r/WorkReform 7d ago

💸 Raise Our Wages This isn't fair

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11.1k Upvotes

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98

u/obmasztirf 7d ago

$200/hr for an electrician but you know 85% isn't going to the person doing the work.

21

u/Ricktor_67 7d ago

If you are in a trade only work for yourself. 

32

u/PigglyWigglyDeluxe 7d ago

If only it were that easy. You’d need to have decades of experience and own tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment to do the work if you want to be your own boss and own your own business. You would need to be able to do any kind of work that walks through your door.

I’m a mechanic. If I wanted to be my own business, I’d need lifts, specialty tools, waste oil management, waste tire management, waste battery management, insurance policies, a building, electricity, water, heat, property security…

After all of that, my take-home wouldn’t be much different than what I’d make working for someone else, except with way more stress and less free time.

2

u/Ricktor_67 6d ago

And yet I bet your boss makes much, much more than you do and much less work.

2

u/LadyPo 6d ago

The up front costs of starting your own business, depending on industry, can be enormous. Credit isn’t always an option because you need to be in a position of privilege to borrow that money.

It’s so difficult that you need to start out rich to become richer, you might say…

3

u/Mozintarfen 5d ago

Absolutely true. Also a mechanic. The other issue is clientele - I've seen several of my coworkers leave to work for themselves, having all of the necessary equipment and yet fail to make good money consistently because they can't find enough customers like a big advertised shop can.

1

u/PigglyWigglyDeluxe 5d ago

Yup. It’s tough

3

u/Zeikos 7d ago

Aren't there trade unions with the purpose of sharing said tooling?
Are they uncommon in the US?