"Some would say the changes have simply aligned tech workers with the rest of corporate America, where employees are accustomed to fulfilling corporate priorities."
That's the ticket: "shut up and live like the rest of the peasants!" So long as this is what passes as solidarity in America we will continue to be treated like peasants.
HumblyTossed · 4h ago
Workers need to start taking control back. Work with elected leaders to make offering benefits illegal. Everyone gets X days off per year. Companies cannot hold workers hostage because of fear of losing Health Insurance.
The reason companies are able to treat workers like crap is we let them control TOO much of what they shouldn't have a say in to begin with.
UncleOxidant · 1h ago
> Work with elected leaders to make offering benefits illegal.
Somehow I feel like that could backfire and we'd end up with no health insurance benefits at all. The companies would love to stop paying for these benefits. We'd need to have universal healthcare in place before this in order to make it work.
ElfAwareness · 2h ago
It can be helpful to look into the history of employer-provided benefits, how they came to be and how they evolved.
One major emphasis on benefits took place after World War II. The federal government imposed wage freezes to deal with inflation then. Employers needed to offer something attractive so applicants would consider them. Since they couldn't compete on salaries, they competed on benefit offerings instead.
In the public sector, there's even more emphasis on benefits. Salaries typically are lower for government jobs. Making up for that is the line of how excellent their benefits are.
Yes, the whole notion of employer-provided health care insurance merits revisiting, especially when people don't stay with one employer for life any more. That said, one reason employer-provided insurance is considerably cheaper than individual health plans is because the risk is spread among a significantly large pool. That model would have to be revisited, and established firms and practitioners could be extremely resistant unless some other enticing arrangements are proposed.
That's the ticket: "shut up and live like the rest of the peasants!" So long as this is what passes as solidarity in America we will continue to be treated like peasants.
The reason companies are able to treat workers like crap is we let them control TOO much of what they shouldn't have a say in to begin with.
Somehow I feel like that could backfire and we'd end up with no health insurance benefits at all. The companies would love to stop paying for these benefits. We'd need to have universal healthcare in place before this in order to make it work.
One major emphasis on benefits took place after World War II. The federal government imposed wage freezes to deal with inflation then. Employers needed to offer something attractive so applicants would consider them. Since they couldn't compete on salaries, they competed on benefit offerings instead.
In the public sector, there's even more emphasis on benefits. Salaries typically are lower for government jobs. Making up for that is the line of how excellent their benefits are.
Yes, the whole notion of employer-provided health care insurance merits revisiting, especially when people don't stay with one employer for life any more. That said, one reason employer-provided insurance is considerably cheaper than individual health plans is because the risk is spread among a significantly large pool. That model would have to be revisited, and established firms and practitioners could be extremely resistant unless some other enticing arrangements are proposed.