Phoenix Low Wages (appointed, real estate, movers)

[ranman469]

i found the wages to be equal with michigan. my hour rate is .25cents per hour les but my insurance is much better and the pension and training is real good.

i just hope before anyone moves anywhere. just do your homework..

[ILoveAZ]

Instead of sitting around complaining that wages are too low why don't you work harder to get a better paying job???? Wages are low for low paying jobs. Bottom line. How much do you expect to get paid to flip burgers, clean bathrooms, do some clerical work??

[sierraAZ]

Originally Posted by Happs

Before anyone moves to Phoenix, please understand here that wages are very low, to the point where it might not be financially advantageous to do so. To those that live here permanently, it's time to start protesting low wages. I think middle and lower middle class workers (< $40,000 yr) in the Phoenix metropolitan area should start engaging in peaceful, law abiding protests that communicate to business leaders that workers in this town will no longer tolerate platry wages. Phoenix is no longer an inexpensive place to live like it used to be, and those who move here under this illusion that's "it's so cheap to live out there, who cares if most jobs pay under $10 an hour" are in for a rude awakening. Companies in Phoenix are exploiting the business and tax friendly nature of this state. Whether I'm employed or not, I look at the employment ads regularly and in the past 10 years in Phoenix, wages for most middle and lower income jobs have remained stagnant and in some cases have declined, while inflation and the cost of living continue to soar. Furthermore, because the Phoenix metro area is so crime ridden, living in a safe neighborhood, requires a rent that's on par with a similar safe neighorhood in San Diego or Orange Counties. In other words, in order to escape crime and unsavory people in this town, you have to rent in an upper class area, whereas in CA, you can feel safe in a middle class neighborhood because the crime rate is a lot lower. Check city-data.com for statistics and they will surprise you.
I think workers in this state should start boycotts and ingenious forms or law-abiding protests, info campaigns etc to tell companies that you can't live on less than $12 an hour here in metro Phoenix and that given the working conditions most employers in the valley offer and the cost of living, the new floor for most semi-skilled work should be $15 an hour. Tell CEO's they will reclaim any loss in profit by having a more happy, healthy and productive workforce, which will raise efficiency and negate any profit loss. I think it's time we start to change Arizona's reputation as a low wage state. Imagine if hundreds of thousands of people made a small sacrifice and didn't attend work for a couple days to send a message to employers about wage exploitation. What if tend of thousands of college students decided they weren't going to enroll in college because they don't see a return on their tuition and time investment, since most non engineering college grads in this town probably make less than $15 an hour. Tell employers to start rewarding a college degree since roughly only 25% of adults in the country posess one. Let's start valuing education and W2 work in this state. Let's start demanding that Phoenix metro area employers raise wages!!

I've always wondered why exactly AZ can't command decent wages, but I guess Ponderosa is right... as long as we accept them that's how it's going to be... Perhaps being "at will" state is a good reason, too.

History of At-Will Employment Law in the USA

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by sierraAZ

I've always wondered why exactly AZ can't command decent wages, but I guess Ponderosa is right... as long as we accept them that's how it's going to be... Perhaps being "at will" state is a good reason, too.

History of At-Will Employment Law in the USA

I don't know that they are all that bad here. I spent a lot of my career with an international engineering firm. Our salaries in Phoenix were pretty much the same as in the other offices except for some really wild markets like the Bay area. But they always had trouble recruiting there while here in Phoenix we had our pick of applicants to chose from for many positions. People who left usually did so for better professional development opportunities or promotion. I rarely heard much grousing about salaries, at least from engineers.

[Greatday]

Originally Posted by sierraAZ

I've always wondered why exactly AZ can't command decent wages,

AZ does have "decent" wages -

And, as for "at will" - the correct term is "right to work state" - a good thing

[Solere]

I have a Bachelors Degree in Economics and it's difficult to find a job that pays over $30,000 a year in this town. There aren't many non engineering/techinical college degree jobs in metro Phoenix first of all and secondly, those that say college degree preferred only offer $12hr. I find it hard to believe that pizza delivery and cashier work pay higher. It's time to change the call center dominated economy of Phoenix.

[Greatday]

Originally Posted by Happs

I have a Bachelors Degree in Economics and it's difficult to find a job that pays over $30,000 a year in this town. There aren't many non engineering/techinical college degree jobs in metro Phoenix first of all and secondly, those that say college degree preferred only offer $12hr. I find it hard to believe that pizza delivery and cashier work pay higher. It's time to change the call center dominated economy of Phoenix.

IMO, you are definitely not out looking or, perhaps there simply is not a market of someone with a BA in Econ in Phoenix -

And, I don't equate Boeing, Intel, GTE, Allied Steel, Arizona State Univ, UOP, etc as "call center" jobs -

Then, there are the government jobs - Cities (Phoenix, Tempe, Mesa, Glendale, Gilbert etc) County (Maricopa, Pinal), State -

And with an unemployment rate of less than 3% and proven wage scales much higher than you state, perhaps you are simply not looking in the right place

[sierraAZ]

Originally Posted by Greatday

AZ does have "decent" wages -

And, as for "at will" - the correct term is "right to work state" - a good thing

Yeah, this is another term for it. Is that what makes a difference?

[artvandelay]

I agree with the posters. It's not enough to have a college degree, which is the equivalent of a HS diploma 30 years ago. It has to be a targeted college degree, with a plan to enter a specific arena.

Competition is tougher everyday, and globalization is a fact of life. I got a BBA in marketing, and since I wasn't good at sales, found that I was training for jobs that didn't exist at entry-level. So I was forced to shift gears a bit and start a technical career with a minor marketing emphasis. And even with that, I had to leave Michigan for Chicago. If I had it to do over, I would have devised a better plan for my college focus. Business degrees just don't mean much anymore.

Keep your spirits up. Getting started is the hardest part. It took me 3 years of scraping by before my situation began improvong steadily. It's all about what you bring to the table, and you may have to demonstrate that for a few years in a lower-paying environment.

[Greatday]

Originally Posted by sierraAZ

Yeah, this is another term for it. Is that what makes a difference?

Actually, "right to work" means you cannot be compelled to belong to a union in order to work on a job -