This post hits close to home. I went through this when I worked full time at tech helpdesk / call center. I was a contractor of a contractor of a contractor of

This post hits close to home. I went through this when I worked full time at tech helpdesk / call center. I was a contractor of a contractor of a contractor of the Navy. Me <- Contractor (payroll company) <- Contractor <- Contractor <- Navy Each step took a bit off the top, I made $17/hr no vacation, no health insurance, no sick time. At one point my contractor (they signed my checks, a faceless shell) who I never met or communicated with called me at work and tried to reduce my pay. I felt so angry and upset. I ended up arguing that I would quit if they touched my pay. I learned when I quit that: Me ($17/hr) <- Contractor ($35/hr) <- Contractor ($55/hr) <- Contractor (???) Its all about liability, health insurance is a liability, sick time is a liability, vacation is a liability, and the possibility of paying for layoffs is a liability. Trickle down. Also related,I was also working part time in retail where I learned that over 80% of the staff was part time to avoid paying health or vacation or sick time... This is common practice in retail. These companies have huge workforces of part time people, they avoid giving people enough hours to be full time... Its terrible and needs to be fixed.