When I found this sub, I was working under somewhat hellish circumstances. My background is in sewing/fashion/textiles, I’d been mostly unemployed through the pandemic and finally found a position late last year. I was stoked.
Originally hired for 15-25 hours a week. $25/hr (the absolute lowest base rate in my country), as a “contractor” (no benefits, no overtime, no holiday, no retirement contributions) with the understanding that after a few months, I’d get a “proper” work agreement and remuneration. (Have since discovered that the e tire setup is profoundly illegal here, I can prove it, just not sure if I want to report the boss)
I regularly found myself working 40+ hour weeks. I have a home and family obligations, and I enjoy a life outside work. All of this was pretty much treated as faintly ridiculous by my (single, child free, no social life) boss. She kept piling on more and more projects; I’d get the work flow on track then suddenly we’d have a custom couture gown that had to be completely made in ten days. The other sewist quit, it was just me. I hung on, enjoying working, hoping for the better pay/proper work agreement. I also started to hate sacrificing my life to make one-time-use gowns for spoiled pushy cat rich women. The work was pretty, I just hated the classism.
When I brought it up three months into working there, I was fobbed off. I stuck to it, remembering the hell of unemployment/sending out resumes for years.
Workroom badly equipped, I was bringing in my own tools. AND THEN I WASNT EVEN GETTING PAID! Not even my pittance. I had to ask for it, regularly. By then I’d found this sub, and straight up told her “pay me or I’m not coming in.” Then magically I was paid.
But I started looking around. I sent out resumes to several places, and got interviews. The one I really liked is not couture, but in high end furniture making. You know when you walk into a workplace and you can sense that people like their jobs? Well run, well equipped, staff who have been there for years, a boss who says things like “we believe if you want good people and you want them to stay, you pay well and respect their life outside of work.” Talk about opposite of a red flag!
So I got hired, the work is very easy to me, $8/hr raise, great hours, I’ll be home for my kid after school, paid holiday and sick leave, proper work contract, and retirement fund contributions. I feel like reading so much on this sub gave me the courage/confidence in my skills and worth as a worker to seek out and demand what I’m worth, and I’m glad.
Edit: also, bring in UBI! I’d still spend a lot of my time sewing cool shit anyway, it’s how I’m wired and a chunk of my identity.