Quote:
Originally Posted by BWinmill
I have mixed feelings on statements like that, since the "having a job" line is often used to justify a race to the bottom. People should be able to find work that offers a living wage and where the employer treats them as human.
That being said, I've also encountered many people who seem to want too much out of their work. A living wage is just that: you can afford to live. Likewise, being treated as human also means that you are behaving human. That includes things like earning respect from your employer by respecting your employer and exhibiting responsibility. In other words, you do your job efficiently rather than goofing off.
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I agree. A living wage is just that and you do have to do things to work your way up. If you are in a situation where you are a temp, keep that job to pay the bills but continue to look for other work where you are not a temp. If you don't have the necessary skills to do so, then find a way to get those skills.
The vast majority of people who are working these type of jobs at Amazon are folks who are not well educated and are lacking skills for better paying positions. Or they are folks who lost jobs in fields that have left the US or Europe for monetary reason (manufacturing/textille) or because the jobs they work are not available because they resource dried up (mining). They need to retrain themselves so they can move into new jobs that pay better. Or they are folks who are better educated but in fields that do not have many positions open and have not been creative enough in marketing their philosophy degree.
Amazon does hire some of the temp workers, just not more then they feel that they need. The rest they hire as temps to cover the busy season. Amazon the company cannot afford to keep the numbers needed during Christmas all year round. If they did keep those numbers, we would be complaining that very few of the employees work full time hours and are not eligible for benefits.
If you are the temp and do not stand out enough to get a full time position when one opens up, get your butt to school and get the skills needed to fill positions in need, like nursing. Not everyone is cut out to be a nurse, but there are other industries with openings, you need to have the right skills and degree.
These folks have a choice. They can work for Amazon as temps, they can move someplace that need miners, they can retrain themselves and get a job in a different field, or they can live on the dole.
I read report after report in the US about people struggling to live on wages from a fast food joint or two. They are working their butts off and barely making the ends meet. I feel bad for these people, I would not want to live that life. I also note that most of them a high school drop outs. As much as it would suck, find the time to take GED courses online or at the local school and get your GED. Go to classes at a community college that will get you an Associates that will get you a better job. I know it is hard. But four years of pain will probably lead to working one job that pays much better, provides benefits, and gives you more time at home. Demonstrate to your kids why education is important and be invovled so that they stay in school.
A high school degree is not a guarentee of an above minimum wage job but you have a better chance at one with it. An Associates degree is not a guarentee of an above minimum wage job but you have a better chance then you do with just a high school degree or GED. I could go on, but you get the picture.
People have done it in the past, you can do it now. It is hard but it can happen.
So feel free to blame Amazon but the reality is if the people stuck in this loop want things to change, they will have to do something proactive. FOr most people those steps will pay off. Not for all but for most. I have a feeling that it is easier to take those steps in the UK then it is in the US.
So I feel bad for them but I will do my best to model a different path for my son. Stay in school, get your degree, go to college of some sort and get your degree (I turned a Poli Sci degree into good work so Social Sciences don't have to be sucky in the job market). It will be his choice to stay in school and go to college (I had a brother drop out and go back five years later because he was stuck in low paying jobs and not happy).