Thread by @abbysyarns

It's #LaborDay weekend and all, so I'm gonna do a thread about a job listing I just saw.

I think it's depressing and on the dystopian side that this looks normal to lots of people. Let's unpack it together...

Have a song to read it with:

[1/15]

"We have 2 different opportunities- both in fast growing companies with lots of room for advancement! Hard workers rewarded! I need about 50 people. General Labor to start at $11-$12 an hour. Four shifts available starting 5:30, 6:30, 7:00 and 3:00(pm). Overtime available" [2/15]

This was posted by an individual, not an organizational account. There's a phone number to call, and that's it. There's no company name. There's no location mentioned. There is implication that this is some kind of job agency person with 2 separate requests to hire staff.[3/15]

"Fast growing companies with lots of room for advancement" is supposed to sound appealing I guess? It sounds like "People don't stay here for more than a few weeks to a few months so before you know it you'll be the most senior fucker at this shitshow." [4/15]

"Hard workers rewarded!"

Thus, you know, anybody who does not believe themselves to be richly rewarded is clearly not a hard worker. Also what are the rewards exactly? Just getting paid the wage posted for the job? Being given more work for same pay? What? [5/15]

"I need about 50 people."

Probably supposed to make you go "Oooh they need lots of people so surely my odds are good!"

But I'm still over here like, need them to do what? Where? For a week? For a year? For whom? Did you have 50 people last week but now they're gone? [6/15]

"General Labor to start at $11-$12 an hour."

Internet, define "general labor:"

careertrend.com/facts-6804793-…

study.com/articles/Gener…

indeed.com/q-General-Labo…

So it's a total moving target, but basically, "warm body, can do lifting, can survive shit conditions." [7/15]

This is why job listings for "general labor" often worry me. No description, right? So it's basically preying on anyone who needs money so desperately right now that they don't care what the job is, and putting out the message that you shouldn't care what you do for money. [8/ ]

"Four shifts available starting 5:30, 6:30, 7:00 and 3:00(pm)."

So each of these 2 companies needs like 6 people to start doing whatever it is at 5:30 am, and then another in an hour, and then another set half an hour after that, and an afternoon shift of a dozen. [9/15]

That's an interesting set of disposable staffing needs. Strong, healthy warm bodies mostly concentrated around availability in the conventional working day, with some into the evening, in a volume that's certainly not a tiny mom & pop. [10/15]

I actually would be willing to bet these jobs are, like, amazon delivery in your own vehicle, or personal shopper, and the $11-12 an hour is only for hours the GPS implant they'll provide^W^W^W^W^W your phone reports you as moving in ways it identifies as "general labor." [11/15]

So you'd "clock in" for your shift, and then maybe get one delivery all day, which takes 74 minutes, so you get $13.50 before taxes come out. And if you were to complain, they'd say "Dude! We said *hard workers* rewarded. Work harder." [12/15]

"Overtime available."

Of course it is, but I bet you never actually hit it because gig economy. [13/15]

This is all just the tip of the iceberg, of course. But ask yourself, as you think about why you may have the day off today: what is the labor cost of the things you appreciate in life? Who does that labor? On what terms? Is that how you think it should be? [14/15]

As a consumer, you are a major player in this equation, and the time you take to imagine yourself applying for "general labor" jobs and thinking about the ramifications of your choices really does matter. [15/15 ]