this post was submitted on 24 Jul 2025
131 points (100.0% liked)
Work Reform
13132 readers
6 users here now
A place to discuss positive changes that can make work more equitable, and to vent about current practices. We are NOT against work; we just want the fruits of our labor to be recognized better.
Our Philosophies:
- All workers must be paid a living wage for their labor.
- Income inequality is the main cause of lower living standards.
- Workers must join together and fight back for what is rightfully theirs.
- We must not be divided and conquered. Workers gain the most when they focus on unifying issues.
Our Goals
- Higher wages for underpaid workers.
- Better worker representation, including but not limited to unions.
- Better and fewer working hours.
- Stimulating a massive wave of worker organizing in the United States and beyond.
- Organizing and supporting political causes and campaigns that put workers first.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
In highschool, I did 12/5 noon-midnight for 2 summers at a corrugated plastic pipe factory.
It was grueling and hot and soul-crushingly monotonous. Have you ever listened to commercial top 40 radio for 12 hours next to >200F(100C) equipment? If I never hear Sting's Desert Rose again, it will still be too soon. Or smell Dale's chain-smoked vantage cigarettes (3.5 packs a shift, we made sure the fan was always in his direction).
The output was steady, so it was also punishing to human events like hunger or toilet breaks.
I can't imagine doing it 6 days. As it was, I never saw friends, barely held a relationship, etc.
You were in a corrugated plastic pipe factory and the cigarettes were an issue? Damn. You would think the VOC off-gassing from hot plastic would break you first...
Yeah, I can still smell the place in my memory. Proustian.
I mostly worked on the "highway" line. 12 inch diameter by 10ft lengths, with drilled holes, wrapped with a fiberglass filter and packed in a bag. It was a 2 person task that has probably been more automated now. Those Vantage cigarettes man, they were really gross (and cheap) and he never took a step without one in his mouth. Lit one from the other, burning 2 at once, etc. You know, I'm probably the same age he was now.
The fun part was watching the 4ft diameter double-wall line go at the same time. That shit failed about 50% of the time so we were always cutting it up on the giant bandsaw to feed into the industrial grinder.
Ah, and that reminds me of working the coil lines. Giant bails of 3, 4, 6in. When we'd get bad runs, we'd splice them out, then feed the sometimes 50+ foot length into the grinder and run the fuck away because the other end would whip around. Workplace safety and all.
Can't believe my parents thought that was a good way to spend my summers. I'm sure they thought it would pay for college like their summer jobs did. All for about $3/hr over minimum wage. At least I got overtime too. Lifers like Dale (or was it Dan) had worked themselves up to a bit over triple minimum wage, or $16/hr. Lol, what benefits? This was a Christian Reformed (Calvinist) run business.