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Cafeteria workers at Facebook struggle to make ends meet

theguardian.com

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Re: Cafeteria workers at Facebook struggle to make ends meet

#51

Post by ringwalt »

s3r3nity wrote: post #34
austenallred wrote: post #2

“Back in the day, [the wage] would have been a great number,” said Victor, “but because of Facebook moving in, everything is so expensive. I have to get payday loans sometimes. We barely make it.” They make a combined (rounded) $75,000/year. The real tragedy is that you can't afford to make it in the Bay Area on $75k/yr. I don't think that's something you can blame solely on Facebook.

This - the headline of the article is a bit click-bait-y, but you nail the crux of the issue. When I worked there years back, I recall chatting with a few cafeteria workers and learning that they were paid more than the average contract worker; the issue isn't that they're being paid poorly, but rather that the Valley is _so expensive_ to live in. It should be more of a commentary on the state of California and the c…

Well you can't really consider the Bay Area housing bubble and cost of living spike without taking the tech boom into account. I think it's both the fault of NIMBYism/failure to build sufficient housing in the South Bay, and the fault of large companies, VCs, and startups for doubling down on the South Bay instead of distributing new jobs more evenly throughout the rest of the country.

Re: Cafeteria workers at Facebook struggle to make ends meet

#52

Post by ProAm »

refurb wrote: post #47
ProAm wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don't think that's something you can blame solely on Facebook You'll never be able to solely blame macro economic issues on a single entity, they certainly contribute to the to the issue however.

Contributing to the issue? You mean by creating a ton of high paying jobs? Are you saying they should stop doing that?

A ton? Yes high paying jobs that clearly have had an effect on the local economy as shown by this article. Like I said it's a macro economic issue that can't be fixed with a comment on a discussion board.

Re: Cafeteria workers at Facebook struggle to make ends meet

#53

Post by frgtpsswrdlame »

Everybody here is focusing on real estate. (because young wealthy programmers and older poorer workers have a shared interest in cheap real estate) But I'm really interested in how HN feels about this section:

“I felt more secure at my other job. You didn’t have people looking down at you,” Nicole said. Now she works at cafeterias with names like “Epic” and “Living the Dream”, and the distance between the two classes of Facebook workers can feel immense.

“They look at us like we’re lower, like we don’t matter,” said Nicole of the Facebook employees. “We don’t live the dream. The techies are living the dream. It’s for them.”

The smaller indignities are numerous. At the end of every shift, Nicole watches large amounts of leftover food go into the compost – food that she’s not allowed to take home. Cafeteria workers only enter Facebook’s medical clinics if they’ve been selected for a mandatory drug test. Facebook recently held a “Bring your kids to work” day, but cafeteria workers’ children were not allowed.

A spokeswoman for Facebook said that none of the company’s contingent or contract workers have access to facilities such as clinics, gyms, or bring your kid to work days, but that other policies were a matter between the contractor and the workers.

Re: Cafeteria workers at Facebook struggle to make ends meet

#54

Post by rhizome »

gmarx wrote: post #39

It is terrible that he can't live in Menlo Park on 75K. On the other hand the reason he lives in a garage is because he and is family are living with his parents, most likely to save money and avoid the horrendous commute most of his coworkers probably face. On yet a third hand I can't feel all that bad for this guy since he someday stands to inherit a house worth millions of dollars

You had to pull out a third hand, but I'm glad you were able to figure out a reason not to feel bad for them. That was close.

Re: Cafeteria workers at Facebook struggle to make ends meet

#55

Post by austenallred »

little_cat wrote: post #49
austenallred wrote: post #2

“Back in the day, [the wage] would have been a great number,” said Victor, “but because of Facebook moving in, everything is so expensive. I have to get payday loans sometimes. We barely make it.” They make a combined (rounded) $75,000/year. The real tragedy is that you can't afford to make it in the Bay Area on $75k/yr. I don't think that's something you can blame solely on Facebook.

Removed, changed my mind.

To be fair, though, is your health insurance covered by your employer?

Re: Cafeteria workers at Facebook struggle to make ends meet

#57

Post by dsr_ »

henraldp wrote: post #31
nxsynonym wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's education inflation. a college degree is the new highschool diploma. Even with a 4 year degree in a "real" field of study (business/stem/finance/whatever) it's becoming more and more difficult to land entry level jobs. If you pay 30/60/90k for said degree, you are going to feel entitled (rightfully or not) to working in a position that's not for the "uneducated". These positions still need to be filled though, b…

Should minimum wage jobs pay well enough to raise a family in Palo Alto?

Yes. The minimum wage in Palo Alto must support a family in Palo Alto, or within a very reasonable commute.

Re: Cafeteria workers at Facebook struggle to make ends meet

#58

Post by joaomacp »

little_cat wrote: post #49
austenallred wrote: post #2

“Back in the day, [the wage] would have been a great number,” said Victor, “but because of Facebook moving in, everything is so expensive. I have to get payday loans sometimes. We barely make it.” They make a combined (rounded) $75,000/year. The real tragedy is that you can't afford to make it in the Bay Area on $75k/yr. I don't think that's something you can blame solely on Facebook.

Removed, changed my mind.

now I ain't sayin she's a gold digger...

Re: Cafeteria workers at Facebook struggle to make ends meet

#59

Post by VeejayRampay »

austenallred wrote: post #2

“Back in the day, [the wage] would have been a great number,” said Victor, “but because of Facebook moving in, everything is so expensive. I have to get payday loans sometimes. We barely make it.” They make a combined (rounded) $75,000/year. The real tragedy is that you can't afford to make it in the Bay Area on $75k/yr. I don't think that's something you can blame solely on Facebook.

This is precisely why the USA need to get on the HST gravy train. Fast, reliable trains provide a way for people who cannot afford living in the more densely populated area (or don't want to) a way to live in a huge house with a yard and a pool 100 miles from said populated area. You then have an hour long commute every day (door to door), which is quite long, sure, but bearable.

Re: Cafeteria workers at Facebook struggle to make ends meet

#60

Post by frgtpsswrdlame »

tmh79 wrote: post #46

The real story here is how the political conditions of the SFBA have prevented growth of the housing supply. The sad reality is that housing here is now a zero sum game, and any broad based increase in wages would pretty quickly be captured by landlords. The real solution to this issue is not higher wages, but targeted efforts to decrease the cost of living through building a ton of of "missing middle" housing like 4…

Why is the real estate market "the real story"? Seems like the real story is that facebook ought to pay its cafeteria workers more.
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