Wait, what? That's not wage theft at all. It's fucked up and something we need to fix, but wage theft is a different thing entirely
this post was submitted on 01 Sep 2024
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I feel like this is among the loosest definitions of it. Like, it fits the spirit of it and should be considered as a type of wage theft but it’s bottom of the list after things like not paying people what they’re literally contractually obligated to recieve.
"at all" seems a bit far fetched
I am amazed at how many people think that "being paid what you are contractually owed" and "being paid what you deserve" are entirely different. I feel like in many instances even if there is breach of contractual obligations (such as not paying at all or enough for overtime etc), the amount of money employers steal by not paying people what they deserve (based on profits and what not) is orders of magnitude higher than what they fail to pay contractually.
I am amazed at how many people think that "being paid what you are contractually owed" and "being paid what you deserve" are entirely different
...what? Yes, the writing on the contract is different from whatever set of ethics you happen to ascribe to. You can make philosophical arguments that they should be the same, but expressing disbelief at two clearly different things being different is... well, it's insane.
If you want to discuss definition in the formal sense, it suffices to say "that is not the definition of wage theft here it is bla bla". Instead when you say "Wait, what? they are entirely different you insane lunatic" most reasonable people will think that you are completely against even using the two concepts in the same sentence. As an example someone says "Donald Trump is a champion of democracy" and I say "Wait, what? Are you insane? Donald trump and democracy are entirely unrelated".
"Wait, what? they are entirely different you insane lunatic"
You used quotes but somehow avoided quoting anyone 🤔 odd
Someone just posted this like a week ago, that's not what wage theft is and deliberately misusing terms like that makes us look bad. Stop. You aren't helping.
~~Upvoted you, downvoted the post, because, while this is a huge problem, it's not wage theft.~~
Just saw the community. Carry on.
That's not wage left, that's capitalism.
By equivocating the 2 you dilute the meaning of wage theft.
No the fuck it fucking isn’t.
True but...
What is it called when one company buys all the other ones & charges extortionate prices? Maybe with a sprinkle of selling lots of brands with the same crap inside?
I can only think of "late stage capitalism" but there must be a more technically correct name for it.
Edit: how can I forget the word monopoly? What is wrong with me? ?
Might as well redefine wage theft to "not paying me what I think I'm worth" if we're gonna go this far away from the typical definition.
I think it's usually along the lines of "not paying owed wages/paying below minimum wage", most places you can look it up. Aka. literally paying less than what's legal or agreed upon.
Alternatively, Big Bird could go with the establishment definition of wage theft and mention it's the largest form of theft.
As Adam Smith observed, the profits of stock are inversely proportional to the wages of labor. When capitalists are profiting, you're suffering.
The US was able to see capitalists profit and workers have high wages when they had abundant access to stolen resources from the Native Americans. When there are vast opportunities, everyone can win. After that expansion period ends, the capitalists and workers compete for scarce power in society.
Industrialization and technological advancements are similarly able to realize benefits for all, but that boon will always end. Like how ecoli bacteria can only replicate exponentially for brief periods, spending most of their existence in relative starvation, we can't all benefit.
The stock market booming is antithetical to worker wellbeing without corresponding leaps forward in our use of resources, or by taking resources from elsewhere. Stocks going up is bad unless it can be justified.
When a worker is receiving less then what they're worth it's theft
While I don't disagree with it being theft, it's not wage theft
They're different kinds of theft
All profit is stolen wages.
True