in response to charges that workers can't make ends meet, upmc opens employee food pantry (unemployment rate, school)

[SteelCityRising]

I was going to chime in to agree that alleghenyangel's hourly wage figure for Wal-Mart managers seemed to be grossly understated. I know when I worked at Lowe's back in 2008 my department manager let it leak to me that he made $17/hr. I know our assistant managers and main store manager all made considerably more than that. I always wonder sometimes if I shouldn't have just stayed in the position I was in after college since that department manager's position would have been mine for the taking had I not moved to DC after college (sigh).

[Hopes]

My inlaw makes way more than double that as a department manager at Walmart.

[Clint.]

Originally Posted by Hopes

I've seen this happen. The company went out of business eventually.

It was a thought experiment to show that the market does not necessarily determine a magically precise wage based on what the market will truly bear. I would guess the company you're familiar with (if their reduced compensation was not implemented so insidiously...which would be important) did it not to drive up already handsome profits, but because they were already struggling to get by, or was not a very large or successful business and may have had some serious problems already. I doubt UPMC, Wal Mart, Verizon, Exxon, or GE, etc. would go out of business if, compared to overall profitability, they froze or slightly reduced wages and/or benefits every year for a designated portion of their workforce. If it became fashionable in the larger market, then wages would continue to be reduced and workers, needing to work, would accept those terms. And people could still say with a straight face "those are the terms of employment accepted by the worker - she shouldn't complain".

It's actually not really a thought experiment now that I think about it, but it's what has actually been happening for the past 35 years or so - real income among the lowest and middle income earners has stagnated or been reduced, and income for the top percent has increased. Yet, people continue to take the same jobs that have always been around (and new ones) even though the wages have not increased in tandem with the larger growth of the economy.

[hnsq]

Originally Posted by Hopes

I was thinking the same thing! Next, the company store!


7 or 8 years ago is a little unrealistic. After her first or second year there, she may have thought that she would have salary increases and advancement. It's also very possible that she was surviving the first 7 years but the cost of living increases have taken a toll on her budget over the past two years. We don't know how old she is either. She might have lived with her parents for many of those years. She might have been married and her job was a second income that she quickly learned she couldn't survive on after divorce. She might have since had children. As you can see, I can think of many reasons why this person could have stayed there for 9 years with only recently becoming unhappy with her pay situation.

If I was making $10/hr, I would view that as a temporary thing until I could make a better wage. If I didn't see promise of a raise/promotion within the first year, I would have begun looking for other work. In a way, I DO see this as her fault. Maybe not everyone thinks like me, but personally, I look for new jobs once/month or so just to make sure I am doing the best I can.

[SammyKhalifa]

Originally Posted by hnsq

If I was making $10/hr, I would view that as a temporary thing until I could make a better wage. If I didn't see promise of a raise/promotion within the first year, I would have begun looking for other work. In a way, I DO see this as her fault. Maybe not everyone thinks like me, but personally, I look for new jobs once/month or so just to make sure I am doing the best I can.

But I'd rather not have jobhoppers dealing with health care. Them having competent happy employees is WAY more important to me than having the hospitals purchase more buildings.

[hnsq]

Originally Posted by SammyKhalifa

But I'd rather not have jobhoppers dealing with health care. Them having competent happy employees is WAY more important to me than having the hospitals purchase more buildings.

Oh, I agree. The ideal would be for UPMC to treat employees better. That being said, putting myself in the shoes of someone making $10/hr with no hope of a raise or promotion, I would have moved on a long, long time ago.

[SammyKhalifa]

Originally Posted by hnsq

Oh, I agree. The ideal would be for UPMC to treat employees better. That being said, putting myself in the shoes of someone making $10/hr with no hope of a raise or promotion, I would have moved on a long, long time ago.

Yeah, I don't know what she's qualified to move on to, but still.

[UKyank]

I would just like to know what this 'living wage' term that keeps being thrown around translates to in an actual starting pay that a company should pay someone in an entry level, low skill position since living wage is wholly dependent on an individuals specific life situation.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by hnsq

Oh, I agree. The ideal would be for UPMC to treat employees better. That being said, putting myself in the shoes of someone making $10/hr with no hope of a raise or promotion, I would have moved on a long, long time ago.

What many people are missing is that this woman's situation is just one of hundreds of people employed by UPMC, maybe even thousands.

[hnsq]

Originally Posted by Hopes

What many people are missing is that this woman's situation is just one of hundreds of people employed by UPMC, maybe even thousands.

We aren't missing that fact. If the hundreds of people who feel they are underpaid quit UPMC, then UPMC will have to raise wages to attract people back to it. The fact that people are willing to work for that wage for years without looking for another job is an indicator to me that it might actually be a fair wage.

Even if you have to change careers, nine years is more than enough time to learn a few new skills.