Is the OP not obvious sarcasm? In what world is packing boxes skilled labour when flipping burgers isn't?
this post was submitted on 29 Jul 2023
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Antiwork
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I don't think it's too unusual for people to think of their own jobs as super important and complicated and everything else is just simple shit in comparison. Watching someone do something they are trained at (because they do it day-in-day-out) often looks simple ... until the moment you try it yourself and realize the amount of concentration you suddenly need and the many questions that pop up for details you didn't even notice before.
It's a form of short-sightedness and/or lack of experience. But not uncommon.
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It's either joke or astroturf attempt to divide.
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"Skilled labor" lmao.
Beat me to it, that's like saying my washing dishes and talking to old people for a living is skilled labor
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Packing a box is skilled labor?
Technically neither are since they don't require a recognised qualification to be eligible to apply.
I mean... Just as logically though, they both are... Any shit takes practice to get good at really.
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All labour is skilled labor. Unskilled labour was created by capitalists as a flimsy justification for paying people unlivable wages. ANY labour deserves a livable wage. Needing a second job is an injustice.
Now that being said, packing boxes for Amazon is 100% unskilled labour. A machine spits out the box template sheet with creases where the cardboard sheet should be folded to turn it into a box within seconds. Another machine prints the receipt that goes inside, and Another machine spits out an appropriate amount of packing to make sure the product stays in place inside the box. Another machine spits out a calculated amount of tape. Another machine spits out the info sticker that needs to be stuck on the outside. Does this need a lot of skill or training? I don't think so, no.
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People have been taught to punch down, when they should be punching up.
Does packing boxes really count as skilled labor? I would have assumed it would be unskilled labor just like the burger flipper.
As a former warehouse worker and shipping clerk, it is 100% unskilled labor. We would sometimes hire temp workers for really busy periods, and it would take about 30 minutes to train them.
Listen bud. Labor is labor. All of it takes some skill. You still had to "train" or teach a skill to the one performing the labor.
Yeah, and as someone who works in QA for a carrier repacking some of those boxes I can tell. Shippers really don't seem to care that their packages don't even make it to the shipping phase, let alone through our damn building.
That's the big lie the right wants you to believe; there's no such thing as unskilled labor. You have to learn every job you start. Flipping burgers, packing boxes, cleaning, washing dishes, etc all have a learning curve. There is no job you can walk in off the street and start doing without previous knowledge.
The most “unskilled” people I have met have been white collar yuppies. This whole “skilled” and “unskilled” terminology is a scam
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I like where he draws the line on what skilled labor is.
Yeah, why the heck would packing boxes be more skilled than cooking? I view them pretty comparable in my mind. Though cooking is one where if you do it wrong, people can get sick or die.
And with all due respect to Amazon employees, I've seen firsthand the packaging Amazon does. They love to use hilariously oversized boxes for a single item and also love to ship multiple items I bought in separate boxes despite them being shipped and arriving at the same time. They're not exactly master packagers.
I think he meant unskilled labor but doesn't know it. Mindless labor. Still labor. And nobody deserves 150k/m off the backs of unskilled labor, that's just slave wages with inflation.
i think with the box sizes they don't pick it but the system does.
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skilled labor is capitalist propaganda to keep wages low
The reason this person is only making $16 dollars an hour is because they …. Checks notes
Think packing boxes is ‘skilled labor’
I don't care what they think is skilled or unskilled. Everyone who does honest work deserves a living wage.
Every job can be done well or badly.
You think 2/3 of the country get paid shit because they're bad at their jobs?
No I mean every job requires skill and therefore they're skilled labor.
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Everyone working a job full time deserves a living wage. That payment needs to be equivalent to whatever the cost of living is in their area.
It's no secret that wages have been stagnating and the top level employees, investors, and CEOs have been benefiting.
We really need wealth equally, or at least something more equal than we have now.
This whole living wage thing is starting to sound communist. Maybe instead we'd better skip the fuss and just give everyone the food, shelter, clothing, and base amenities needed to survive as a fundamental human right, and not worry about payment. That'll show those fucking lefties all obsessed with minimum wage increases!
Also, "skilled labour"?
Amazon treat warehouse staff like shit specifically because you ain't. You will be replaced in a second.
Minimum wage is what most people will be on unless they've got something to offer other than desperation to survive.
All these people deserve to make more money.
AND, at the same time
Packing boxes is not skilled labor. It's not like that shit requires two years of trade school.
Look, despite all the data to the contrary, civilization is best suited to a few very rich people and the unequal distribution of wealth.
Even better if the workers fight each other.
/s
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Why does everybody need to keep checking their notes?
Checks notes... We don't know.
I can’t read anything after I see “checks notes” or “chefs kiss” anymore.
Fr tho, Jeffry has $150b in net worth at 59 yo. 150b/59years/12months/4weeks/5workdays/8hours = $1,324,152.54/hour
Keep in mind, that’s assuming he worked every workday since he was born. Absolutely ridiculous.
@BarterClub That person should be mad that Amazon pays so little, not that another worker gets the same as them. This is one of the huge problems in the U.S., the lack of worker solidarity.
Amazon *CAN* pay more for example, but chooses not to, so Bezos, etc. can make more money for themselves.
Isn't this the american way? as long as someone is doing worse, then you're doing better? If a guyu fliping burgers makes more than you, go flip burgers!
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