I’m not like a super political person, and from my understanding its the idea that if I make a $10 thing for the bossman, but only get $1 that is wage theft?
But like, when I took the job I knew how much I was going to make?
Or is it like, people are literally not getting their paychecks?
I’m slightly inebreated, lazy, and don’t want my algorithms to start becoming politically charged from googling and youtubing this. I’m already collapse aware and my mental health is ultra fragile.
Help me Lemmy wan kenobi, you’re my only hope.
It’s not really a political thing. It’s just the name of a specific type of crime.
From the employer: They aren’t paying you for the wages agreed on when you were hired for the hours you have worked. Usually in the form of just not calculating your hours correctly (IE you worked 40 hours, they only pay you for 30).
From the employee: Lying about the hours worked to get paid more than you should. (IE you worked 30 but claim to and get paid for 40).
The former happens a lot more than the latter. In fact, it’s America’s #1 crime.
Labor is extremely political.
Labor laws in the US are extremely weak. We don’t have many laws protecting us. We don’t have many unions. All of that has political causes.
Wage theft is not enforced the same way regular theft is. If you walked out of the store with $100 of stuff “you forgot” was in your pocket, you’d plausibly be cuffed and in jail. If your manager steals $100 because “he forgot” to submit the timesheet correctly, what’s going to happen? Probably nothing.
This has been the world for so long it feels normal and intuitive. Like, of course the cops will come and stop a theft! That’s like what they’re there for. But why don’t the cops come and stop “white collar” crime? Why don’t we have anything like that? Political reasons.
And even if you did report that they stole from you, a lot of that burden is on you… Do you know how to find a lawyer and file a law suit? Are you going to just be fired if they find out?
Personally, if I was on a jury for someone who beat the living shit out of their manager for stealing wages, I would nullify.
I think the idea is that “theft is not political”. Labor itself is not inherently political, but the fact that labor often not in a society that itself has unjust hierarchies is now political. The concept of “working at a task” is not political, but it can be.
That said, there’s one major group that cares about labor, cares about getting paid well, and doesn’t like people that steal money. And it’s sure as shit not the right wing.
Interesting, interesting, I appreciate the perspective that wage theft can be committed by employees, although I’d be comfortable committing wage theft against my company, if I was paid hourly, they fucking suck.