I make $2.35 an hour in coal country. I don’t want handouts. I want a living wage.

Dec 20, 2016 17:59

The white working class doesn't need a savior at the ballot box. We need decent pay in the jobs we already have ( Read more... )

opinion piece, working class, capitalism fuck yeah, eat the rich, wages, workers rights, activism

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Comments 16

lightframes December 21 2016, 05:50:06 UTC
Finally! An article about the working class that makes sense and doesn't blame the election results on minorities' fight for civil rights!

I'm so happy!

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backincharge December 21 2016, 06:21:42 UTC
It's a shame Bernie isn't younger because 2020 would basically be his for the taking at this point.

Though personally, I don't care how old he is, he should still go for it if he can.

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pairatime December 21 2016, 07:57:27 UTC
getting paid $2.35 an hour and relying on tips to reach the federal minimum wage of $7.25.
This is why every state needs to get rid of a lower minimum wage for servers

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policraticus December 21 2016, 11:38:56 UTC
First off, no one makes jiust $2.35/hour. By law your employer must pay tipped employees the minimum wage if the tipped wage does not equal the minimum wage for the area. This article is useless until we learn how much the author makes including tips and how much of those tips they declare as income versus how much they keep hidden. We need to understand her real income, not just her per hour rate.

My point isn't that the author is secretly making big money, but I've known many diner servers who routinely make over $25/ hour in tips for a breakfast shift. ($150/6 hours) That is high volume, quick service and small check average. Its a tough job. Kind of like WaffleHouse. How much of that they declare, I do not know but my guess is less than half. It doesn't matter, though. If that diner suddenly eliminated tipping and paid them $15/hour while raising the prices of waffles, etc by enough to cover the added expense, I doubt they would be happy. They would almost certainly lose money. What would happen to the diner when ( ... )

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amw December 21 2016, 19:27:09 UTC
It is complete and utter assfuckery that in America it is legal to pay someone $2 an hour and then expect them to rely on tips to make up the difference. Seriously, I know it is some kind of American tradition, but to people around the rest of the world this comes across as hideously regressive. If servers can earn $25ph - on or off the record - with tips, then bully for them, but it is no excuse for restauranteurs to underpay their staff. And if that means breakfasts double in price then oh fucking well. I get mad about a lot of politics, but this kind of wack double standard for pink collar workers is next level infuriating. I can hardly even believe that people think it is fair, because it seriously is not fucking fair.

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mimblexwimble December 21 2016, 19:29:22 UTC
MTE.

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lollycunt December 21 2016, 23:33:06 UTC
MTE. I think food should be priced at what it costs to serve and turn a profit, which includes paying the staff a live wage. If that means raising prices, so be it. I'd rather pay double than have my server forced to subsidize my meal with their incredibly low wage.

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hikerpoet December 21 2016, 13:58:39 UTC
Like others, I like this article and agree with much of it.

I have heard from a good handful of friends in the Rust Belt, however, that the fifteen dollar minimum wage proposals were deeply unpopular in their communities. I'm ultimately pro, my friends are ultimately pro, but the rhetoric was very much "Yeah, we get that is still even not enough in most urban areas, but cost of living is so low here it is actually more than is needed as a living wage and will bankrupt any remaining local businesses". Not only was in mentioned as a concern, it was put out there as the MAIN concern. Again, this is not how I feel, and it is admittedly purely anecdotal, and there did seem to be a strong generational split, but while I wish is how they all felt, I'm not sure how representative it is.

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