Category: Antiwork

Hi all, so I browsed reddit a lot as a teenager. Thought I hated working, the rat race, and wanted something meaningful with a good work life balance. So I became a maths teachers. I studied pure mathematics (which I loved) and education. I've been teaching for 2 years now and I love my job since it's very fufilling. I work 6-7 hours a day and my job is fun. I get to play sports, go on camps, do fun experiments and clubs, teach a subject I love, and my classes are freaking awesome with amazing students. I thought I was out of the rat race as I don't do it for money but the pay is OK (I', guaranteed to make low 6 figures eventually), I am out of office politics since I don't need to negotiate pay and the staff are the best people I have ever worked…

As the title suggests, I got laid off Jan 27th from my first post grad job (21F). I started out at $13/hr and moved up to $17/hr. The two people hired shortly after me didn’t qualify for the raises in time so they’re still making less than what my ending hourly was. I saw a post today of the company celebrating their anniversary and had all my coworkers in the photo plus a new face. So, I’m willing to bet they laid me off to hire someone at my starting wage to save money since we had lost some clients once they realized quick just how much work I did within the company and had to replace me. They had me replaced within 3 weeks for that photo. And I’m still unemployed and no one wants to pay even $15/hr.

Companies that used to make huge profits used to give bonuses to their employees as thanks for their efforts. It seems most companies have just let that fall by the wayside. Record profits and since nobody is demanding them, why share with those profits with the people who helped you earn them?

Unions strike me as a rather passive body, which reacts against ill treatment of its members rather than proactively lashing out at errant employers. Strikes are slow to mobilize, and collective action is lethargic, given the reactive/passive nature of unions. This also makes unions susceptible to busting and attacks. I was thinking: what if we are able to get a large percentage of working class folks to sign up to a e.g. “Labour Collective”? This labour collective would act as a gatekeeper to labour that employers need. I.e. when a McDonalds is hiring, the labour collective will speak to that McDonalds branch, ask them how many people they need, and then fight for a higher wage outright, or deny labour disbursement outright to that McDonalds branch + blacklist that branch by attacking them on social media. Something like a middle-man recruitment agency, but acts on behalf of the labour class…

Background: Located in Texas. I work in a field that is incredibly corrupt and corporations generally just take advantage of kids with special needs for hefty insurance payouts. Like $100k+ is generated annually per kid regardless of whether progress is made or not. Despite the prevalence of really bad practices in the industry, my certification board requires that I provide 30 days' notice. I once got a slap on the wrist for refusing to participate in felony fraud despite submitting a literal binder of evidence. I was really transparent in my interview that I didn't want anything to do with fraud and cutting corners because of that, and assumed that I had found somewhere decent when they sent an employment offer anyway. I'm an idiot and I took a $10k signing bonus, but I was smart enough to never sign anything agreeing to payroll deductions, as written authorization is required…