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submitted 1 month ago by Five to c/memes
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[-] sushibowl@feddit.nl 144 points 1 month ago

When the term "essential worker" was coined, it made many of the people it applied to feel flattered. They were considered essential! However this is a misunderstanding of what a capitalist is saying. The term "essential" doesn't actually refer to the worker. They consider the work essential. It is very important that those jobs are carried out. The worker that does it though is irrelevant, and considered fungible.

You know how corporations have a department called "Human Resources?" That's exactly the mindset. Your job is essential, but you are expendable.

[-] Zess@lemmy.world 15 points 1 month ago

Never heard anyone be flattered when called an essential employee. Mostly they just say "if I'm essential then pay me more."

[-] cobra89@beehaw.org 6 points 1 month ago

Exactly, those terms are not mutually exclusive to corporate bean counters.

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[-] dillekant 61 points 1 month ago

A recent Unlearning Economics Live video had Cahal mentioning that it was pretty easy to identify essential workers, and if that's the case we should earmark housing for those workers in the relevant areas. If it's been so easy to classify them, there should probably be other similar accomodations (eg tax breaks) from a payment perspective.

[-] melpomenesclevage@lemm.ee 15 points 1 month ago

Fuck earmark; appropriate from landlords; plenty of empty units.

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[-] dojan@lemmy.world 35 points 1 month ago

There is no such thing as unskilled labour.

[-] BradleyUffner@lemmy.world 55 points 1 month ago

Have you met any of my coworkers?

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[-] damnedfurry@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago

This is something only doofuses playing semantic games say.

"Unskilled labor" is a term with an established definition: it's work that you don't need special schooling or training beforehand to be qualified to be hired to do, and also generally means that someone who is hired to do it can be fully trained to do the work to a satisfactory level within a month.

[-] Serinus@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago

And you absolutely do get better at the job over time. A seasoned employee doing nearly anything is better at it if they've done it a few years.

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[-] MNByChoice@midwest.social 15 points 1 month ago

Easy enough. Set minimum wage for essential workers. (And raise minimum wage.) Declare a holiday for everyone for a month.

Everyone that works is essential.

[-] alvvayson@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 1 month ago

I like your way of thinking.

Actually, Unions tend to do something similar with overtime and weekend pay.

If the factory needs you at night or in the weekend, they gotta pay up.

[-] EmperorHenry@discuss.tchncs.de 7 points 1 month ago

it would be better to just raise the minimum wage to a living wage and then regulate housing prices. And then tie the minimum wage to the cost of living.

[-] EmperorHenry@discuss.tchncs.de 8 points 1 month ago

Billionaires are going straight to the boiler room of hell for the suffering they caused.

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[-] nucleative@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago

No, no, no, you misunderstood. Essential doesn't mean highly paid. They are the suckers who are left doing the dirty work that keeps high society moving but of course they'll get the lowest possible wage if they can be replaced easily.

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this post was submitted on 14 Apr 2024
1468 points (98.4% liked)

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