Forum Post: Making employment a fair proposition for ALL.
Posted 9 years ago on Jan. 12, 2015, 4:27 p.m. EST by DKAtoday
(33802)
from Coon Rapids, MN
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
I wrote the following in reply to an activist group that sent me an e-mail asking for my support on a petition to help out salaried individuals to stop being victimized by their employers to work overtime for no pay.
Seeing as this is a real problem = workers not being paid fairly.
I want to support the effort - BUT - I want to go further than just addressing a single issue.
As basically the whole workforce is currently being abused by current employment practices and laws.
I sent the following reply as perhaps the better approach to be taking . . .
. . . . Perhaps you have something good for the public.
But - in my opinion - you are presenting it wrong.
It should be presented as pay for hours worked - yes - just that simple.
Salaried workers are being ripped off - and - always have been.
Hourly workers are being ripped off as well.
It comes down to - a sufficient wage to live on in a reasonable work week - FOR ALL.
40 hours per week = 7 Days (a week = a workable unit of measure to qualify a "full time employment" standing requirement) seems reasonable to me - to work a full time job - and - spend QUALITY time (or any time at all) with family and friends and community.
If 40 hours is not getting it done - then - another worker needs to be added - NOT MORE HOURS added onto the existing employee - and this additional employee if the work required is not sufficient to provide full time (40 hrs per week) employment - should be paid on an hourly basis that is equal in pay per hour as to what a full time employee is getting paid (not less pay per hour). In this manner a part time employee can work (theoretically) for another employer to make up the rest of the 40 hours needed for full time employment and so make a LIVING at a living wage.
Overtime needed by the employer should be incentive "to add another worker" not to add more work to existing workers. So - if overtime is needed it should be at the very least DOUBLE TIME PAY and taxed at the same rate as the worker would get taxed at the normal hourly rate for working 40 hours a week and NOT be PENALIZED by the government by being taxed more for the overtime pay for being forced to work more hours than they should be working = 40hrs/week. Tax the employer more for making the workers work over 40 hours a week do not penalize the workers for having more time taken away from their lives by their employers.
Just saying - You Need To Rethink Your Presentation (action?) if Your intention is to fix employment to be a fair proposition for all.
Good work DKA.
Thanks - you might also like:
https://occupywallst.org/forum/if-you-have-died-while-taking-prescription-medicat/
lol-------clever
True what you say. I think though the mere concept of working for a wage is what enslaves a worker. What one should be working for is a "piece of the pie." What I mean by that workers ought get a piece of the profits that the worker helped generate. I don't mean piece work for that is a rip off too. I mean something like workers earning shares in the company they work for and those shares earn high dividends, and entitle one to appropriate portions of the profits the company brings in overall. I mean like that is how company executives get their big $$$$. Actually most executive "salaries" are relatively small. They get their big $$$$ in the form of bonuses, and stock options. What if that bonus and stock option concept was extended to all employees of a company? i.e that all employees share in that benny now reserved for executives.
Wage has been demeaned as well as those who work for a wage have been demeaned - wage should not be derogatory - nor should wage earners be looked at as such = derogatorily. Wage earners make dreams into reality - wage earners make success HAPPEN - ALL SUCCESSES - ALL. What enslaves the worker "is" having no representation - "is" not getting involved - "is" opting out of the process of governance.
Earning a wage is not demeaning. About all of us do it. What becomes demeaning is the wage itself; when it is far below the worth of the work being done. And what does that say of the person who is forced to take it? I suppose one can form a union and protest, but look what has become of the unions over the past few years. The basic problem with working for simply a wage is that it excludes a worker from the eventual $$$$ an enterprise brings in. That is why I say that in addition to a wage, some form of share in the company, and the company's profit, for the worker may be a better form of compensation than simply a higher wage (which will get eroded by inflation in short time thus leaving the worker where he started ...screwed.) By having share ownership a worker can have representation by the virtue of ownership, and has an opportunity to get his fair share $$.
Rallies to get Money out of Politics happening across the nation tomorrow.
We won't stop the users/abusers by watching from the sidelines.
That is for sure.
The only real question is what is to be done?
Identify and support key issues.
Like OSTA and overturning Citzens United.
Identify those in office who do not support such things or openly oppose them and present them to the public as part of the problem.
Get the 2/3 who have opted-out to get involved and stay involved and push these issues as well as support those in office who are pushing these issues and to find replacements to put into office for those working against us.
Move To Amend is a gr8 example of what the 2/3 who have opted-out - should be involved in supporting as just one step towards cleaning up government.
I think OSTA could be pushed in the same sort of a 50 state campaign.
We THE PEOPLE need to create and support such actions as a means of developing a direct democracy that will squash the current corruption of the system of governance.
this money system seems unnecessarily complex