anon_8675309 comments on Where *does* the money come from?

Work Reform

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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 3 years ago

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[–] anon_8675309@lemmy.world 8 points 7 months ago* (1 child)

They have a fiduciary responsibility to the corporation and the shareholders. Increasing salaries to retain talent is part of this responsibility. However it is common for CEOs to mostly focus only on shareholders - mostly because their income mostly comes from shares.

This is why you always hear “they have a fiduciary responsibility to the shareholders “ and nothing else. It greatly lines their own pockets to perpetuate this.

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[–] ALoafOfBread@lemmy.ml 3 points 7 months ago

It also depends on the state the company is incorporated in, but yeah that's true.

And it is a duty to the corporation (legal entity), notably not to the workers themselves; so while the interests of workers and the corporation may align sometimes - you don't have to do what's best for the workers if it isn't best for the company.

You still need to operate lawfully, and you can't pay so little that you can't hire/retain anyone, and you need to pay enough that you can hire people skilled enough to do the job, but you need to pay (ideally) only that amount and no more. Anything else takes away from profits and, you could say, makes the company less likely to succeed - if the company doesn't succeed, then no one would have jobs. Or so they'd argue.

The same as for goods, the price of labor is treated by employers as "what the market will bear". For goods, that means higher prices, for labor it means lower prices.

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