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this post was submitted on 01 Aug 2023
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Work Reform
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A place to discuss positive changes that can make work more equitable, and to vent about current practices. We are NOT against work; we just want the fruits of our labor to be recognized better.
Our Philosophies:
- All workers must be paid a living wage for their labor.
- Income inequality is the main cause of lower living standards.
- Workers must join together and fight back for what is rightfully theirs.
- We must not be divided and conquered. Workers gain the most when they focus on unifying issues.
Our Goals
- Higher wages for underpaid workers.
- Better worker representation, including but not limited to unions.
- Better and fewer working hours.
- Stimulating a massive wave of worker organizing in the United States and beyond.
- Organizing and supporting political causes and campaigns that put workers first.
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It's appalling that this is even a question. Children don't need better terms for working at the abattoir, the garbage dump or the sawmill; they need not to be working in those places.
So true. I can't fathom why a civilized country would let children do labor. This is some straight up 3rd world shit.
I think you described exactly what is happening to this “civilized” country.
Making some bold assumptions there, I think.
That it's still third world shit perpetuates our tolerance of it at all. Our manufacturing industries shouldn't br able to move factories offshore to developing countries where they can hire workers for pennies.
Children? A 16 year old is not a child. They are a teenager; very nearly an adult. They absolutely should work a job to learn the value of working for money. It's a very important concept for young adults to learn.
That said, none of these jobs should exist if appropriate safety measures aren't being taken. I don't care if you're a teenager or an adult, you shouldn't be dying in a lumbar yard or a mine barring a freak accident. You shouldn't need a union to protect you. Safety regulations should just be a natural part of doing business.
They should allow children to work to get money, if that is the only way to get money. Of course, it would be preferable that no one has to work to survive. Or do you think the government should provide free money only to children?
Some people would argue for UBI for everyone, not just children.
But at least in my experience, children get money as an allowance from their parents, which I suppose is somewhat like UBI.
In any case, children should not need money of their own to survive. Their needs should be provided for by the parents.
I think a guaranteed basic income for young people only would certainly make up for keeping them from working. Like you said, nobody having to work to live would be the ideal, but to ban people from being able to support themselves and doing nothing to make up the difference creates artificial dependence that keeps people in abusive situations with no recourse.
The need for capital to find ever cheaper labor to exploit, accelerated by Republicans. I was trying to avoid loaded terms like "civilized" and "third world", but it does not make the USA look good at all.