4 ms·

Wage theft is distressingly common. The biggest thieves are businesses (stealing from workers) and not some cat-burglar in a striped shirt: https://preview.red

Wage theft is distressingly common. The biggest thieves are businesses (stealing from workers) and not some cat-burglar in a striped shirt: https://preview.redd.it/grnr8kxbl6zz.jpg?width=960&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=58e55a49de73f58ebd92aed4472b10d525627262 https://preview.redd.it/grnr8kxbl6zz.jpg?width=960&crop=smar... https://www.epi.org/publication/employers-steal-billions-from-workers-paychecks-each-year-survey-data-show-millions-of-workers-are-paid-less-than-the-minimum-wage-at-significant-cost-to-taxpayers-and-state-economies/ https://www.epi.org/publication/employers-steal-billions-fro... https://www.currentaffairs.org/2017/11/abuse-by-bosses-comes-in-many-forms https://www.currentaffairs.org/2017/11/abuse-by-bosses-comes... This is why unions and collective bargaining are so important. The power of an individual is almost meaningless versus a business of any size.

overthemoon 7y ago
Yes. For every company shamed into sorta kinda doing the right thing, there are so many other less sexy and high profile companies doing the exact same thing. Unions are not perfect, but they're better than nothing.
unreal37 7y ago
Unions are not better. This isn't 1888 any more. They charge the employees a fee every paycheck, but when you need them, they'll do what's in their best interest not yours. As a teen, I was forced to quit a job (with my union rep beside me) for a made up reason. "Better to quit than to be fired" was his advice. Obviously my "quitting" was part of some bigger plan to save a job of his friend or some other concession the boss made to him. Unions protect the employees as a whole but not the individuals. They have their own interests that are not always aligned with the employees either.
thrwwy987 7y ago
Perhaps what this article talks about should be reframed as actual (literal) theft, like the way a burglar or pickpocket does: same as if an employer broke into your home, found your wallet, and removed $20 from it that a customer had literally handed to you as their gift to you. Literal burglary/theft/etc. That would frame it in a way that doesn't somehow legitimize it, and would make employers seem, and be, far more criminal after they decide to reach into someone's pocket and steal cash.
SkyBelow 7y ago
>Wage theft Does this qualify as wage theft? Per US tipping laws, this is how tipping normally works.
- pluma 7y ago
  It's wage theft. That it's legal under US law only means it's institutional. That is worse. EDIT: Because some people seem to be unaware: there is no actual crime in US law called "wage theft". It's a term that describes specific behavior and some of that behavior violates certain employment laws and regulations. See the Wikipedia article for the specifics, although it specifies that "tip theft" is actually its own legal complex within "wage theft": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wage_theft https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wage_theft

overthemoon 7y ago

Yes. For every company shamed into sorta kinda doing the right thing, there are so many other less sexy and high profile companies doing the exact same thing. Unions are not perfect, but they're better than nothing.

unreal37 7y ago

Unions are not better. This isn't 1888 any more. They charge the employees a fee every paycheck, but when you need them, they'll do what's in their best interest not yours. As a teen, I was forced to quit a job (with my union rep beside me) for a made up reason. "Better to quit than to be fired" was his advice. Obviously my "quitting" was part of some bigger plan to save a job of his friend or some other concession the boss made to him. Unions protect the employees as a whole but not the individuals. They have their own interests that are not always aligned with the employees either.

thrwwy987 7y ago

Perhaps what this article talks about should be reframed as actual (literal) theft, like the way a burglar or pickpocket does: same as if an employer broke into your home, found your wallet, and removed $20 from it that a customer had literally handed to you as their gift to you. Literal burglary/theft/etc. That would frame it in a way that doesn't somehow legitimize it, and would make employers seem, and be, far more criminal after they decide to reach into someone's pocket and steal cash.

SkyBelow 7y ago

>Wage theft Does this qualify as wage theft? Per US tipping laws, this is how tipping normally works.

pluma 7y ago
It's wage theft. That it's legal under US law only means it's institutional. That is worse. EDIT: Because some people seem to be unaware: there is no actual crime in US law called "wage theft". It's a term that describes specific behavior and some of that behavior violates certain employment laws and regulations. See the Wikipedia article for the specifics, although it specifies that "tip theft" is actually its own legal complex within "wage theft": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wage_theft https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wage_theft