The labor debate is a hot one in America right now, and one that's spreading across the globe. In the wake of a labor shortage, discussions are popping up everywhere regarding wages, work ethic, exploitation, and workers' rights for minimum wage and service employees.
A business owner made a video explaining just one measure she takes to not exploit her employees.
She uses this platform to talk about many different things, but lately, it has been about her business practices.
This video in particular was about how she, the business owner, makes the same amount of money as her employees. The video has now earned over 1 million views and has caused quite the stir.
She then dives right into the math. She and all her employees earn the same daily take-home pay rate at $250. Her full-time employees work four days a week, her part-time workers work two days a week.
For her full-time workers, including herself, this rate earns them an annual salary of $70,200 before taxes, which she specifies is still lower-middle-class where she lives.
And shows that it amounts to almost $600k. This is just payroll expenses, with everyone's equal full-time salary and the lower part-time salary.
She then imagines a situation where she pays her workers minimum wage while keeping the rest.
This rate of pay would mean her full-time employees would only earn $23,712 per year, and her part-time employees would earn $11,856.
Subtract all of those salaries, $177,840 from her total yearly payroll cost, $596,700, and she'd get to pocket the excess $418,860.
She ends the video by saying, "This is what most bosses are doing."
She made numerous follow-up videos answering questions and debunking accusations, but many viewers were thankful for her approach.
"[This] is the change we need to see," wrote one comment. "[Thank] you for keeping your humanity."
"THIS!" exclaimed another. "This is why I hate when people say 'if we raise the minimum wage, prices go up'. No dude, not if employers behaved ethically."
"It's a little upsetting how much my mind is blown by people making a decently comfortable salary working 4 days a week," explained one user.
A different small business owner also piped up and gave their perspective: "I'm still small and [cannot] afford to pay anyone a liveable wage right now so I do all the work myself because exploiting people's labor is wrong."
There were a few people who believed the owner still had a right to make more than their workers, though they agreed that the current difference we see today is far too steep.
Regardless of independent views, it got a lot of people talking and changed some peoples' minds as well, all for the betterment of workers' futures.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments!
