3 ms·

Or they can lobby

toomuchtodo 3y ago
That’s worthless in the near term for labor rights issues with regard to action in Congress. We can barely keep the government functioning from a funding perspective. Republicans and the US chamber of commerce will keep trying to grind workers and their attempts at getting agency. The NLRB continues to enact pro union and worker policy; that is the lever to apply maximum force with until representative turnover in Congress can occur. I repeat myself for emphasis: workers must organize, and failing that, quit to starve the business or industry of labor (depending on their means, location, other potential employment opportunities, etc). Otherwise the beatings will continue as long as the workers keep showing up (as this very piece the post is referencing describes). I see no other options, having worked back from first principles and systems analysis. If the economy or its subcomponents must be pushed towards failure, that is reasonable. Just as in tech workplaces where dysfunctional business systems continue to function due to unseen (sometimes Herculean) effort, if you allow the dysfunction to occur, no change will be made. You either let the system fail, or you push it to failure. Examples: https://news.yahoo.com/entire-police-department-quit-over-105609304.html https://news.yahoo.com/entire-police-department-quit-over-10... ("An entire police department quit over $22-an-hour pay, saying there is 'zero incentive' to work there") https://www.npr.org/2023/11/08/1211632901/schools-across-the-u-s-are-trying-a-4-day-week-why-to-retain-teachers https://www.npr.org/2023/11/08/1211632901/schools-across-the... ("Many school districts around the U.S. are moving to a four-day school week to retain teachers. Districts that don't want to raise taxes to pay teachers more are using the long weekend as an incentive.") https://www.cbsnews.com/news/school-districts-4-day-week-teachers-parents/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/school-districts-4-day-week-tea... ("Nearly 900 school districts in the United States currently use a four-day weekly academic schedule. That number rose from 650 districts in 2020 to 876 districts, across 26 states, in 2023. While smaller, rural districts have been more likely to favor the schedule, larger districts are now shortening their school weeks in an effort to recruit and retain teachers. It's a selling point in an era when schools are facing a national teacher shortage.") https://www.deseret.com/2023/5/3/23709769/one-third-us-nurses-plan-to-quit https://www.deseret.com/2023/5/3/23709769/one-third-us-nurse... ("30% of the nurses are planning to quit their career, which is 7 percentage points over the 2021 percentage") https://www.npr.org/2023/11/11/1207991399/4-four-day-work-week-manufacturing-work-life-balance https://www.npr.org/2023/11/11/1207991399/4-four-day-work-we... ("A manufacturer tried the 4-day workweek for 5 days' pay and won't go back") TLDR There is no labor shortage. There is a shortage of labor willing to take the abuse they historically have.
- ianai 3y ago
  There was a historical market correction of labor wages upwards after the 1918 pandemic. Strange to think, but it sure seems those days had fewer factors pushing labor down than now, but here we are. You’re absolutely correct. Price/wage is how to incentivize people to work for a company. Though also these jobs (medical, law enforcement, firefighting) have always been high stress but seem much worse after the pandemic. The answer would probably be less hours worked for higher pay and making sure they have all the resources they could ever need.
- tr_user 3y ago
  You don't even need to quit to see the effects of this. As people become poorer, demand is going to drop. Only so much blood you can squeeze out
  - toomuchtodo 3y ago
    I agree mostly, but disagree about demand dropping, as this is industry specific. With regards to teachers, students and families will simply be stuck with whatever resources can be provided (in the citations I provide above, some parents are unhappy with a 4 day school week, but if taxpayers don't want to pay more for a mandated service, too bad so sad, you get what you get). Speaking of police protection, you will get degraded services or no services. Most critically, if there are not enough nurses, CNAs, and other medical practitioners, care delivery will degrade and people will potentially die. These are all services and systems with mostly inelastic demand. Where demand is elastic, there is more flexibility in the feedback loop. Labor is not fungible, so expect this to continue in a lumpy fashion for at least the next decade.
pylua 3y ago
They should definitely raise the exempt salary amount and the minimum wage. It has been too long. In the very least , tie it to inflation.
- gumby 3y ago
  Tying wage to inflation is unfortunately a bad idea because it drives a feedback loop. People have tried (including in the US in the 70s) and it always ends in tears. Tying thresholds like exempt thresholds though sounds like a good idea.

Or they can lobby

That’s worthless in the near term for labor rights issues with regard to action in Congress. We can barely keep the government functioning from a funding perspective. Republicans and the US chamber of commerce will keep trying to grind workers and their attempts at getting agency. The NLRB continues to enact pro union and worker policy; that is the lever to apply maximum force with until representative turnover in Congress can occur. I repeat myself for emphasis: workers must organize, and failing that, quit to starve the business or industry of labor (depending on their means, location, other potential employment opportunities, etc). Otherwise the beatings will continue as long as the workers keep showing up (as this very piece the post is referencing describes). I see no other options, having worked back from first principles and systems analysis. If the economy or its subcomponents must be pushed towards failure, that is reasonable. Just as in tech workplaces where dysfunctional business systems continue to function due to unseen (sometimes Herculean) effort, if you allow the dysfunction to occur, no change will be made. You either let the system fail, or you push it to failure. Examples: https://news.yahoo.com/entire-police-department-quit-over-105609304.html https://news.yahoo.com/entire-police-department-quit-over-10... ("An entire police department quit over $22-an-hour pay, saying there is 'zero incentive' to work there") https://www.npr.org/2023/11/08/1211632901/schools-across-the-u-s-are-trying-a-4-day-week-why-to-retain-teachers https://www.npr.org/2023/11/08/1211632901/schools-across-the... ("Many school districts around the U.S. are moving to a four-day school week to retain teachers. Districts that don't want to raise taxes to pay teachers more are using the long weekend as an incentive.") https://www.cbsnews.com/news/school-districts-4-day-week-teachers-parents/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/school-districts-4-day-week-tea... ("Nearly 900 school districts in the United States currently use a four-day weekly academic schedule. That number rose from 650 districts in 2020 to 876 districts, across 26 states, in 2023. While smaller, rural districts have been more likely to favor the schedule, larger districts are now shortening their school weeks in an effort to recruit and retain teachers. It's a selling point in an era when schools are facing a national teacher shortage.") https://www.deseret.com/2023/5/3/23709769/one-third-us-nurses-plan-to-quit https://www.deseret.com/2023/5/3/23709769/one-third-us-nurse... ("30% of the nurses are planning to quit their career, which is 7 percentage points over the 2021 percentage") https://www.npr.org/2023/11/11/1207991399/4-four-day-work-week-manufacturing-work-life-balance https://www.npr.org/2023/11/11/1207991399/4-four-day-work-we... ("A manufacturer tried the 4-day workweek for 5 days' pay and won't go back") TLDR There is no labor shortage. There is a shortage of labor willing to take the abuse they historically have.

ianai 3y ago
There was a historical market correction of labor wages upwards after the 1918 pandemic. Strange to think, but it sure seems those days had fewer factors pushing labor down than now, but here we are. You’re absolutely correct. Price/wage is how to incentivize people to work for a company. Though also these jobs (medical, law enforcement, firefighting) have always been high stress but seem much worse after the pandemic. The answer would probably be less hours worked for higher pay and making sure they have all the resources they could ever need.
tr_user 3y ago
You don't even need to quit to see the effects of this. As people become poorer, demand is going to drop. Only so much blood you can squeeze out
- toomuchtodo 3y ago
  I agree mostly, but disagree about demand dropping, as this is industry specific. With regards to teachers, students and families will simply be stuck with whatever resources can be provided (in the citations I provide above, some parents are unhappy with a 4 day school week, but if taxpayers don't want to pay more for a mandated service, too bad so sad, you get what you get). Speaking of police protection, you will get degraded services or no services. Most critically, if there are not enough nurses, CNAs, and other medical practitioners, care delivery will degrade and people will potentially die. These are all services and systems with mostly inelastic demand. Where demand is elastic, there is more flexibility in the feedback loop. Labor is not fungible, so expect this to continue in a lumpy fashion for at least the next decade.

pylua 3y ago

They should definitely raise the exempt salary amount and the minimum wage. It has been too long. In the very least , tie it to inflation.

gumby 3y ago
Tying wage to inflation is unfortunately a bad idea because it drives a feedback loop. People have tried (including in the US in the 70s) and it always ends in tears. Tying thresholds like exempt thresholds though sounds like a good idea.