They keep raising prices, stating that it’s due to inflation, but then they keep having record profits.
Meanwhile, the average American can barely afford rent or food nowadays.
What are we to do? Vote? I have been but that doesn’t seem to do much since I’m just voting for a representative that makes the actual decisions.
Join a union, demand at minimum an inflation matching raise.
Asking will do nothing if they are not giving you a raise he default.
While it’s great to have a union or a inflation based raise, you still need to ask for a raise.
Take a good look at your contract. Are you doing more than it describes and still getting paid what it does describe? Then it’s time for a new contract. Remember, you can have a new contract done at your current job or you can have a new contract done at a new job. If your current manager does not want to review it, then you can do it elsewhere and he will still have to make a new contract for whoever takes your job after you quit. Because of this, it should be in everyones interest that your contract is reviewed.
you obviously haven’t gotten how unions work yet.
YOU don’t ask for a raise, you ALL ask for a raise, you alone need money to eat, have a house, and basically survive, the business will not die without your specific labor, unlike you.
The Union is the labor, without what the business WILL die, leveling the playing feild a bit.
I’m a union representative. I still ask for raises.
The union only negotiate the minimum wage. I don’t work for minimum wage.
The union negotiated for my right to demand an annual review. This right is worth more than an automatic inflation based raise.
most people with serious economic issues work minimum
The way out of minimum wage jobs is education. A union agreement also often contains rights to education, so that f.i. a retail worker can be educated into other specialized tasks and use that to demand a higher pay or seek other opportunities.
It’s always uphill encouraging people to do so though…
I’ll continue fighting for higher minimum wages, but I have to say that I also meet a lot of people who have no interest in taking advantage of the opportunities that could get them off minimum wage. Minimum wage is maximum wage if you don’t do anything yourself. Anyone who thinks they’re worth more than minimum needs to get that on paper and shove that paper in their bosses face and ask for a raise or quit the dead end job.