Opinion: You deserve to be paid more
Across Cache Valley and across the nation, it seems as though people aren’t working. But that is not because they don’t want to.
Signs on Krispy Kreme, McDonald’s, Wendy’s and many more establishments apologize for any inconvenience because they are short-staffed. Many signs even address the “labor shortage” and how some people just don’t want to work.
At Firehouse Pizzeria on 682 S Main Street, a sign on their front door reads: “We apologize for any inconvenience because we are short-staffed. You are free to put your complaints on the bottom of your job application.”
How do we solve this? How are we able to eliminate this labor shortage? Most people assume this is a result of the pandemic, and people are just used to not working or living off unemployment. While this may be part of the truth, there is one underlying problem that is the true culprit.
No one is getting paid enough.
Believe it or not, Utah’s current minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. The national average is around $10.10, though the federal minimum wage is also at $7.25. This is absolutely not enough to live off of. While close to zero employers are offering $7.25, most of them think that if it is above that number then it is a great offer. That is not true.
The cost of living is skyrocketing right now. We all know the price tag of a house is absurdly high, to the point where starter homes are well over half a million dollars at this point. To clarify, I am not saying that we should be able to purchase houses in cash with our minimum wage income, but the price of a home is often used to gauge where the economy is at and where the price of living is.
This movement (more of a label) of a labor shortage started around when the pandemic was near its peak in summer 2020. While maybe at the start of the pandemic there was a true labor shortage, (because of the obvious) it has since become much more than that.
The title of “labor shortage” was started by the media and corporate companies to try and excuse the fact that they were not paying enough. From this, more proactive movements have started to revolt (peacefully) against the workforce and their companies.
From the labor unions created at multiple Starbucks across the country, to a whole community of people online under the title on Reddit called r/antiwork, there has been some real change.
But not enough.
R/antiwork is a community where they believe “unemployment for all, not just the rich!” That does not mean that they believe everyone should not work and still receive payment. They, including me and many others, believe that the normal work environment has become unacceptable and almost intolerable compared to what they are being paid.
One of the top posts talks about how their grandmother said she understood the plight of underpayment because when she started working, she was making $7 per hour — an equivalent of $19 per hour in that time. “They don’t know,” the caption reads.
Many jobs available now are making changes in their pay and benefits, which is great. Both Walmarts in Cache Valley have a starting pay of $18.50 per hour. But that is more than your average teacher or nurse with a college degree.
If a change is to be made, it needs to start with the payment of your workers. The pandemic taught us many things, but one of the most important things we learned is that we can make just as much money, (and more!) working from home and doing less work. We need to call on all companies to adjust their pay and the environments that they create in the office. But that is a different story.
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Kaden Schipaanboord is studying journalism at Utah State. He has a passion for movies and loves anything outdoors.
—A02331363@usu.edu