this post was submitted on 30 Aug 2024
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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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I work at a factory with unionized workers. There are 3 workers in their 80s who say they wouldn't be able to live if they didn't come into work. They're all given light duties so it's more like adult daycare than working.
When I first got hired I was shocked to learn that our union contract has no retirement benefits. I asked our rep and he told me that years ago the workers voted to remove retirement benefits in favour of a higher base pay. Now we have old people daycare because nobody used that higher base pay to save for retirement. They just spent it. People really don't think about retirement until they want to retire.
I make good money, have a personal retirement account, and have a pension through my employer that will be vested in 10 years.
With inflation the way it is, I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to fully retire. Most of my family made it well into their 80s, and there’s no way I’d be able to afford 15 years of retirement, let alone retire early like I originally planned.
It’s not just about saving. It’s if you can even possible save enough to retire these days. Unless you’re making truckloads of cash and are willing to live like a hermit for decades, it’s getting increasingly difficult to keep your head above water.
I remember my first year in the Navy (2013ish) we had to have one of those financial planning briefings. I distinctly remember them mentioning that the average American needs $1 million to retire comfortably, assuming their other assets are paid off by the time they retire (house, car, etc). And I remember that number because a friend of mine said the same thing to me once when we were in high school.
I think it was a couple years ago, someone (some talking head on a news site) was talking about how the average American needs about $2 million in their retirement account to retire comfortably now, and that's the number you should aim for...
So the amount of money you need to retire comfortably doubled in 10 years, but wages are still stagnant as they are? Yeah, I've told my dad, unless some miracle happens, I will never be able to retire. I don't even have health insurance, and I make $18/hr... With rent/mortgage, food, clothing, vehicle, etc expenses climbing and wages continuing to be stagnant despite this "amazing" economy I keep hearing about, where am I supposed to find money to put away for down the road? I'm one accident away from bankruptcy.
For me, personally, it's why I think "no one wants to work anymore," what is the point when we can't get ahead? Why even bother when we're going to be doing this into our 80s while being told we should be grateful by people who think a day of work is expensive lunches at the country club followed by a round of golf, and a blowie from their secretary?
Exactly.
I was shooting to have 1.5 million in investments, now I’m gonna need 2, which might be doable. But I’m also thinking that if it doubled before, it’s gonna double again, and 4 million invested is mathematically impossible for me to do, barring winning the lottery or making and selling a profitable company.
That’s why people are doing the bare minimum more often. If I’m never gonna get more than a week off of work every year for the rest of my natural life, what’s the motivation to do anything but the minimum.