Map of Wage Shame - r/WorkReform

501

In Oklahoma we recently put it to a vote and our dumbass state voted to not raise it. We love being poor!

290

u/Vice4Life 1d ago

I can't tell you how many people I've heard oppose it because it will cause higher prices.

Makes sense, I mean, clearly, prices are the same as they were in 2009.

107

u/Sarctoth 1d ago

That was my argument, prices have risen without wages. They are not related.

59

u/belkarbitterleaf 1d ago

Corps have spent enough time and money on the propaganda, that as soon as the minimum wage is increased, they will raise prices and point at it as the cause.

We still need to raise wages, just saying prices will go up. Anything that can be blamed for increased price will be blamed, regardless of facts.

8

u/Z3B0 12h ago

6% inflation? Let's up the prices 25% to compensate.

10% fuel prices increase? 50% more on everything.

Everything is a good excuse to jack up the prices.

15

u/Significant-Ad-341 19h ago

Listened to a tow truck driver complain because the products need to be put on the shelf my a worker so of course prices will go up. I'm like okay but the CEO could makes a couple bucks less, and the price would be the same??

7

u/Sixmmxw 20h ago

Prices are already high and continue to go up.

-10

u/AgentThor 1d ago

I feel like that's a bad faith argument though, prices would certainly increase because companies won't just absorb the cost, they'll pass it on to consumers.

Especially because people expect it, see also the price gouging from COVID.

8

u/fflip8 1d ago

The relation isn't linear though. For instance at McDonald's, labor doesn't even make up 50% of the cost of service. The majority of the cost is a combo of taxes, rent, energy, trucking cost, equipment and food product/waste. We live in a world where industrial automation is responsible for our standard of living and labor inputs aren't required for everything we buy, so minimum wage increases never increase costs more than incomes increase. Obviously if you push this too far things will break, as there is such thing as a minimum wage that is too high. Fortunately no state or city has reached that point yet, even the places where minimum wage is over $20 per hour business is still chugging along without supply/demand problems.

Businesses certainly pass higher wages along to customers, but in the real world that looks like McDonald's in Denver charging only 20% or so more than in Mobile, Alabama, despite McDonald's starting at $20 in Denver and $10 in Mobile.

-1

u/AgentThor 1d ago

For sure, roughly doubling minimum wage from $7.25 to $15, the measure we voted on in OK, would not double the price of a big mac. I just mean corps are greedy.

I just think it's disengenous to say things wouldn't be more expensive at all. As most things go, it's just more nuanced. I don't make minimum wage anymore, but I remember what it was like. I'd happily pay 10-20% more to ensure someone can afford to live. Tbh I'm kinda surprised the difference between Denver and Mobile is only 20% just based on cost of living differences but maybe Mobile is higher than I thought.

21

u/angrydeuce 22h ago

They would rather be destitute then someone flip a burger and earn a living wage.

Even if the cost of that burger didnt go up. Thats what people gotta understand...every other excuse is bullshit, it boils down to this:

"Those people are subhuman and I dont value their labor or even their lives. Therefore, I find the mere suggestion offensive, as they would not feel sufficiently punished for their poverty."

Read up on Prosperity Gospel if you havent already. A fair number of these people literally think that poverty and a godless existence are linked.

4

u/zombie_overlord 22h ago

Oh I know. I have evangelicals in my family. I'm sure every one of them voted no because being poor is a moral failing in their eyes.

2

u/ilanallama85 10h ago

Worse: being poor is a sign that you are an evil sinner and god is punishing you. If you weren’t a sinner, you wouldn’t be poor, because god would reward you. It’s not even that being poor is sinful, it’s that god has decided you are sinful and made you poor. It’s such a fucked up religion.

5

u/CowGoesNyaa 1d ago

Yep. On one hand I think people are stupid for not voting for it but on the other hand it isn't even that great of a bill. It'd be 2029 before it'd even hit 15 an hour. We needed it at that 10 years ago. Something is better than no increase at all regardless.

"Had it passed, SQ 832 would have raised the minimum wage gradually — to $12 in 2027, then by $1.50 each year before topping out at $15 per hour in 2029, more than double the current rate of $7.25. After reaching $15 per hour, the rate would have continued to increase in smaller increments over time. Beginning in 2030, the state’s minimum wage would have increased annually based on the U.S. Department of Labor’s Consumer Price Index."

8

u/AgentThor 1d ago

Yeah, I didn't have high hopes and was still let down.

8

u/zombie_overlord 1d ago

Wonder how many of the people who voted against raising it would've given themselves a raise?

3

u/Razetony 1d ago

In Tulsa most people wanted it. But man there's a lot of dumb people. I make 25 an hour so it's not like I'm hurting but raise the damn wages man. A 12 pack of soda has gone from like $3 to $10 and we still haven't raised our wages but apparently that's ok to these people.

4

u/zombie_overlord 22h ago

I make about the same. I voted to raise it because I want to help lower income people, and also because my kids are nearly job age.

Inflation is like getting a pay cut.

3

u/Mo_Jack ⛓️ Prison For Union Busters 13h ago

In MO we did vote to raise it because our "representatives" in Jeff City would not do it themselves. Then they wanted to stretch it over several years. Then they tried to fight it when it came due. Then they tried to keep us from putting issues on the ballot. We have a GOP supermajority in power that won't listen to the citizens, even when all Missourians pass a ballot issue. It is criminal.

2

u/yorcharturoqro 16h ago

Wait, what??? People voted to not raise the minimum wage???

https://giphy.com/gifs/OlsaXZ6KWZXA6TWm28

178

u/flatpackjack 1d ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/X8baci2TMGEcE

Last time the federal minimum wage changed this guy was still in Marvel movies.

169

u/Jarppi1893 1d ago

21

u/[deleted] 1d ago

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15

u/Chuck_Walla 1d ago

Yeah, it's more of a Gatekeeper situation.

7

u/El_Cactus_Loco 16h ago

“i’m basically upper middle class!” - 40k guy

158

u/LoreChief 1d ago

I made $5.15 an hour when I worked for a kroger chain in kansas. Except I didn't actually make $5.15 an hour, because the first day a customer gave me a $10 tip for loading groceries into her car, and management told me I needed to accept $4.15 an hour for the rest of the summer otherwise they would fire me because I'm not allowed to accept tips.

129

u/OkSense1496 1d ago

That sounds illegal

86

u/Lietenantdan 1d ago

It is, but it doesn’t matter if no one stops them

33

u/sheezy520 1d ago edited 1d ago

Exactly how Donald Trump operates.

Edit: thank you for the award

49

u/FictionalTrope 1d ago

Wage theft is the largest form of theft because people who do it don't receive any real consequences.

40

u/The_Peeping_Peter 1d ago

So Kroger was definitely paying to have somebody tip you $10 on your first day, right? Like it was probably the owner’s partner or something.

21

u/korodic 1d ago

In all likelihood, yeah. And wow, so fucked up.

19

u/Teledildonic 1d ago

So you quit, right?

Because they stole way more than $10 from you if you kept working.

7

u/fullload93 1d ago

That’s illegal as fuck! Lol damn they screwed you over.

3

u/MrGeekman 1d ago

Was that in the employee handbook?

36

u/psychoacer 1d ago

I wonder why they colored them in red ;)

24

u/moyismoy 1d ago

This is what voting against your interests looks like

0

u/[deleted] 1d ago

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14

u/moyismoy 1d ago

Think of how much more money they would have if they approved a higher min. It's a tide that lifts all the ships of the working class

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

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6

u/moyismoy 1d ago

Yeah those studies are lies. Look at NJ over 15 min wage larger economy and more full employment than almost every state on this list. It's because they intentionally don't account for the increased spending of the lower class that more then makes up for any small amout of automation

-8

u/[deleted] 1d ago

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2

u/moyismoy 1d ago

They are almost even and TX has 100,000,000,000 with of oil under it with natural gas and many other resources NJ has none of them not to mention the fact that the federal government steals more money from NJ than any other state. If the resources were reversed NJ would likely be at 50 an hour.

1

u/ishmetot 9h ago

Are you just making up numbers here? NJ average wages are higher than TX by every metric, and the gap is even wider for median wages. https://www.bls.gov/charts/state-employment-and-unemployment/average-hourly-earnings-and-weekly-hours-and-earnings-by-state.htm https://www.sofi.com/learn/content/average-salary-in-us/

16

u/ajm1194 1d ago

So red states

47

u/chocobo_karaage 1d ago

I guess this map would still be technically true, but isn't federal minimum wage $7.25?

Waiting tables in Texas pre-pandemic I made $2.50+ tips, but that's because there's an exception for tipped workers. Ironically it was the best paying job I've ever had.

40

u/RamsHead91 1d ago

There are Agriculture exempts to the minimum wage as well.

23

u/chocobo_karaage 1d ago

That just feels like kicking someone while they're already down. Don't agricultural workers already have it bad enough?

17

u/Couchonthecouch 1d ago

Conservatives see it as a problem that its not worse than it is. Those workers could be slaves and thats what conservatives are aiming for as a goal.

4

u/RA-HADES 🏡 Decent Housing For All 1d ago

They prefer to be called Constitutional Originalists

3

u/Couchonthecouch 1d ago

I pronounce it villain

2

u/captainAwesomePants 1d ago

Dude, you have no idea. Remember how we're huge on gathering up illegal immigrants and kicking them out of the country? Well, we also have a program to round up foreigners, bus them into the country to have them work farms, and then bus them back out. These poor SOBs have MAXIMUM pay regulations so they can never be paid above the local "prevailing wage," in order to keep them from "competing" with Americans. Oh, and they can't quit their jobs because their temporary visas are tied to that one employer and can't be transferred.

6

u/mydicksmellsgood 1d ago

And, my personal favorite, minor league baseball is also exempt (less about the minimum wage, more about overtime, but an exemption to both)

3

u/BeatitLikeitowesMe 1d ago

Also server/food handling stuff. I remember working in KY at one point as a server and making 2.13 an hr. Would get paychecks that were literally void. All actual.pay would be from tips.

9

u/tallman11282 1d ago

Yes, the federal minimum wage is $7.25, which means if the federal minimum wage is ever removed then all of these states will have an even lower minimum wage and I guarantee you corporations will begin cutting wages immediately.

The tipped minimum wage is a huge problem itself, you shouldn't be dependent on the generosity of customers to make enough to live on.

2

u/Recent-Singer8146 1d ago

Texas with server min. direct cash wage $2.13 per hour, for tipped workers: “what don’t you want?”

https://youtu.be/p-FX_7SFSsM

21

u/DroogieHowser 1d ago

7.25 is the fed minimum, the only way you can get lower is tipped employees who get paid like $2/hr because they're expected to make up the rest in tips

15

u/snowman93 1d ago

There is no consequence for states that use a lower minimum wage than the federal. It is not uncommon for people to make less than federal minimum wage and there are no consequences for it.

1

u/DroogieHowser 1d ago

Damn that must suck ass to live in those states then, if someone in my state pays less than the city/county/state minimum wage, they definitely face legal consequences.

5

u/awuweiday 1d ago

"Hey Government, my business is so poorly run that I can't afford to pay my employees. Is it cool if I almost don't pay them at all? And hope the guilt my client's feel obliges them to make up the difference?"

Tipping culture needs to die.

1

u/QuickNature 1d ago

Also, if their tips add up to less than $7.25/hr, the employer is required to cover the difference, effectively making their actual minimum $7.25/hr still.

Its an abysmal wage still, but lets not pretend they are actually making less than $7.25/hr

7

u/SuicidalLettuce 1d ago

Being in Pennsylvania is just sad, of course we've been under Republican state Congress control since forever, maybe there's a bright side coming in November for us with a trifecta.

2

u/RainDownAndDestroyMe 8h ago

I've been off PA, OH, & MI since they kept getting trump elected. Indiana was obviously always going to be stupid as fuck and elect the GOP candidate, but the swing states in the Rust Belt that helped put trump in power in 2024 have really turned me off from ever wanting to support their local economies if I can help it.

I say this as someone originally from Idaho so I'm definitely used to be surrounded by conservative morons lol. Got the fuck out of there as soon as I could.

3

u/D_dawgy 1d ago

Utah is a shit hole, can confirm.

3

u/Ok-Map4381 16h ago

Every blue city in these states needs to pass a higher minimum wage.

Nothing is going to motivate rural white voters to raise the minimum wage more than knowing that minorities in urban centers are getting paid more for the same job.

3

u/ColorMatchUrButthole 2h ago

Texas made it illegal for cities to pass their own minimum wage laws. Small government!!!

3

u/Ok-Map4381 2h ago

It is amazing how much red states hate their own people.

2

u/ivegotafastcar 1d ago

I’m not ok with NH

2

u/Fatefire 1d ago

New Hampshire doesn't surprise me but Pennsylvania kinda does .....

2

u/kpeterson159 1d ago

What the fuck, New Hampshire

1

u/hardcoretuner 1d ago

Oh but no one actually makes that..... /s

1

u/Zalenka 1d ago

Wisconsin's tipped server rate is $2.33/hr.

1

u/petrified_eel4615 1d ago

Oh hey look, it's the South, again (and NH, because we're dumbasses).

1

u/Eat--The--Rich-- 1d ago

Now do 30, a living wage

1

u/juic333 1d ago

What is the cost of living in those states compared to states with higher minimum wage?

1

u/kpeterson159 1d ago

What the fuck, New Hampshire

1

u/BaconAllDay2 22h ago

I notice a pattern.

1

u/Kkimp1955 19h ago

They love billionaires

1

u/youkokenshin 15h ago

New Hampshire always seems like the annoying bastard child of New England.

1

u/TR_abc_246 10h ago

Those states obviously want people living off their welfare system!

1

u/External_Beat8153 8h ago

Institutionalizing poverty in America mainly in MAGA country.

1

u/RainDownAndDestroyMe 8h ago

What I find absolutely absurd is that our federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour is below the fucking poverty level. The poverty level that the federal government defines.

Our government is so fucked up that our government's defined minimum wage is below our government's own defined poverty level.

The 2026 Federal Poverty Guideline for a single individual is an annual income of $15,960

$7.25 × 2,080 hours (full-time) = $15,080

Congress seriously needs to be overhauled. These fucking scumbags don't give a rat's ass about any of us.

1

u/TrueGrave32 4h ago

Average starting wage here in north Dakota seems to be around 17$ an hour. Fuck off with that minimum wage bullshit.

1

u/Avindair 2h ago

North Dakota does not surprise me in the least.

1

u/PhantomThiefJoker 1h ago

"We don't care that you're in poverty and we'd pay you less if we could"

1

u/This-External-6814 32m ago

S&@thole states filled with ignorance

1

u/CrazyLemonLover 1d ago

I mean. Minimum wage needs to go up, yeah.

But ... Has anyone seen a job posting for less than 12$ an hour?

Not where I live. I call it McDonald's minimum. If McDonald's is paying basic staff 12.50 an hour, that's your areas new minimum wage. That's about what they pay here, and not a single place offers lower that I've seen.

It still needs fixed.

3

u/radehart 23h ago

Yes, lots. In Arkansas where the minimum wage is $11, and that's you'll get.

1

u/CrazyLemonLover 22h ago

Well that sucks. I'm in PA. McDonald's pays 12-14 in my area, depending on city. And that's pretty much the minimum you'll find anyone paying. If McDonald's popped up to 16, I'm pretty sure that would be the new floor

1

u/[deleted] 1d ago

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1

u/CrazyLemonLover 1d ago

I mean, it's literally got to be the floor. Nobody is going to work a dangerous factory job or do hard manual labor in the sun if they can get 40 hours for more pay at any McDonald's in the state and be in air conditioning

1

u/weirdeggman1123 17h ago

McDonalds in my area makes $20/hr

1

u/Sweet-Palpitation473 1d ago

New Hampshire is an embarrassment to New England for so many reasons

-4

u/[deleted] 1d ago

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6

u/TheUlty05 1d ago

"Nobody should make more money because corporations wont exploit cheap labor from high school students"

Got any more galaxy brain takes in there big Tex?

-2

u/[deleted] 1d ago

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1

u/manaman70 17h ago

This message brought to you by the same propaganda network that also hits you with the message that it's cool for your 14 year olds to get a job because they need to help support the family.

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