This idea comes from my boss, who is definitely different from many — she cares about the people who make up our company, and actually looks for opportunities to make things better for all of us. And fairer. (Thanks to her efforts, we're on our way to becoming a worker-managed-and-owned co-op, since obviously that's just fairer, period.)
Cost-of-living raises (which everyone should get, especially in hard times) are usually a percentage, right? Well, someone in my company told my boss (because she invites ideas!), “If it's a percentage, isn't it more money for the people who already make more money?”
So my boss made the change: This year, our CoL raises are a flat amount. Now each of us gets $X000 to cover costs of living. That equates to a higher “percentage of salary” for those already making lower salaries — and doesn't that make a hell of a lot more sense?
It's a little thing, but not really a little thing, because it makes all of us prouder to work here.
And I think it's actually a pretty big deal, because it shows that if we don't give up, if we keep having and enacting good ideas, we can move towards a more equitable system than rotten, balls-out capitalism — even if we move one little change at a time. Four-day weeks, compassionate time-off arrangements, more transparent & balanced salaries, and other improvements are ALL POSSIBLE. Don't let people tell you they aren't, or that we're stuck here; those people just want to keep things the way they are for their own selfish reasons. Doing better matters, even in small ways, because it proves that change is possible if we keep pushing for it. Hang in there, friends -/@-