Who earns less than $9.36/hour?
In recent conversations, many have asked me to research who makes less than $9.36/hour in Greensboro and how many people are in this category. I haven't yet been able to find numbers on average ages of low-paid workers, but Joel Landau pointed me to the Employment Security Commission of NC's website which breaks down rates of pay for some pretty specific occupational categories in the Greensboro/High Point area (as of June 2006).
A few occupations jumped out at me:
A few occupations jumped out at me:
- Preschool teachers (an estimated 1,940 in GSO/HP area) make $6.86 upon entry to the profession, an average wage of $8.52 and an estimated "experienced" wage of $9.35.
- Home health aides (3500 total in this area), correspondingly, make $7.21, $8.54, and $9.21
- Pharmacy aides (number not available)- $7.31, $8.62 and $9.27
- Veterinarian assistants and lab animal caretakers (number not available)- $6.53, $7.93 and $8.63
- Food preparation workers (2040)- $5.85, $7.84 and $8.83
- Bartenders (930) - $5.91, $6.67 and $7.05 (having been a bartender, I'm assuming this includes average tips, though I'm not sure)
In addition to these low wages, what strikes me about these occupations is that they represent labor on which our society largely depends. I don't see that a minimum wage hike would result in the need for these jobs disappearing. We'd still send our kids to preschool, need home health care, take prescription drugs, attend to our pets' medical needs, conduct experiments on animals, eat food in restaurants and - of this I can be sure - drink alcohol. And I don't think that these employers are likely to relocate their businesses outside of Greensboro simply to keep from paying their employees a little bit more.
posted by Jill Williams at
10:03 AM
10 Comments:
Up till this last year, I did. In my 9-5 job, I make barely above this after nearly 3 years on the job. Dismal income, for alot of work
Pretty much every service job involving food or retail is far far below $9.36. Grocery cashiers, Rent-a-cops, everyone at big box stores like WalMart, Circuit City, Target, etc (expect Costco)
Thanks, Beth and Blitzcat. I've been thinking it might be interesting to profile individuals who make (or made?) less than $9.36/hour and are willing to talk about why they are working the jobs they are, what their other options might be (if any) and how/if they are able to make financial ends meet. If anyone out there is willing to be profiled (or write a profile, anonymous or otherwise, of yourself or someone else) email me at jill.e.williams@gmail.com.
Most car salesmen earn minimum wage and do not get paid overtime. Try selling Hyundais, Bob Dunn Hyundai only pays $75.00 for each new Hyundai sold. Sell 10 of these a month that is all of $750.00 per month and you work 50 to 60 hours per week.
Regarding the phrase 'a little bit more,' for a daycare with 25 full-time equivalent employees a $2.00/hour increase equals $12,100/month assuming the center is open 11 hours a day and 22 days a month. Know any daycare operators who have an extra $12,100 per month laying around? If they pass the cost on, assuming the center has 200 kids, we're talking an extra $60/month per kid. What happens to the family budget when this and all the other increases across the local economy due to the wage increase are factored in?
There seems to be this perception out there among the proponents in this debate that businesses are greedily hoarding cash while their employees are callously disregarded. If you've been in business, you know this is not the case.
Thanks for your thoughts, David. I want to say that I agree that there are many stereotypes that we bring to the table in these discussions about minimum wages. You are probably correct that there is a perception among some that all business owners are greedy. And you are also correct in pointing out how that generalization is unfair. I would propose that some have a stereotype of poor people as being lazy. I would argue that this perception is also unfair. I hope that we can keep each other in check in this discussion about these and other stereotypes.
About the daycare center, the average wage for preschool teachers is $8.52, so raising the minimum wage should actually be less of a budgetary burden than you estimate for this hypothetical center.
Even if you only go up by a $1.00 an hour, you're still talking about $6000/month that the daycare operator must come up with. However, you've also got the situation where employees with differing levels of experience, skill and responsibility are now making the same as someone hired off the street. They're going to demand to be paid more. So I'm not sure my $2.00/hour figure is that far off.
And this is something that will resonate across the economy. Let's say I'm currently working at a warehouse making $9.50/hour in a physically demanding job. If I can make the same thing at Burger King, why stay at the harder job?
David, I think you'll see if you look at the OES site linked in this post that while a few (not many) of the various types of "production occupations" listed garner an entry level wage of a little less than $9.36, all of the average wages are well above that figure.
And since we've tacitly agreed to keep each other in check about stereotypes, let me point out that, while I've never worked at BK, I have worked in the restaurant industry and know for a fact that the work can be incredibly physically demanding.
But it's relative, isn't it? If I currently make $10.30/hour and the minimum wage is $5.15/hour and I'm making 100% more than someone entry level, how will I feel about making only 10% more? Same thing if I'm making $15/hour and going from 190% more to 60% more. If this value calculation was unimportant to our society we would live in the utopia where we would indeed only take according to our need and give according to our ability. But what motivates us is more complicated.
I would like to think that what motivates us is a bit more complicated than a ratio of how much we value ourselves to how much we value others, but you might be right, David. I am all too aware that we do not live in a utopia of any kind and that, instead, part of what keeps us from organizing together for a better community is a learned sense of superiority on the part of some that comes, in part, from some workers being paid just enough more than others that they see themselves and their concerns as wholly separate from their neighbors'.
But this campaign isn't about challenging that sense (deserved or undeserved) of superiority. It is about examining what we think is a fair minimum wage for the Greensboro community. Most people agree that there should be a fair minimum wage. The disagreement tends to be about what that figure should be and who should be able to set it.
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