this post was submitted on 15 Nov 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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My fault for not being able to read teeny tiny gray text on a white background, I guess.
Anyway, comparing revenue to worker compensation isn't really very useful. Payroll comes out of that revenue, as does every other cost of doing business. Compare payroll to profit, or to executive compensation, if you want to make a point. Yeah, worker compensation sucks, but just comparing it to "the biggest number we could find" doesn't mean anything.
Also these numbers are going to be higher for bigger operations.
Yeah, you’re right, there’s no wealth gap problem, why even bother talking about it?
That's not what they said. They were commenting that comparing payroll to revenue is like comparing apples and oranges. If you make an apples to apples comparison, like between payroll and profits, you can make a more defensible argument that income inequality is a problem which needs to be fixed.
Misrepresenting the issue causes people on the side of labor to be less effective in their efforts, because they're operating with flawed data, and makes it so that people on the side of capital can more easily disregard the concerns of labor.
There are solid and useful comparisons to be made, as I previously mentioned. Worker salary vs. corporate revenue isn't one of them.