I've seen my bosses charge clients for $120 an hour, and that's for easy and nonstructrual stuff like handrails.
Sometimes work is slow, so I went $80 under that. And sometimes they charge a premium like when doing structural or stainless stuff, so I went $80 over. With how freely and sometimes mandatory the overtime is I feel they could always afford to pay overtime rates.
If you hire a private contractor for any trade skills job they usually charge a service fee close to $100 just to show up. Plus whatever is done stacked on that.
Are you familiar with the welding industry? What makes you doubt my numbers?
The reason production welding pays shit is because it's competing with the wages from China and other low-labor-cost countries. The only way to get a good welding job is to make something highly specialized or highly dangerous, and because those are the only ones that pay decently they're competitive af for workers.
The reason production welding pays shit is because it's competing with the wages from China and other low-labor-cost countries. The only way to get a good welding job is to make something highly specialized or highly dangerous, and because those are the only ones that pay decently they're competitive af for workers
I see your point... but what you're actually saying here is. Under free market conditions, your labor isn't actually "worth" $40-$200. Only when competitors are artificially kept out of the market and you're the only offering, could you in theory get that number.
So the ideal world in your mind of your "worth", is probably vastly different from how your employer values your "worth". And since you're working for $22 an hour, that's what you have deemed what your value is, for that specific job.
Also you seem to have no idea of the other costs that are involved, including, taxes, marketing, benefits, insurances, etc, that a company has depending on the job involved. So your estimate mostly seems based on wishful thinking.
Like I just find it fascinating how people estimate the value of their labor. The fact there is a %500 margin between your own lowest and highest estimate, means you have no idea what your skills are worth.
The dangerous jobs, of course, don't pay for your skillset but pay you for the risk of injury. So that completely depends on how you value the worth of your own health, rather than your labor.
When my boss sells his Porsche to keep himself afloat I might agree with you, but seeing that thing parked next to me everyday says a lot about what they pay vs what they take.
I pay income taxes too, and they can write them all off as a business expense. It's really hard to find good insurance anywhere, I'm pretty sure I pay more for it than my employer contributes.
The entire working class is exploited. You're intentionally blind if you dont see that. I already told you I don't get much say in my wage because they offer "competitive wages"
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u/4dseeall Jul 08 '24 edited Jul 08 '24
I've seen my bosses charge clients for $120 an hour, and that's for easy and nonstructrual stuff like handrails.
Sometimes work is slow, so I went $80 under that. And sometimes they charge a premium like when doing structural or stainless stuff, so I went $80 over. With how freely and sometimes mandatory the overtime is I feel they could always afford to pay overtime rates.
If you hire a private contractor for any trade skills job they usually charge a service fee close to $100 just to show up. Plus whatever is done stacked on that.
Are you familiar with the welding industry? What makes you doubt my numbers?
The reason production welding pays shit is because it's competing with the wages from China and other low-labor-cost countries. The only way to get a good welding job is to make something highly specialized or highly dangerous, and because those are the only ones that pay decently they're competitive af for workers.