4 ms·

So in the bay area they found out that the largest employers actually conspired to not hire each other's senior employees. Which serves to decrease mobility for

So in the bay area they found out that the largest employers actually conspired to not hire each other's senior employees. Which serves to decrease mobility for people and makes it so their wages become lower. When I worked in Canada it seemed like companies were very desperate for talent but weren't really willing to pay beyond a certain amount. It's hard to say if there is just a natural ceiling for pay or if it's actually some sort of setup to keep the compensation at that level.

radiantswirl 8y ago
This is a fascinating question. My guess is that all industries have different levels of collusion/wage-fixing. If something as big as THE TECH INDUSTRY can get away with colluding to keep a ceiling on wages, then surely every single other smaller industry can as well.
- dunpeal 8y ago
  There are many ways to suppress wages besides wage-fixing collusion. About 25% of American workers have non-compete clauses in their work agreements, for instance.
  - pmiller2 8y ago
    True, but non competes are mostly unenforceable in California, so that doesn’t account for the situation in the Bay Area.
    - rebelwebmaster 8y ago
      Only when people decide to fight them. Sadly, many people un-aware of their dubious legality honor them even if they are in fact unenforceable.
    - dunpeal 8y ago
      The wage gap exists outside of California, and California also happens to be the only state in which non-competes are strictly voided by the courts. Outside the Californian bubble, they're a big problem.
nyxtom 8y ago
Steve Jobs was the central figure in influencing the anti-poaching policies from what I've come across. https://money.cnn.com/2014/08/11/technology/silicon-valley-poaching-case/index.html https://money.cnn.com/2014/08/11/technology/silicon-valley-p... This is why market demand works for the benefit of the employee. > "Only when Facebook declined did Google consider how to retain its employees, the judge said. It boosted "the base salary of all of its salaried employees by 10% and provided an immediate cash bonus of $1,000 to all employees,""

radiantswirl 8y ago

This is a fascinating question. My guess is that all industries have different levels of collusion/wage-fixing. If something as big as THE TECH INDUSTRY can get away with colluding to keep a ceiling on wages, then surely every single other smaller industry can as well.

dunpeal 8y ago
There are many ways to suppress wages besides wage-fixing collusion. About 25% of American workers have non-compete clauses in their work agreements, for instance.
- pmiller2 8y ago
  True, but non competes are mostly unenforceable in California, so that doesn’t account for the situation in the Bay Area.
  - rebelwebmaster 8y ago
    Only when people decide to fight them. Sadly, many people un-aware of their dubious legality honor them even if they are in fact unenforceable.
  - dunpeal 8y ago
    The wage gap exists outside of California, and California also happens to be the only state in which non-competes are strictly voided by the courts. Outside the Californian bubble, they're a big problem.

nyxtom 8y ago

Steve Jobs was the central figure in influencing the anti-poaching policies from what I've come across. https://money.cnn.com/2014/08/11/technology/silicon-valley-poaching-case/index.html https://money.cnn.com/2014/08/11/technology/silicon-valley-p... This is why market demand works for the benefit of the employee. > "Only when Facebook declined did Google consider how to retain its employees, the judge said. It boosted "the base salary of all of its salaried employees by 10% and provided an immediate cash bonus of $1,000 to all employees,""