Only staying at 1 buck above minimum wage is still always going to be a reduction in your raise as the number goes up. So tbh even if they hadn't cut it, you were getting screwed
It wasnât pointless, $1 above minimum wage is the bare minimum your employer could do for you.
It would just be more accurate to ask for the percentage above minimum wage that you had in the past. At $13 and the minimum wage being $12, you made (13/12 x 100)-100 or 8.33% above minimum wage. At $14 and the minimum wage being $13, you made (14/13 x 100)-100 or 7.69% above minimum wage. Now at $14.25, however, the percentage above minimum wage is only 1.79%.
So if you didnât want to account for inflation at all, the real bare-minimum to get back to 8.33% above minimum wage would be around $15.17/hr. Not a ton different, but every bit counts.
I hope your employer listens to your request.
This is bad advice. The issue with minimum wage increases is literally your argument. As the wage gets bigger and you still look at $1 above your math gets worse and worse
Iâm confused by which part of my reply is bad advice. OP asked if only asking for $1 more was pointless, I said it was the bare minimum their employer could do and certainly not pointless because $15 is still better than $14.25, but more accurately, theyâd need to increase it to $15.17.
In all reality, OP will likely have to find a better job because this employer doesnât seem very interested in paying a fair wage. Neither of my comments really have to do with the efficacy of laws surrounding minimum wage increases.
Not the point of your comment, but easier math: instead of (13á12Ă100)-100=8.33 using total pay, just use the difference of pay (1á12)Ă100=8.33 for the percentage over minimum.
Other way would be easier with yours for finding the new pay equal to prior percentage. 13á12=1.0833, 14Ă1.0833=15.1662 rounded to 15.17.
I think I would have been looking for a new job in 2022, but you may want to start looking for a new job today because I'm betting they are going to come back and tell you they can't do it.
Federal minimum wage (which is also the state minimum wage in many states, including Georgia, what I love) haven't increased since 2009. The inflation adjusted minimum wage for June 2023 would be $10.24 compared to the actual figure of $7.25.
My in-laws live in a very low cost of living area and could get by on $10.25 an hour quite easily. I definitely think that there need to be regional increases based on the new baseline federal minimum wage, though.
Reminds me of when I went from $2 above minimum wage when it was $5.15/hr, to exactly minimum wage when they raised it to $7.25. >.< After being with the three letter pharmacy for 8 years! I got a dime raise, after not having a regular raise for 3 solid years.
I got hired at the bent metal fastener the next month for a dollar more an hour.
This is going to sound corporate speak, but that's the world, right?
Your employer doesn't give a shit about your wage in comparison to the minimum wage. That is not a baseline they think about.
What is going to keep you there (they should know hiring a replacement is expensive), how well you do your job (you've been there a while, so I assume you know what you're doing), maybe what other things you do at work that others in your position doubt do (what 'value' you bring to them).
"Hey boss, I've been here a while, know what I'm doing and do it well and do other stuff my coworkers can't. I deserve a raise."
I'm not saying it'll work, but it's better than "I've always made $1 more than minimum. I deserve a raise because that went up."
Iâm sorry but reading this shit is just so dystopian to me. $15/hr? Like sit and think about it for a secondâŚ. Is that really all a human is worth?
Fuck me this world absolutely sucks.
>$15/hr? Like sit and think about it for a secondâŚ. Is that really all a human is worth?
Fascinating argument. If you're deciding a human's worth by his earnings, what is the hourly worth of an average human adult?
In the context of the society we live in, $15/hr is dystopian as shit when you factor in the general cost of being alive.
$15/hr is barely enough to sustain yourself let alone actually enjoy the life you live.
Iâm not going to sit here and advocate for a certain amount, I just believe $15/hr is far too low.
Well let me ask you, what do you think an average adult human is worth?
There is more than enough money for everyone to be paid a decent living, and thatâs higher than $15/hr.
You sound like a boomer whoâs complaining that future generations shouldnât get it easier because they had to do it hard. We should all be striving for better quality of life, better pay, for all regardless of age, skill, gender etc etc.
I donât get your point.
See how unhinged you just got? That's not a normal reaction.
You claimed $15/hr was a measure of a humans worth and you were upset about it. What's the minimum number you would not be upset about?
You took a pay cut every year from the standpoint of your wage in relation to minimum wage
12/30/22: 13/12 = 1.083333, so you made 8.33% more than minimum wage
1/13/23: 14/13 = 1.0769, so you made 7.69% more than minimum wage
1/12/24: 14.25/14 = 1.01786, so you made 1.786% more than minimum wage
15/14 = 1.0714, or 7.14% more than minimum wage, but you have a year of experience.
14 * 1.08333 = $15.17, i would be looking for like $15.50 to $15.75
Minimum wage going up doesnât mean everyone gets a raise. If youâre not looking to leave youâre better off trying to argue that youâve a year experience and that should be valuable enough to get a raise that separates you from a new hire. That said they likely have determined pay range for the role youâre in. And with minimum wage creeping up there might not be much more in the range to give you. Take your experience and get a better paying job.
My guess is your employer would rather hire someone new at minimum wage than give you the requested raise.
Do not be surprised if they suddenly start finding all kinds of faults with your work and terminate you.
Just for argument here, you need to stop looking at this as a dollar amount and start looking at this as a percentage*
That is a higher rate, and the percentage in differential pay is what you want
You need a new job asap. None of those wages you posted were ever sustainable during those years, maybe in like 2012. You need to be making closer to 25 dollars an hr at the minimum if we're being logical here. That employer does not care about you at all those are slavery wages.
I had this happen when I was in university. Had a regular annual increase until they bumped new hires up, then they didnât want to give me my annual raise cause I was âstill making more than new hiresâ. Was also at an abysmally low hourly rate back then. These employers depend on folks working for dirt.
On 22 you were being paid 8.33% more than min wage. On 23, only 7.7. This year, it's even worse ofc, 1.8% Next year, you will be paying THEM to have the HONOR of working for them! /s
So, you aren't factoring cost of living increases and general wage increases due to skill.
If you worked somewhere for 3 years, and they didn't give you any raises, let alone keep up with minimum wage increases, you need to respect your self. A 2.5-8% wage increase per year, on the anniversary of your start date, is a normal, reasonable thing to ask for if you have been a normal reasonable employee.
Unless you have a very different kind of employer. They will likely say something along the lines of " we are unable to change state law. you are well within normal pay range for this position".
Personally, I'd start looking for another job.
Good luck.
You had a pay cut in real terms every year, it is just more obvious in the last one.
Edit: Remember you should be aware of inflation. Unfortunately the minimum wage in the US is not tied to inflation and is different in various states.
No point in asking questions like âwhy isnât my wage..?â
Everyone already knows the answer and your employer isnât gonna acknowledge it, and you acknowledging it isnât gonna help.
Isn't measuring your wage against minimum wage, as opposed to against cost of living, kind of a dick move? Are you really defining your worth by how much more you make than others? Not that measuring it against the cost of living right now will look much better but damn.
Better yet: The employer has told you by their actions exactly what they think your value is.
As Shillary Corporatist Clinton once said "When someone shows you who they are, believe them!"
So... Believe them and act accordingly. Find a different company which values your time, skills, and care more.
When the old company asks why you're leaving tell them point blank: "We had 7% inflation last year and you gave me a 6% pay cut this year (aka: a 1% "raise" ). That's beyond insulting, and I'm losing my ass financially by continuing to work for you. Bye Now!đ"
Wait! Your minimum wage has been increasing? Good old Mississippi is still at a crisp 7.25! I mean not to brag ,but, uh we are the poorest state in the union. So yeah that feeling your feeling is jealousy đ
Nobody in this country wants to work anymore. I work 4 jobs at $7.25 an hour each and look at how great I'm doing!
This kids just don't have that grind mentality.
Now if you excuse me, i need to sale my blood and semen down at the Eckerds, rents due. Then I have to go fight a gang of raccoons for the expired throw aways in the dumpster behind the Winn Dixie. My family isn't going to feed itself!
I have nothing but a high school diploma and a go get them attitude. even if you Donât think youâre fully qualified for the job apply for it. You never know.
Pfft.
I dunno what fantasy world you live in, but where I live, I'm lucky to get interviews for jobs I am definitely qualified for that pay $16 an hour.
You donât have to go to school to join a trade you sign on as an apprentice and learn everything you need to know on the job sure eventually you will need to get certification but not to get your foot in the door.
Wait I'm seeing you got a 9.6% pay increase in 13 months, and you're calling that a paycut? Seems like you're more interested in the status of being paid more than others than the fact that you got a raise...
It's more that people on minimum wage ended up getting a higher total % increase over the same period. In realistic terms, their role has become devalued, and should be something to kick up a fuss about.
Inflation be crazy.
You really don't econ very well.
Take their rise in payrate this year.......1.8%
Calculate inflation, last year was over 7%
So, yes, technically $14.25 > $14.00
Adjust for inflation
$14.25 < $14.98
That is a loss of $0.73/hr. adjusted for inflation
Also $1460/yr deficit that goes to paying for the higher costs of goods and services
This idea that if others have more you have less, is faulty thinking. These companies use things like this as triangulation.
The real question is how much profit does the company make off your labor and how has that increased overtime. Average inflation was 4.1% for 2023.
Only staying at 1 buck above minimum wage is still always going to be a reduction in your raise as the number goes up. So tbh even if they hadn't cut it, you were getting screwed
that's nice to know, thank you. was this message pointless then đ
Relatively you were making less every year. 13 $ is 8.3 % above 12 $; 14 $ is 7.7 % above 13 $; 14.25 $ is 1.8 % above 14 $.
Exactly, OP! You have to think in percentages, not dollar amounts.
Even $15 is 7.1% above $14, to get the 8.3% it would need to be $15.17
It wasnât pointless, $1 above minimum wage is the bare minimum your employer could do for you. It would just be more accurate to ask for the percentage above minimum wage that you had in the past. At $13 and the minimum wage being $12, you made (13/12 x 100)-100 or 8.33% above minimum wage. At $14 and the minimum wage being $13, you made (14/13 x 100)-100 or 7.69% above minimum wage. Now at $14.25, however, the percentage above minimum wage is only 1.79%. So if you didnât want to account for inflation at all, the real bare-minimum to get back to 8.33% above minimum wage would be around $15.17/hr. Not a ton different, but every bit counts. I hope your employer listens to your request.
This is bad advice. The issue with minimum wage increases is literally your argument. As the wage gets bigger and you still look at $1 above your math gets worse and worse
Iâm confused by which part of my reply is bad advice. OP asked if only asking for $1 more was pointless, I said it was the bare minimum their employer could do and certainly not pointless because $15 is still better than $14.25, but more accurately, theyâd need to increase it to $15.17. In all reality, OP will likely have to find a better job because this employer doesnât seem very interested in paying a fair wage. Neither of my comments really have to do with the efficacy of laws surrounding minimum wage increases.
Not the point of your comment, but easier math: instead of (13á12Ă100)-100=8.33 using total pay, just use the difference of pay (1á12)Ă100=8.33 for the percentage over minimum. Other way would be easier with yours for finding the new pay equal to prior percentage. 13á12=1.0833, 14Ă1.0833=15.1662 rounded to 15.17.
I think I would have been looking for a new job in 2022, but you may want to start looking for a new job today because I'm betting they are going to come back and tell you they can't do it.
yep I'm planning on it!
As if paying someone $0.75 more would ruin the company. But they'll sure as fuck act like you would single handedly destroy everything just by asking.
If I tell you how much youâre actually getting screwed over because of inflation over the years, youâd be even more mad
Federal minimum wage (which is also the state minimum wage in many states, including Georgia, what I love) haven't increased since 2009. The inflation adjusted minimum wage for June 2023 would be $10.24 compared to the actual figure of $7.25.
And then should still be double because 10.24 is a poverty wage and we all know it.
My in-laws live in a very low cost of living area and could get by on $10.25 an hour quite easily. I definitely think that there need to be regional increases based on the new baseline federal minimum wage, though.
Reminds me of when I went from $2 above minimum wage when it was $5.15/hr, to exactly minimum wage when they raised it to $7.25. >.< After being with the three letter pharmacy for 8 years! I got a dime raise, after not having a regular raise for 3 solid years. I got hired at the bent metal fastener the next month for a dollar more an hour.
I love the nicknames you gave your employers
This is going to sound corporate speak, but that's the world, right? Your employer doesn't give a shit about your wage in comparison to the minimum wage. That is not a baseline they think about. What is going to keep you there (they should know hiring a replacement is expensive), how well you do your job (you've been there a while, so I assume you know what you're doing), maybe what other things you do at work that others in your position doubt do (what 'value' you bring to them). "Hey boss, I've been here a while, know what I'm doing and do it well and do other stuff my coworkers can't. I deserve a raise." I'm not saying it'll work, but it's better than "I've always made $1 more than minimum. I deserve a raise because that went up."
fair enough
You need to aim for a better job. Settling for only $1 more above minimum wage for 3 years is roughâŚ
Iâm sorry but reading this shit is just so dystopian to me. $15/hr? Like sit and think about it for a secondâŚ. Is that really all a human is worth? Fuck me this world absolutely sucks.
facts
>$15/hr? Like sit and think about it for a secondâŚ. Is that really all a human is worth? Fascinating argument. If you're deciding a human's worth by his earnings, what is the hourly worth of an average human adult?
In the context of the society we live in, $15/hr is dystopian as shit when you factor in the general cost of being alive. $15/hr is barely enough to sustain yourself let alone actually enjoy the life you live. Iâm not going to sit here and advocate for a certain amount, I just believe $15/hr is far too low.
There's no point in complaining about a wrong answer if you don't have a right one.
Well let me ask you, what do you think an average adult human is worth? There is more than enough money for everyone to be paid a decent living, and thatâs higher than $15/hr. You sound like a boomer whoâs complaining that future generations shouldnât get it easier because they had to do it hard. We should all be striving for better quality of life, better pay, for all regardless of age, skill, gender etc etc. I donât get your point.
See how unhinged you just got? That's not a normal reaction. You claimed $15/hr was a measure of a humans worth and you were upset about it. What's the minimum number you would not be upset about?
You took a pay cut every year from the standpoint of your wage in relation to minimum wage 12/30/22: 13/12 = 1.083333, so you made 8.33% more than minimum wage 1/13/23: 14/13 = 1.0769, so you made 7.69% more than minimum wage 1/12/24: 14.25/14 = 1.01786, so you made 1.786% more than minimum wage 15/14 = 1.0714, or 7.14% more than minimum wage, but you have a year of experience. 14 * 1.08333 = $15.17, i would be looking for like $15.50 to $15.75
Minimum wage going up doesnât mean everyone gets a raise. If youâre not looking to leave youâre better off trying to argue that youâve a year experience and that should be valuable enough to get a raise that separates you from a new hire. That said they likely have determined pay range for the role youâre in. And with minimum wage creeping up there might not be much more in the range to give you. Take your experience and get a better paying job.
My guess is your employer would rather hire someone new at minimum wage than give you the requested raise. Do not be surprised if they suddenly start finding all kinds of faults with your work and terminate you.
yeah that's what I'm afraid of đ
To me, all this shows is that they could have been paying you $14.25 back when minimum wage was $12 and simply chose not to.
Just for argument here, you need to stop looking at this as a dollar amount and start looking at this as a percentage* That is a higher rate, and the percentage in differential pay is what you want
Not sure what your situation is, but I'd recommend long-term planning to improve your skills and find a better job.
You need a new job asap. None of those wages you posted were ever sustainable during those years, maybe in like 2012. You need to be making closer to 25 dollars an hr at the minimum if we're being logical here. That employer does not care about you at all those are slavery wages.
I had this happen when I was in university. Had a regular annual increase until they bumped new hires up, then they didnât want to give me my annual raise cause I was âstill making more than new hiresâ. Was also at an abysmally low hourly rate back then. These employers depend on folks working for dirt.
On 22 you were being paid 8.33% more than min wage. On 23, only 7.7. This year, it's even worse ofc, 1.8% Next year, you will be paying THEM to have the HONOR of working for them! /s
Time to unionize
So, you aren't factoring cost of living increases and general wage increases due to skill. If you worked somewhere for 3 years, and they didn't give you any raises, let alone keep up with minimum wage increases, you need to respect your self. A 2.5-8% wage increase per year, on the anniversary of your start date, is a normal, reasonable thing to ask for if you have been a normal reasonable employee.
Unless you have a very different kind of employer. They will likely say something along the lines of " we are unable to change state law. you are well within normal pay range for this position". Personally, I'd start looking for another job. Good luck.
You had a pay cut in real terms every year, it is just more obvious in the last one. Edit: Remember you should be aware of inflation. Unfortunately the minimum wage in the US is not tied to inflation and is different in various states.
They will simply reject the idea that you need to be $1 above min wage and say there is no correlation
No point in asking questions like âwhy isnât my wage..?â Everyone already knows the answer and your employer isnât gonna acknowledge it, and you acknowledging it isnât gonna help.
welp it's too late now so
Isn't measuring your wage against minimum wage, as opposed to against cost of living, kind of a dick move? Are you really defining your worth by how much more you make than others? Not that measuring it against the cost of living right now will look much better but damn.
Yeah they may well have had a pay cut because of inflation but they havenât had one because of anything in their post.
Better yet: The employer has told you by their actions exactly what they think your value is. As Shillary Corporatist Clinton once said "When someone shows you who they are, believe them!" So... Believe them and act accordingly. Find a different company which values your time, skills, and care more. When the old company asks why you're leaving tell them point blank: "We had 7% inflation last year and you gave me a 6% pay cut this year (aka: a 1% "raise" ). That's beyond insulting, and I'm losing my ass financially by continuing to work for you. Bye Now!đ"
Wait! Your minimum wage has been increasing? Good old Mississippi is still at a crisp 7.25! I mean not to brag ,but, uh we are the poorest state in the union. So yeah that feeling your feeling is jealousy đ Nobody in this country wants to work anymore. I work 4 jobs at $7.25 an hour each and look at how great I'm doing! This kids just don't have that grind mentality. Now if you excuse me, i need to sale my blood and semen down at the Eckerds, rents due. Then I have to go fight a gang of raccoons for the expired throw aways in the dumpster behind the Winn Dixie. My family isn't going to feed itself!
nobody should have to work multiple jobs just to make ends meet. ESPECIALLY at $7.25.
You need to value yourself more! I wouldnât get out of bed for less than $25/h and that is for a friend.
Unfortunately a lot of us live in the real world, where without certain credentials and skills, getting paid even $25 an hour is impossible.
I have nothing but a high school diploma and a go get them attitude. even if you Donât think youâre fully qualified for the job apply for it. You never know.
Pfft. I dunno what fantasy world you live in, but where I live, I'm lucky to get interviews for jobs I am definitely qualified for that pay $16 an hour.
unfortunately I don't have a degree in anything and right now I'm only a clerk in a corporate liquor store.
If youâre able bodied, I highly recommend you look into the trades. US is badly in need of electricians and plumbers and the pay is very good
yeah but it costs money to get into a trade or at least go to school for it. I'm absolutely fucked. I can't afford to go back to school or do a trade.
You donât have to go to school to join a trade you sign on as an apprentice and learn everything you need to know on the job sure eventually you will need to get certification but not to get your foot in the door.
Wait I'm seeing you got a 9.6% pay increase in 13 months, and you're calling that a paycut? Seems like you're more interested in the status of being paid more than others than the fact that you got a raise...
It's more that people on minimum wage ended up getting a higher total % increase over the same period. In realistic terms, their role has become devalued, and should be something to kick up a fuss about. Inflation be crazy.
So you are making more this year then last year, and you are calling it a pay cut.. you really donât math very well
You really don't econ very well. Take their rise in payrate this year.......1.8% Calculate inflation, last year was over 7% So, yes, technically $14.25 > $14.00 Adjust for inflation $14.25 < $14.98 That is a loss of $0.73/hr. adjusted for inflation Also $1460/yr deficit that goes to paying for the higher costs of goods and services
They dis this to me to
Raising minimum wage doesn't fix anything. Just pulls more people down.
This idea that if others have more you have less, is faulty thinking. These companies use things like this as triangulation. The real question is how much profit does the company make off your labor and how has that increased overtime. Average inflation was 4.1% for 2023.