Wage slavery describe a person's dependence on wages or a salary for their livelihood, especially when wages are low, conditions are poor, and there are few realistic chances of upward mobility. Wage slavery is legal in America because it is Voluntary, you have a choice to work or not. The hope in a modern capitalist society is that through hard work you can improve your job prospects and lot in life.
What happens when a group of minority employees decide to leave a company for greener pastures in the 21st century? If you are working in Missouri you could be at the mercy of your employer. In a series of legal battles in St. Louis Federal court Ronnoco Coffee filed suits against 3 employees that's former company had been acquired by Hedge fund Huron Capital. All three employees were in sales and all were making between $12-$15 an hour base pay. Their employment only lasted between 2-4 months before the three former Ronnoco employees “Ronnoco 3” found better work and moved on.
Shockingly, Ronnoco Coffee sued the “Ronnoco 3” in Federal court asking the state to step in and keep these salesmen from selling juice products in an industry they had worked in previous to Ronnoco’s purchase. Ronnoco claimed these low level salesmen could share trade secrets (about coffee) with their new employer (who didn’t sell coffee) and violate a non-compete they signed..
(Ronnoco Coffee LLC v. Peoples)
(Ronnoco Coffee LLC v. Castagna)
“Is it not laughable that employees making $12-$15 an hour and that had only been working at Ronnoco for months were such a threat to a multi-billion dollar conglomerate of companies? “
Based on the word of Ronnoco, two Federal Court Judges blocked the Ronnoco 3 from working for their new employer for over a year and a half. The Ronnoco 3 were adamant that they had done nothing wrong and were not going to return to work for Ronnoco. Temporary restraining orders were issued to prevent them from working and the employees were all forced to go to trial.
That's right. In the 21st century if you are a minority employee working in the State of Missouri you can be brought to trial for seeking new employment if your former employer doesn’t like the company you go to work for. Your former employer can weaponize the legal system against you, force you to stop working, drain your savings fighting the case, commit perjury and have your legal fees denied after the case is ruled on in your favor. That's right, the employees won on every count in Dec of 2021, then were denied attorney fees.
The only parallel I can find in US History is the Fugitive Slave act of 1850. In this instance by signing a non-compete this company views you as their property to control how they please. Much like 1850, employers have a legal right to force that property back to the master to account for their actions and use the State as their agent to make it happen.
The Ronnoco 3 after winning these cases are left destitute. They struggle to pay bills, have endured countless abuses at the hands of their former employer and question if the cost of proving their innocence was worth it. Simply put, it cost them everything.