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Striking auto workers want a 40% pay increase–the same rate their CEOs’ pay grew

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481–490 of 611 posts

Re: Striking auto workers want a 40% pay increase–the same rate their CEOs’ pay grew

#481

I've heard a counter-argument to this before and I'm curious to get other's take on it. Basically, the story goes that when an individual rises into a significant leadership position at a large enough company that the economic calculations become different. There's still an element of domain expertise, but, for the most part, leadership is leadership wherever you go. This implies that a leader could (potentially) mov…

HR people and accountants also have the same sort of domain independence. Their salary has not particularly risen faster than the average worker salary.

Re: Striking auto workers want a 40% pay increase–the same rate their CEOs’ pay grew

#482
post #236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Jeff bezos has something to say about the 5pm thing : "By 5 p.m., I'm like, 'I can't think about that today. Let's try this again tomorrow at 10 a.m,'" he told the Economic Club of Washington, DC. https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-daily-routine-201...

If you believe this means after 5pm Jeff Bezos forgot all about Amazon, then you are sorely wrong. Nobody, and that means nobody builds a business the size of Amazon within a single lifetime and did not work/think constantly. It's kind of like how people think Bill Gates or Steve Jobs just accidentally became some of the most successful people on earth...

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Re: Striking auto workers want a 40% pay increase–the same rate their CEOs’ pay grew

#483

I've heard a counter-argument to this before and I'm curious to get other's take on it. Basically, the story goes that when an individual rises into a significant leadership position at a large enough company that the economic calculations become different. There's still an element of domain expertise, but, for the most part, leadership is leadership wherever you go. This implies that a leader could (potentially) mov…

"leadership is leadership wherever you go"

Not all CEOs are built the same. Only a minority are able to cross industries successfully, the majority fail miserably. This is because elements that drives success are different between industries. Most of the time, if the CEO is successful one way in one industry, he/she would pursue the same path in another industry, without acknowledging that the second industry is different. What's worse if when they bring their previously successful team. Now you've got a bunch of people doing more the wrong things at the same time.

Re: Striking auto workers want a 40% pay increase–the same rate their CEOs’ pay grew

#484

I'm surprised unions don't throw their weight around more via equity ownership in the company. Controlling the company directly is really the endgame move, once they control a majority stake, they're literally just negotiating with themselves for their labor contracts. Even better, if they're managing their pensions via investment houses, why not just build their own investment house and leverage their negotiating po…

I always thought the same. Bargaining for some minimum amount of cash is important (food on the table, gas in the car, etc.).

But beyond that, meaningful equity in the hands of labor should surely be the goal — it aligns interest in a way that cash can’t.

Re: Striking auto workers want a 40% pay increase–the same rate their CEOs’ pay grew

#485

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And that's easy to test. Remove everyone except the CEO, and see how things work out.

Bad argument. I could just as easily say "remove everyone except the ICs and see how things work out."

That would work and leave the company functioning well. Without the talking heads there is little need for management and IC domain experts and IC architects and IC sales and customer service will continue and leadership will naturally come from the rank and file.

Re: Striking auto workers want a 40% pay increase–the same rate their CEOs’ pay grew

#486
post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

THEY ALREADY DO Nobody said the multiple has to be 5. It could be whatever the current ratio for Singapore is.

They don't, but the important point is: > 2. only rich people will run in the election. Which is not true unless you think AOC is rich. It's not unheard of that congresspeople sleep in their office i.e. are homeless because DC rent is high. https://www.npr.org/2022/12/09/1141635119/the-first-gen-z-me...

> congresspeople sleep in their office i.e. are homeless because DC rent is high

any source for this? your link just mentions a representative who has bad credit, it never claims he is homeless.

Re: Striking auto workers want a 40% pay increase–the same rate their CEOs’ pay grew

#487
post #376

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For a fun thought experiment: If the CEO go on strike and don't come to work for a month, how many cars will not be built, and how money will the company lose? If the union factory workers go on strike and don't come to work for a month, how many cars will not be built, and how much money will the company lose? Therefore, who is actually more important to the earnings and success of the company?

That's not an interesting thought experiment at all. The workers in aggregate are clearly more valuable than the CEO alone. That's why their cumulative salary is way higher than the CEO's.

Hit the nail on the head. A more appropriate comparison would be if one worker went on strike, not all of them.

Re: Striking auto workers want a 40% pay increase–the same rate their CEOs’ pay grew

#488

Earlier quoted context omitted.

America's GDP allocated per congressperson is like $50 billion each. Salaries wont fix bribes for someone with that much to command and even the already rich can make a lot of money getting into politics. Their salary means nothing to them.

You need to pay congressmen enough money so they can have upper middle class lifestyle - without that pressure to take bribes is dramatically higher. You have nice 5bdrm house in good school district and enough money for nice vacation + savings? Refusing bribes is easy - you are comfortable. Kids are taken care of. Wife does not have to work. This lifestyle requires 300-600k in DC. You live in shitty 2bdrm apartment…

Is there an actual source for this logic? Not a huge fan of arguments-via-intuition.

Re: Striking auto workers want a 40% pay increase–the same rate their CEOs’ pay grew

#489

Earlier quoted context omitted.

40% of IT work is already outsourced and that’s a number that is rapidly growing and that’s only over a decade and a half. It doesn’t even take into account foreign employees that now just work remotely.

why does Meta pay engineers $400k when there’s somebody offshore willing to do it for $35/hr? hmm…

For a long time the answer was they needed those people to physically come into the office.

Re: Striking auto workers want a 40% pay increase–the same rate their CEOs’ pay grew

#490
post #44

There is an equation with an equilibrium: CEO's pay rate = (some multiplier) * median salaried worker's pay rate OR CEO's pay rate = (some multiplier) * minimum salaried worker's pay rate We've been conditioned to think it's not fair somehow, but the discrepancy is just....engorgingly terrible. I'm not arguing for how this metric would be enforced, only that it would be a good one to have. Especially in a time when g…

IMO an equation like that would be fine as long as you made it possible for CEOs of larger companies to make more money than CEOs of small and medium sized companies. There’s a job market for C-Suite employees (whether we care to admit it or not). At a certain point you won’t get qualified candidates if you can’t reward them enough, same as engineers or any other role. The answer for how much CEOs should be paid is t…

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