Why we need to remind the bosses who’s boss

…and how to do so

Even before the pandemic, things were bad for American workers. According to a 2017 CareerBuilder report, 78% of US workers were already living paycheck-to-paycheck, and more than a quarter of workers were unable to set aside any savings. United for ALICE is an organization that studies “financial hardship across the United States,” and their national overview based on a 3-year average between 2014 and 2017 paints a disturbing picture of how many people in the US were already unable to support their families, even with jobs.

America has never really been true to its promise of equality, but there was a time when workers earned a better relative wage. The Economic Policy Institute published a handy-yet-depressing article in 2015 called “Wage Stagnation in Nine Charts,” showing how this situation has worsened since the 1970’s. Though there are many factors to consider here, it is worth noting that this coincides with the decline of unionization.

One example chart from the linked article: Wage Stagnation in Nine Charts

I don’t intend to go into a history of the labor movement here, but suffice it to say that history suggests things go better for workers when they organize. Unions are just one way of accomplishing this. It can be more difficult, but you can also organize your coworkers without a union.