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cyu@sh.itjust.works

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Migrants aren't pushing down wages. It's your boss. (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 6 months ago by cyu@sh.itjust.works to c/unions@sh.itjust.works

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[–] asif@lemmy.ml 3 points 6 months ago (13 children)

I'm sorry if I'm being dumb but I don't get what you're asking. I work as a unionized engineer and then always try to keep a second side hustle job (cashier, waiter, etc.). When I was a non-union engineer I saw third party companies hiring people that were underqualified and across the globe, remotely taking jobs. As a waiter/cashier however, I didn't see this at all. Although I was working minimum wage so I don't think anyone would necessarily ask lower.

The point I was trying to make is that, when I was making $35 an hour non-unionized, firms would offer to have remote engineers for $30 an hour. So now I'm effectively "over" market rate, and am at risk of being fired. This weakens my ability to earn for my family. If the latter didn't exist, I could have asked for $40 an hour even. Thankfully I'm now unionized at around that rate so I'm okay. But for my friends that aren't minimum wage, but aren't flying stacks of money rich, they are constantly at risk of just being another budget issue.

[–] crispyflagstones@sh.itjust.works 1 points 6 months ago (3 children)

i mean, the employers in your industry are the ones deciding where to source talent. The engineers in these remote markets are just picking up jobs that are likely paying above-average for their locale. Which opportunities only exist because employers extend them...

[–] asif@lemmy.ml 1 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Wholeheartedly agreed. The existence and ability to just easily off-shore everything and reduce costs, to a business; is like candy to a baby. You don’t blame the candy, or the baby, but you blame the circumstances that lead the candy to the baby. Keeping jobs at home is the only way towards the prosperity of the middle class. We unfortunately have policies that just favor the wealthy class over the middle class, and things like this happen.

[–] crispyflagstones@sh.itjust.works 1 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

In this case, the baby is part of a global group of babies (the baby-ouisie?) that persuaded many of the governments of the world to pass free-candy-for-babies laws so they could save money in their candy budgets and deliver higher return to their shareholders, so in this case, i'll 100% blame the baby

[–] asif@lemmy.ml 1 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Honestly also very true. Something reductionist (and wrong) about my statement - the baby doesn’t have autonomy. They just go after impulse. Corporations do have autonomy, and typically choose to go against the middle class.

I did lol at the idea of a group of global babies trying to take over the world though 😂

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