When I was at job corps I was talking to an RA and talking about career goals, life goals, picking each others brains. I was bored and he's pretty knowledgeable he's one of those 60 yr Olds with a young soul but still very old school .
He was bragging about how he's worked 2 or 3 jobs since college and how the current Gen should be greatful for all the opportunities they have to make money. I was like “and you're proud of that?” I explained that I plan to get paid at 22$ hrly but that's still below what I deserve and need. If I have to work multiple jobs to make ends meet my bosses better treat me well or I'll quit, do a half assed job etc. , he got all uppity about how that's so disrespectful to my employer and I should be kind to them because things are rough rn. But I retorted that if they're not paying me enough to be loyal to them they've already disrespected me by underpaying me and if they're gonna be shitty on top of it they're gonna get a disrespectful, shitty employee. If they wanted a proper employee pay me right and treat me right. I did not wake up and decide to work my life away as a goal. I just want to pay my debt get a few repairs for my car and maybe buy a house and feed myself.
He started to get flustered about how if it weren't for his extra jobs he wouldn't have any of those things and it's unfair to think that doing it that way is wrong. I told him he shouldn't have to work like that to make ends meet. And talked to him about how the pay gap effects everything, we talked about raised wages =/= raised everything else, I made the point that everything went up regardless of raised wages where are the funds going , not the employees. That if employers actually respected him and liked his work they'd pay him accordingly, his work isn't worthless, you don't go to work to WORK, you work to make money to live and if you can't live off the work you do why do it?
He got upset but understood what I meant. I told him how I watched my mom work her life away and live off welfare and still struggled. I don't ever want to be that way I don't want to wake up at 40 and my body is broken because of a job that could barely pay my bills that I'll probably never retire from and die at. I want to be able to have time for myself and enjoy the hard work I put in by being able to vacation, eat and furnish my life as I want. I want to love my life and not resent that I spent 1000% of my time making someone else millions and barely being able to scrape by myself. I explained that he shouldn't have to do the same and deserves to rest and make more money than he is.
I ended up going to bed shortly after because it was 1am. We were talking for like 4 hrs. This was like 2 year's ago.
Come to find out he tried to quit shortly after I graduated and they promoted him and he tried to quit his other job and they gave him a raise. He messaged me on FB to low key brag because he makes more money and only works monday – thursday now. He's still working 2 jobs but has more time off so he's getting in rest and planning on traveling soon with the extra income. But nice to know he kind of listened 🤣