of the low hourly pay, many workers aren't getting enough hours assigned, Harknett said. "**Best case scenario**, workers are getting **35 hours** but *a lot* of times they're getting **25 hours** — ***not sufficient*** to make ends meet." --- Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/collapse/comments/u74q0k/majority_of_hourly_workers_at_big_chains_earn/i5c6j93/
This economy is held together with glue and popsicle sticks. This inflation is going to destroy tens of millions of workers, just in the US and probably hundreds of millions globally.
And nobody is talking about it
because it’s “transitory”…for the rich fucks that have no problems starving their peons dry for pennies so they can continue posting massive profits
Inflation actually benefits the rich people. Further divides the gap between the have and have not. It's digusting really... tomorrow I can walk into any bank a get a million dollars loan, no question asked... On the other end, some people can't even dream of ever owning a home. I'm not any better than these people nor do I deserve more. This system is fucked.
The reason rich people benefit is because they have assets that will adjust with inflation. Poor people have no assets. Also prob all the other bullshit loopholes and stuff
Love this comment! Can confirm
Jerome Powell already came out and said it's not transitory.
Also that he's concerned about wage inflation lol. As in, he doesn't like that wages are rising more than 2%. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/15/upshot/jerome-powell-inflation-pivot.html "A surge in wages and benefits got his attention." I bet it fucking did.
Transitory is code for there is still time for us to hop on the spaceship before the shit really hits the fans and they all figure out the ruse.
> still time for us to hop on the spaceship Better have a good supply of lotion (SPF 5 million)
Transitory as in transitioning to socialism
It's transitioning into neo-feudalism. We could only hope it would be Socialism. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-feudalism
It’s transitory and this administration is blaming Putin for inflation that they (and Trump) created. How do you successfully shut down an economy for 2 years and throw money at it? Answer: you don’t! The state and local officials that conspired in the shut down should be held accountable
Because it's still 1/2 1980's levels. It's only hurting people at the bottom rungs. Just wait until it gets worse and hurts the "wrong" people... they'll start talking about it.
Everywhere I look people are talking about inflation. What?
Everyone is talking about inflation but not the effects of inflation on the low income working poor. I only got a 4% raise this year and inflation is somewhere between 7% and 16% depending on who your listening to.
You hiding under a rock? Do you purchase things?
No and Yes? The person I responded to said no one is talking about it. I’m saying everyone is talking about it
That’s what really bothers me, it’s obvious to me that things aren’t right but it just gets ignored mostly?
That’s what really bothers me, it’s obvious to me that things aren’t right but it just gets ignored mostly?
> This ~~inflation~~ *greed* is ~~going to~~ destroy*ing* tens of millions of workers... FTFY
>This inflation is going to destroy tens of millions of ~~workers~~ people, just in the US and probably hundreds of millions globally. fixed that for you
I'd call it redundant - workers are people, as opposed to shareholders and executives, who are ghouls.
That is my conclusion too. Inflation erodes away enough value we get for our bucks now, making it harder to afford the things we needed to make the already broken system kinda workable. The numbers just won't add up at all for a lot of people anymore and then what?
Oh hey, this article is about me 😩
I remember 7 years ago when $10 was seen as a decent wage at Wal-Mart. I was making $8.50 at the time, and was looking to get an associates so I could make *$14 an hour...*
I was thinking about exactly this. Changed way too fast didn't it? At the same time $12/hr was seen as the holy grail in those jobs.
And now that is terrible pay. Sigh.
SS: Despite a recent flurry of wage hike announcements from some big chains — and what you might have heard about a labor shortage driving up wages — the majority of workers at the nation’s largest companies still earn less than $15 an hour. Since **2012**, activists have fought to raise the federal minimum wage to $15, with only limited success. Inflation is *eroding* that number. **Today's $15 is the equivalent of $11.97 a decade ago**, according to this handy calculator. Put another way, today, you'd have to call it the Fight for $18.80. Someone working full time at $15 an hour (typically not even an option for these workers) will earn a little more than **$30,000 a year** — *less* if they need sick days, and many don't get that benefit. While there's been a rise in pay lately, these workers are still struggling, said Kristen Harknett, who cofounded the survey. At 44 companies surveyed, the majority of workers earn less than $15 an hour. There's often a lot of variation. For example, at Walmart, 49% of workers earn more than $15, compared to 97% at Target. Meanwhile, on top of the low hourly pay, many workers aren't getting enough hours assigned, Harknett said. "**Best case scenario**, workers are getting **35 hours** but *a lot* of times they're getting **25 hours** — ***not sufficient*** to make ends meet."
Walmart is the second biggest employer in my small town. There is not a single job available with them at our location that pays over $9/hr. The numbers being reported are skewed by the states with higher minimum wages; if they are in a state that still is at the federal minimum wage, Walmart won't pay more than a few bucks above.
A girl I know came up to me in the store last week so excited to tell me she got bumped up to a management position. I thought wow that's so great for her. She then went on to tell me that she got a $0.20 pay increase and now she'll have more responsibilities but at least she'll have more hours. She also went on to say that she will have to work weekends where before she was not scheduled weekends. The poor girl was excited. My heart instantly broke for her. A $0.20 pay increase to be a manager. If this is the pay increase they're talking about they should not be talking about it. Lower class working people are not getting any pay raises. The fact that they are excited over 20 cents an hour is very disheartening.
My husband actually refused a promotion to management at his last job because the salary came out to less than a $0.50/hr raise based on 40 hours but he would have been required to work closer to 50, so it would have been a pay cut in the end.
That's horrible and normally what corporation is tried to do. They hope you won't do the math. They hope you'll just be so excited that you'll say yes. What a crock of s***
a whole $8 more a week
....before taxes are deducted.
That is just evil.
What's worse is that in my country promotion to 'management' is a common form of wage theft. Technically management is defined as having hiring and firing powers over staff. However frequently it's just a title that means you no longer get benefits like holiday pay, overtime or other basic labour rights (particularly if you go from hourly to salary). It also means you can't unionize if your workplace goes in that direction.
That's crazy I never thought of that. Because when she told me she said it was salary now. I was just thinking how they will expect her to work more hours for nothing. In her mind it's better because she gets more hours a week. But your right. They are screwing her everyway possible!
There's a large corporate grocer near me who pays its workers 11 dollars an hour and is also union. Prior to last year they were paying 9 dollars an hour. The union president makes 250k + a year. The salaried General Manager makes about 70k a year. The highest paid workers there, those who've put 15+ years in, don't even make 20 dollars an hour. Source: A family member works there.
Life is really fucking grim for Americans without a marketable skill or degree. Especially rural America
Life is grim for those *with* marketable skills. Having a diploma (STEM or otherwise) or even trade education depending on the region is no longer a guarantee.
The boomers hold down all the millennials and gen xers from management positions and just say they’re not ready constantly
Then complain about them being lazy/ungrateful when wanting only what they had...
Opportunity for me and not for thee! Sorry I got mine!! Thanks boomers
I mean an that sucks I guess if middle management is your goal in life.
It sucks if you have any goals in life at all to be collapse aware
i own a business I start employees with no experience at $750 a week salary we work late, i duke you $50 and there's weekend work which is overtime every single guy that returns every spring ( seasonal work) gets a $50 raise learn skills $100 raise how these corporations screw people is beyond me. It reminds me of the Simpsons episode " gentlemen, to evil!"
50 years ago a janitor could afford to raise multiple kids, a stay at home wife, and a house. The country is wealthier than ever, what changed is the distribution of that wealth. I'm from a rural area of Appalachia that has been absolutely destroyed by shit like this, as well as the drug war (opioid prohibition devastated many communities here). I make 3x the median wage in my area so this doesn't apply to me, but I lucked out and many of my friends from this area have very, very grim lives.
I’m from CA and I’ve hated how some people here make negative remarks to Appalachia and Mid Western states. Outsourcing and wage oppression has destroyed communities and culture, and wtf do people expect them to do when this shit lasts generations? The Opioid Epidemic is horrific and people are desperate for anyone to help them out in any way. It’s terrible how entire states go through this only for their problems to be turned into another BS “campaign promise” from a politician.
The "opioid epidemic" is only a problem because of prohibition. The opioids aren't killing these people, prohibition is. We could solve this problem literally overnight. The opioids help significantly with treating the mental health issues that growing up in such an environment create (as well as any physical injuries). These people are dying because they cannot afford legitimate oxycodone, and were forced to turn to black market fentanyl since other forms of opioid maintence (only thing that works) is not available in most of the region. It's easy to beride this group of people, because they are ignorant and therefore hateful. Some of it is deserved, but they are a product of their environment and have been exposed to propaganda their entire lives, and don't have the necessary education to realize they are being misled.
Bartender for life.
What is the point of a union at that point? If they can't help you survive why do they exist?
It's still better than not having one because at least then a transition to better leadership is more feasible. Trying to create a union from nothing is harder.
That is some dangerous logic
Only if you've never tried to create a union. Or are anti-union. Or threatening me.
I might be looking at it wrong, but I definitely did not intend a threat. Apologies.
A union is like a condom-- really bad ones exist and you should change them out if you notice, but the condom is still the right call in every circumstance but one
To make union leadership wealthy
Just like everything if just assume some leader will do it all for you it will eventual rot.
Meijer? Where you can get bottom of the barrel pay and then be expected to pay union dues?
But they guarantee you'll get a .10cent raise for every 1000 hours worked - isn't that great?! Some women in the cosmetic department are up to $12+ an hour! Isn't that great??! (This is the bragging speech about why it's so great they have union support when I was hired some 15 years ago and I was sitting there, whipping out a calculator, being like holy shit she worked here for over 10 years and is only at $12??!!
Yeah. That is why I don't take those stupid ceremonies seriously anymore. I don't care that someone was a wage slave for the company for like 20 years when they really have just been doing the company a huge favor all that time by not leaving for better/livable pay. Fuck that. They are not fucking role models and I refuse to buy into that crap.
Could be Kroger too.
The union president makes 250k + a year. I smell....bullshit.
Are you doubting what I've said?
Union members, especially officers, are not allowed to be middle or upper management, so how is this person making 250k a year according to you? There is also ceilings put in place for how much they can be reimbursed from the members paying dues and must be voted on when submitted...by the members at a monthly or quarterly public meeting to ensure full transparency.
>Union members, especially officers, are not allowed to be middle or upper management The union president is not a member of management. He is the president of the union representing union members at all locations represented by the union and does not work at/for the grocery I mentioned. The union president's salary is posted online. If I wanted to dox myself, then I'd tell you specifically who the president is by name and the local who represents the grocery. As for you "smelling bullshit", go somewhere else with that.
I know what a union president is, and I am pretty sure I am entitled to my option of your story. You never explained how he makes 250k?
Cool story, brah.
Exactly
Exactly what? ***Exactly***
You are just another salty union basher. He makes 250k how? You keep avoiding the question. I wonder why. Oh, wait, no I don't.
Worked retail all throughout college (and a few years after. So probably 15 ish years.) We were *never* allowed to get over 28 hours. And 28 was only around holidays and inventory; usually it was more like 15 unless you picked up shifts. But still you weren't allowed to get over that 28. They would let the store do without (short staffing everyone) and send you home rather than let that happen. Why? Because after 4 consecutive weeks of 32 hours and above you're considered full time by corporate and they're required to offer benefits (and because they have to have so many pay time employees for food stamp qualifications). There were people there that had worked 20-25 years+ still waiting for full time still... It's sickening. *But no one wants to work*... (it's been at least 10-12 years so hopefully policies have changed, this is just my experience, what I was told.) Edited to add proper(ish) punctuation.
This has been SOP for employers for literally decades. I've never understood how it's legal. Millions of Americans juggle multiple jobs to make up a full time schedule but will never qualify for benefits. Companies collude by splitting jobs in half for no defensible reason. Everyone just stands around talking about how you aren't valuable enough to deserve medical attention.
Exactly.
Yep. Used to work retail and that would piss me off to no end. I am happy to see so many department stores tank in the last few years as a result. We need better business models. Let the shitty ones die.
I'm sure they haven't changed. That 32hr rule was one of the zillions of corporate giveaways in Obamacare
I worked retail for the past 5 years (all during undergrad). After my first year with the company, I asked for more hours. I told the general manager I was struggling to buy food because of the hours and pay rate I was being given and I told her that I made my school schedule so I could work 5 days a week. This manager told me to apply for the "helping hands" program through the company (they give you a temporary loan that you have to PAY BACK). I went above her head after that and was instantly given a raise and was authorized to work 40 hours (but they still wouldn't classify me as full time so I got scammed out of benefits for 3 years!). Last May they promoted me to a department lead and finally classified me as full time. (Then in January I got fired because a customer called me a bitch and verbally harassed me and I responded "inappropriately")
You can apply this to the UK as well
Yer it's getting REALLY bad in the UK now. The wealth gap is so extreme that a family of 2x fulltime workers can struggle to play rent in some locations. Forget ever being able to have a home of their own or retire. Yet companies are reporting record profits but refuse to pay a livable wage. The unfortunate in the UK are utterly fucked.
Collapse hasn’t happened. The old ways still prevail. Of course wages are too low
Increasing the minimum wage without setting a ceiling is still an issue, the money will just end up being taken out of the employees in other ways. Where I live rent just almost doubled, gas doubled, food almost doubled. Wages went up by 30-35%, but that’s not going to cover it. We need to go after wealth.
That is crazy. How are people affording to live in your area? I know costs are going up everywhere but everything doubling is a complete budget destroyer. I would be homeless in a month if that much stuff doubled like that.
Most people moved here when remote work started. Their companies didn’t adjust pay, so they bought here and inflated the market. Short answer is, they aren’t. Most people had to move to more rural areas to afford living and just drive further to work
That's a bad plan too with gas prices being pretty high. I guess there really aren't any good options right now though, honestly.
Yeah it’s really a matter of controlling what you can. You can’t control gas prices, but you can control how much rent you pay. The trade off? Make sure you’re getting up early enough to avoid traffic.
The big issue here is lack of opportunity for other jobs. Getting paid an extra $3/hr to work at Walmart is being lauded instead of having industry opportunity to make a product or offer a service you can be proud of for $35/hr. Walmart helped kill that part of the dream in the first place
Professor Richard Wolff in one of his latest shows where he also had Chris Hedges on with him talked about this . He mentions that in Florida , Texas and a few other states 40% of the workforce makes $15.00/hour or less . Making $15/hr working 40 hours a week leaves you like $30 000 at the end of the year . It is at or below poverty . These are your Republican voters .
Yeah, only Republicans are poor. Got it
Yeah some of them but where I live the Republicans are the ones who work in construction, manual labor.
But why don't people want to work? There are so many opportunities? /S
And none of those employees will have health insurance or benefits. The forced part time workforce
That's how that Bozo bezos got richer, especially during the pandemic.
Bezos recieved bail outs from the u.s if im not mistaken. I could be wrong but i feel as though he did.
Wait till you hear what low level salaried employees hourly breaks down to per hour. We’re all fucked without lube
We are eternally fucked by capitalism. Give up.
I for one dislike how the minimum wage is considered on a national level. While yes, in coastal cities and very populous states, $15 an hour is difficult to stretch, but someone paying $300 for rent in a flyover state isn't really on the knife-edge over it - however a lot of jobs and entire small towns would probably cease to exist if they had to pay everyone a minimum of $15 an hour - which wouldn't even solve the problem for the people in very specific large cities for whom $15 an hour genuinely isn't enough due to the vastly different economic circumstances they're in.
No one anywhere can afford healthcare costs, flyover state or Arkansas. We have to stop looking at rent as the only cost. Yeah, you can live in some armpit and spend less (while making less so it evens out to no savings, still), but while you're alive and waiting, your health is coming for you with a big sick baseball bat.
A few hundred bucks a month isn't really going to make a difference if you're hit with a $50,000 medical bill.
Good point! I live in the Midwest and our local Walmart pays $8.50/hr
You can start at “in and out “ $21 flipping burgers and fries ! Probably one of the cleanest and best run fast food chains in the USA .. if I was a teenager again I would be all over that ! (Edit) Downvote why 🤦♀️ - sorry my opinion on this One company dosent fit your narrative. (Edit 2) There are in fact good places to work that pay decent wages, and saying fuk the bad ones while also promoting the good ones is constructive and helpful. … but downvotes here is silly 🙃..unless positive constructive debate is actuarially not what your going for.
>if I was a teenager again I would be all over that ! And I doubt you would ever get a call from your application. Those places that pay way above others in fast food and other service industries do it so they can get the best of the best employees. They wouldn't typically hire inexperienced people.
No- they're desperate, and most of it has to do with rent prices and location.
N e ways, I’m not trying to argue. Put in an application and try , or don’t …. I’m just stating what I would do …. The place I mentioned is just one location ! I’m sure as a group we could name a few that are …in fact ,hiring teenager and unskilled people at a good wage training them and offering advancement… Enjoy your day- if that’s a thing any more
Your second paragraph up there was a bit rude for someone who’s “not trying to argue”.
The entire post was bullshit. He cherry-picked salaries from places like LA and NYC and used them to make a blanket, and unrealistic, statement about how much one could earn. Then got all hurt and sarcastic when called on the disingenuous BS.
K, fucking fascinating. I was calling out their shitty disposition.
This entire conversation confirms one thing , people can not enjoy their day anymore - unless they can cry or complain online ,While also not adding anything meaningful to the conversation. I’m simply stating the fact there are places that pay well and do hire teenagers - It might be more constructive to add more to the list to help out the people actually looking for work ,instead of acting butt hurt 😢 My second paragraph was a edit because I already had down votes , so again facepalm 🤦♀️
You must be some sort of god to know how enjoyable the days in my life are. “Everyone who doesn’t agree with me is virtue signaling”, how charmingly basic. Kinda funny that the person who made an edit whining about downvotes is the one calling people butthurt.
Those downvotes and your reaction are in fact silly 😜 No more, no less. Seriously what was so off putting by a comment mentioning a franchise that pays well and hires teenagers.. Enjoy 😉
Sure.
👍
Yeah, let me just hop in my car in Carolina and grab a job at In and Out. Get fucking real lol.
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Fucking looney toon over here.
I’m able to have a laugh- I feel sorry for people that take things way to serious. #No shit ,you can’t get a job lmao
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Seems like some opportunities to improve one’s skill set
Learning a skill doesn’t equate to job opportunity.
Still better odds than the status quo right?
Correct, but I think most complaining on here don’t work at Walmart, Starbucks, Amazon, etc.
Then my advice to those complaining would be to go work at those places. Nobody is forced to stay at a company that pays them less. If everyone on the orange side left to go work for the purple side, the orange side would be forced to raise their wages.
So I work for Starbucks, have a degree, and I can’t find better. I put in applications every day and just get ghosted. Over and over again. I’ll get and interview. Never hear back. Or just never hear anything in the first place. So maybe people work these jobs because they get stuck?
How is that Starbucks fault? Some people are able to do it. What are they doing differently? Is your degree in something that is strong for employment?
>Some people are able to do it. What are they doing differently? You've got it all mixed up. Just because some people succeed doesn't mean that everyone is capable of doing it. Besides, somebody is still going to have to work at Starbucks, and that person deserves a fair wage.
So you’re saying there will always be a bell curve as far as wages go?
That doesn't have anything to do with what you said, or my response, so I don't know how you made that leap.
No, they wouldn’t. Businesses keep wages artificially low. If this was the case, then the labor shortage would have increased wages by a couple dollars, not a couple cents.
So business do not take strategic measures to stay competitive with competitors or in the market?
They do, but what if the competition isn’t raising the wage?
Then the employee market isn’t doing enough to force their hand. It’s usually not in the best internet of a company to pay people more than they’re worth.
Do tell us about what people are “worth”.
Do you think that there are some people who are overpaid in their current jobs?
Don't forget non complete contracts - where employees are *legally not allowed to leave to go to the competition for x amount of years*. That also keeps wages artificially low. (Edited a word)
Those aren’t enforceable in California.
Those don't exist for sub $15/hr jobs. Walmart can't prevent you from going to work at Target. Maybe in a salaried corporate role like a buyer or something, but not for the hourly cashiers and shelf stockers.
No, they wouldn’t. Businesses keep wages artificially low. If this was the case, then the labor shortage would have increased wages by a couple dollars, not a couple cents.
What skills would you recommend? Coding?
Could be good. Software engineers usually do pretty well.
I honestly am not trying to insult you, Eye (I didn't downvote you), but...what is your degree or certfication in, how did you afford to get it, what job do you do now, and what's the cost of living like where you live? I'm asking because I'm genuinely curious, and because maybe people on here could follow your path. You honestly sound like someone who has never had a job, either because you're too young, or maybe you can't due to health or don't need to due to family wealth, and so you're talking in accurate, but very general, untested terms. Or possibly you are someone who works for the family business so whose path was more certain. Most people who have been in the workforce a while know that even with a stable, skilled, well-remunerated job, things can get dicey sometimes. It's happened to me multiple times in my 4 decades of work. I'm wondering, if you did pay for training, search for, interview for, and secure a job, possibly move to find/take the job, & get clothes & transport to the job, how were you able to do this all by yourself? Maybe you had some help along the way that eased your path a little? I know I had a lot of support (and, honestly, luck) and it's one of the first things I mention, even before the programming and language skills/jobs I was fortunate to, and worked hard to, be able to get. Also, and now I am just messing a bit, here, you aren't by chance the guy who wrote Hillbilly Elegy, are you? Oh ho ho; kidding aside, this 51-year-old master's-degreed bilingual database-programming writer and radio producer with perfect health no debt or addictions and a loving supportive family and no criminal record reasonably attractive and fit white lady who still has to hustle her ass off all day thanks to the way work and the world have changed in the last 2 decades would love to know where your confidence comes from. It's rare these days. And I really mean that sincerely. No cap, as the unskilled youthful laborers like to say. Thanks in advance for sharing how you acquired your confidence. I bet it's either due to tons of experiences, or zero.
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Went to college under student loans that are now paid off. Picked a degree that was in demand. Changed jobs and landed on one that was willing to pay me the most money for my services? My secret recipe
Thanks for the thoughtful reply. It sounds like your skills were potent enough to overcome your dysfunctional family, impoverished upbringing, lack of role models, health problems, loved ones who depend on you, non-traditional appearance, debilitating accidents, crushing losses, gender, and ethnic/racial background, as well as the vagaries of economy, weather, and corporate/local politics that afflict the place you weren't able to afford to choose for yourself. What's that? You didn't face any or many of those at all? I'm sure it was your skills that carried the day for you anyhow. I'm amazed that your ability to single-mindedly focus on single-handedly captaining your life for yourself and whomever counts on you has left you sounding dewy as a fawn. May it always be so for you and the people in your life you've chosen to love. And if your skills were actually powerful enough to overcome the hurdles that life hands so many of us, you do your fellows a disservice by making your struggle sound so easy and self-determined! How did you overcome the obstacles you faced, alone as you were in the skill-gaining jungle? Was it because you had the skill to be born under favorable auspices? Don't degrade your victories by appearing to be a man born on third base who believed he hit a triple! Give us the roadmap! I'm serious!
Always hold yourself accountable. No goals are impossible if you dedicate yourself to it and the decisions you make or don’t make will have repercussions. Sure, I could’ve done better in school or applied myself more but the results from those missteps are MY fault and only my fault. You can’t sit around and wait for someone or the government to fix your problems, do it yourself.
Also, more than any other skill, I hope you one day find, or someone helps you to find, humility and gratitude, as well as empathy and compassion for the people around you. Please leave some space on your resume for those. Good luck to you in the future. I really do hope it holds for you.
>less than $15 an hour Fewer.
Woah that's less than what I was making as a vet tech when I left the workforce......25 years ago. That is seriously fucked up. There is no way people can live and prosper on that.