I'm tired of hearing about the return to office fight, so here's a perspective from a blue collar worker-
I work for a window manufacturer in the midwest as a lineworker or forklift operator depending on the day. Between all the facilities, there are probably around 5000 local employees. By some measures my town had a negative unemployment rate and above average rate of pay even back in 2019, but most companies could find people and keep their doors open. A year ago my company started hiring “temporary” workers brought up from the deep south (all still here), and at the beginning of this year we went to a $20 base starting pay.
It's no longer enough. instead of offering relocation bonuses to bring more bodies to town or actively seeking out employees instead of passively putting up ads hoping they'll show up, management is boiling the frog on mandatory overtime. First it was some departments, then all, that had mandatory 50's, now they're adding some saturdays as well, with whispers of more to come.
Some people have spoken up, enough to force more flexibility with the pto system, more notice for OT, and slow down the additional OT, at least for the spring and summer. There has been no effort towards collective organization, as far as I'm aware. Some of us have history with long hard work schedules and have no desire to return to that. Others have kids or debt to worry about and don't want to rock the boat. All I want personally is time, peace, and respect; I no longer feel I'm getting enough of those but replacing this job is difficult when struggling with loneliness and mental health problems.
How many people are in similar situations? Over employed but lacking options for one reason or another?