this post was submitted on 20 Sep 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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I would move as far as possible from the job site. 2 hours one way on a train watching Netflix, 4 hours work, 2 hours relax on the train. That would be nice.
…and you just wouldn’t get hired, because the guy who lives next to their office is a more attractive option, even if he’s only 80% as productive as you.
And that’s arguably why it makes some sense; companies would be more likely to hire more locally and be more flexible about remote work - both of which save precious planetary resources ánd people’s time.
Companies would also then be incentivized to invest in and lobby for better affordable housing in the communities their offices are located in/around so that employees at all pay scales have affordable options within a few miles of the office.
They could even set up close by company shops, where you could pay with company issued tokens, along with clinics, amenities, and private security for the urbanization...
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Company_town
Which is why I also advocate for laws keeping corporations/business out of residential property ownership altogether.
I would just move temporarily, and after probation period move far away. Surely they can't fire me because my living situation changed and had to move...
In this hypothetical scenario this gets implemented it would certainly be standard to have a clause to protect employers against exactly that.
Seems kinda shitty that you basically can't move without employer's approval.
Also poorer people living farther away would get discriminated.
It’d be fair to just keep paying the same compensation you received before moving; you could still move, but you’d have to pay the price.
And yeah, there are still a lot of problems with this approach as long as housing is left to market forces. But those problems are inherent to free markets, not to this possible solution to another problem.
They very much can, will, and do for much less. Welcome to an "at-will" employer. The only thing that's illegal is discrimination
What about "living distance discrimination"... /s
okay but when do chores happen? i can barely keep up on dishes and laundry with a 45 minute commute each way. sleep, too...
Currently you work 8 hours + 1.5 hours commute. With this you'd work 6.5 hours + 1.5 hour commute, so you'd have 1.5 extra hour for chores or whatever.
If you use train/bus for commuting, you can even sleep there :-)
i didn't realize the commute was implicitly a part of the 8 hours in your scenario. that makes a little more sense.
You're highlighting that it's not a great solution, but at least a 2 hours of flat payment per office call would be an acknowledgement of my time considering it's an hour each way for the majority of people.
Literally happened at a place I worked at. They hired people near to the work, who then within a year bought a cheap house out in the boonies and increased their commute to 3+ hours daily. And they got paid for it. Such a stupid policy (for the company, I don't blame the workers for taking advantage).