DIYbanter - View Single Post - OT-Left Behind

David R. Birch

On 4/24/2011 7:24 AM, wrote:
On Apr 23, 11:32 pm, "David R. wrote:

So far, they've been redirected into the owner's pockets, productivity
goes up, profits go up, the guy doing the work at the bottom gets the
same real dollar value as he did 15 years ago.

David

So explain why the guy doing the work should get more real dollar
value than he got 15 years ago. Is he better educated?

Yes, he's had 15 years learning the best way to get his job done the
most productive way.

Does he work faster?

Yes, what he has learned to do now takes 1/4 the time to do it as when
he started and has been given other duties that he's mastered.

Is it harder to find a replacement if he quits?

Yes, because you can't find a replacement with 15 years with the
company, anyone you hire is 15 years behind and, based on what I've seen
lately, will never catch up.

The owner invested in new equipment in order to raise productivity.
The worker got paid for the work he did, but he did not do anything to
raise productivity.

I guess you haven't worked with people who take pride in doing a good
job and finding ways to do it better.

I like more money as much as anyone, but always thought I had to find
ways to be more productive to justify getting raises. So I did things
as teach others how to do my job so I could move on to jobs that
required more skill. Or came up with better documentation so when
something happened, I could find out the reason faster.

I never said he should get raises just for longevity, but the raises he
gets are a far smaller part of the increase in wealth than his
contribution to the increase in productivity. Management pays itself,
then makes capital investment and if anything is left, it trickles down
to the employee. I feel sorry for you if you think employees are always
replaceable and anyone you can hire for half the wage is going to be
just as good as the experienced worker he replaced.

David