Work Reform

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A place to discuss positive changes that can make work more equitable, and to vent about current practices. We are NOT against work; we just want the fruits of our labor to be recognized better.

Our Philosophies:

All workers must be paid a living wage for their labor.
Income inequality is the main cause of lower living standards.
Workers must join together and fight back for what is rightfully theirs.
We must not be divided and conquered. Workers gain the most when they focus on unifying issues.

Our Goals

Higher wages for underpaid workers.
Better worker representation, including but not limited to unions.
Better and fewer working hours.
Stimulating a massive wave of worker organizing in the United States and beyond.
Organizing and supporting political causes and campaigns that put workers first.

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS

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I don't know what part of this headline depresses me the most: "52-year-old worked 90-hour weeks in an oil refinery to save money for his business—now he's worth $9.5 billion" (www.cnbc.com)

submitted 1 month ago by FlyingSquid@lemmy.world to c/workreform@lemmy.world

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The 90-hour weeks part?
The fact that he was doing it for a fossil fuel company?
The fact that he's worth fucking $9.5 billion?

Also, not in the headline, but-

The fact that he did it back in the 90s when you could actually successfully open a small business and make money from it as if it's relevant today?

The business is a franchise called Raising Caine's Chicken, which I've never had, but if you go by Yelp reviews, it's either the best restaurant that has ever existed or pretty mediocre.

Also, Wikipedia says very little about his early life, but apparently his parents could afford to send him to a private catholic school, so he didn't exactly grow up improverished.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Todd_Graves_(entrepreneur)

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[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Sure, but also think of all the horrible people throughout history that clawed their way to power and ruled both ruthlessly and successfully.

[–] AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I would blame that on outliers and survivorship bias. We don't exactly care about the 100,000's of years of relatively peaceful human history. There's a reason "may you live in interesting times," is a curse. We live in interesting times.

[–] catloaf@lemm.ee 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Peaceful relative to what? Historically, war and conflict has been the norm.

[–] AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world 0 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

Not really. If it were, we wouldn't have survived as a species. It's what we focus on, but it actually makes up a very small segment of the overall human experience.

[–] catloaf@lemm.ee 1 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

I disagree. Conflict is what has driven our development as a species. The first tools weren't for building, they were weapons. Even today, so much new scientific development happens as a result of war, especially in medicine.

[–] AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world 0 points 4 weeks ago

Tools predate humans..... The first tools weren't weapons. The first human tools weren't even weapons for internal conflict, they were for hyenas, since that seems to be what was predominantly hunting us at that point.