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It’s incredible how hard it’s been for retail and service companies to recruit lower-wage workers her in the South Bay. Mike Rowe and tech execs love to talk ab
by kuyaab 8y ago
It’s incredible how hard it’s been for retail and service companies to recruit lower-wage workers her in the South Bay. Mike Rowe and tech execs love to talk about skills gaps, but the fact is most jobs aren’t filled because the compensation these positions offer is garbage.
- claydavisss 8y agoThey're trapped - probably unable to even scrape together the money to move. Moving is expensive! You need the money not only to relocate, but also to tide you over until you find work. Casual mobility is for the wealthy.
- bredren 8y agoIt isn't just that, many low wage people have their families there. Sometimes extended family. Moving would mean moving the whole clan away from friends and their connections and where they grew up. Moving is not a small thing.
- dabockster 8y agoExactly this. Moving elsewhere when your extended family has lived in one place for multiple generations is probably one of the largest risks a person can take. You’re essentially trading most or all of your network for the possibility of a better life. If the possibility doesn’t work out, the person is usually worse off than if had they stayed in their original location.
- yourbandsucks 8y agoAnd no childcare for their children.
- curuinor 8y agohenry george strikes again!
- gr33nman 8y agoNot to mention that less wealthy people often rely on extended family for support such as childcare. For many people, leaving family behind is a risk not worth taking.
- dahdum 8y agoThere is a minimum wage of $15 in many of the cities, but the high cost of living makes that hardly enough.
- dragonwriter 8y ago> There is a minimum wage of $15 in many of the cities “Many” may be an exaggeration: Berkeley, Emeryville, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, and San Francisco.
- dahdum 8y agoFair enough...I've pretty much only lived/worked in SF and MV/SV/SC so my perspective is centered around them.
- woolvalley 8y agoThey are offering jobs starting at $15 either way. I walked by a fast food shop that is not in those cities offering $15-$21/hour jobs recently.
- dredmorbius 8y agoDemonstrating that labour markets are regional.
- foota 8y agoI think hardly enough is quite an understatement.
- Aeolun 8y agoYou can get very close to making about half of what you need to live!
- whb07 8y agoMike Rowe isn’t talking about unskilled labor. He’s talking about skilled labor like plumbing, carpentry, welding, electricians, etc. Not a stock boy and the like.
- jimmy1 8y agoMight be anecdotal, but hooo weee, if you are a good electrician right now, you can essentially name your price. Companies will pay it because they aren't willing to take the risk of having it done wrong. Family knows a couple career electricians -- company is paying for them to come out of retirement, paying $50-55 an hour, AND letting them keep their retirement benefits.
- sk5t 8y agoI would have expected "name your price" electrician work to be more in the $100-120/hr range in a high-CoL area.
- yourapostasy 8y agoThat's cheap. In the Bay Area, even doubling that is cheap. Take a look at this discussion [1] by electricians of what their businesses costs to run, especially the trade-specific section. There is a fundamental disconnect in daily life between perceptions of what a job entails and its true costs. No wonder management and purchasing departments everywhere is constantly underestimating effort and costs, then getting pissed when risks and quality issues come up. [1] https://www.electriciantalk.com/f2/why-do-you-charge-so-much-11405/ https://www.electriciantalk.com/f2/why-do-you-charge-so-much...