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> They can afford to pay labor more. Only if they decide to pay shareholders less. And shareholders are not going to accept getting paid less in order to pay
by danans 2y ago
> They can afford to pay labor more.
Only if they decide to pay shareholders less.
And shareholders are not going to accept getting paid less in order to pay labor more. That's a quick way for CEOs get fired.
- toomuchtodo 2y agoIndeed! Which is why minimum wage laws and unions are so important. The evidence shows they can afford it and they wouldn’t pay it voluntarily, so keep pushing the minimum wage up.
- danans 2y agoYeah. The idea that corporations are going to raise wages on their own even for the general well being of society has been debunked many times over. These things work according to power and leverage, and nothing less.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- refurb 2y ago> The evidence shows they can afford it and they wouldn’t pay it voluntarily, so keep pushing the minimum wage up. You're forgetting the other option they have - invest their money elsewhere. So instead of having a job that pays $18/hour, there is just no job at all. Is that better?
- toomuchtodo 2y agoDidn’t forget. In a macro with structural labor shortages due to rapidly declining fertility rates, this is unlikely. https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=labor%20shortages&sort=byDate&type=story https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...
- danans 2y agoThe structural labor shortages (and implied rising leverage for workers) are also a reason that corporations are racing towards AI and robotics. By the time robots have replaced large swathes of labor, we will need to consider taxes on automation, which unions will hopefully support.
- EliRivers 2y agoThat's a quick way for CEOs get fired. Do you have any evidence of CEOs being fired by shareholders because workers got a payrise? Starbucks has been handing out payrises of a couple of percent this year but I don't see shareholders firing the CEO. Likewise many other public companies.
- toomuchtodo 2y agoStarbucks replaced CEO Laxman Narasimhan (considered to be too accomodating of Starbucks workers' organizing efforts by Starbucks founder Howard Schultz and activist investors) with Brian Niccol (who previously fought against organizing efforts at Chipotle). https://x.com/RBReich/status/1828187954290008180 https://x.com/RBReich/status/1828187954290008180 https://x.com/MorePerfectUS/status/1823356710372934004 https://x.com/MorePerfectUS/status/1823356710372934004 https://sbworkersunited.org/ https://sbworkersunited.org/
- EliRivers 2y agoFrom what I read, the activist investors were complaining about poor sales and an inadequate China strategy. Not 2% payrises for employees.