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Labor/Workers movements thread

TenaciousKory said:
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I would think the workers have a good bit of leverage with this being timed during fall harvest, and with Deere having very specific OEM part requirements for their latest generations of machinery. Management made it so that Deere parts are needed in order to line their own pockets, which in turn makes the hourly workers more necessary than ever. Time to pay up.
 
TownieDeac said:
the opportunity cost of work study was always a shitty calculation compared to finding even menial work off campus

i could finish a full school day and work at the writing center helping students with awful english and terrible composition skills for a couple bucks off the principal of my student loan a week or i could pack boxes at the UPS store for $12.50 an hour
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This is an uninformed post, townie.

In addition to phdeac's points about scheduling and convenience, wages from work-study jobs:

1) don't count against your eligibility for student loans, where a regular job will reduce your eligibility by as much as 50% of your wages

2) work-study wages are almost always paid by direct deposit. They are not put toward the principal on your loan payments.

3) work study jobs are easy to get and maintain for students who can't leave campus or don't have the time or resources to go job hunting off campus

4) work study must pay the federal minimum wage, but will often pay more depending on the job; work study employers are REQUIRED to consider your class schedule;

And come on, the Wake Writing Center doesn't employ Work-Study students in tutorial jobs.
 
Idk man I quit on campus work first semester and worked three different jobs off campus because the pay was higher and the hours more flexible. I’m sure all those things you’re saying are correct, just saying work study didn’t pay well. I paid my loans off a lot better from higher hourly wage positions even needing to pay for gas and drive off campus a little ways.
 
TownieDeac said:
Idk man I quit on campus work first semester and worked three different jobs off campus because the pay was higher and the hours more flexible. I’m sure all those things you’re saying are correct, just saying work study didn’t pay well. I paid my loans off a lot better from higher hourly wage positions even needing to pay for gas and drive off campus a little ways.
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The things I'm saying are based on my experience employing work study students. It's an excellent federal program that does a ton of good for students who need it. Other than the personal stuff in your post, all of your information about the program was wrong or misleading.

P.S. How were you eligible for work study employment freshman year? Feel free to send me the answer offline if you prefer.

I also imagine your loans and repayment situation was unusual compared to most students seeking work study employment.
 
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Tbh I probably wasn’t doing actual federal work study, I was just working an on campus job, probably the source of the confusion here, my incorrect wording. I don’t believe eligibility came into it, I just applied for a couple different jobs in the library.
 
That could be though those library jobs are usually reserved for work study students.

You'd know if you were eligible. You have to submit a FAFSA form and the government determines your eligibility and how much you can work.
 
Well I definitely worked for like six weeks in the library freshman year, but I couldn’t tell you much more than that. I spent a lot of time doing very little, and made minimum wage.
 
I don't remember that. I'd be interested to learn more about your experience later. I tried to get a job in the library multiple times but they were reserved for work-study students.

Here are the work-study eligible jobs available this year for wake students.

https://studentemployment.wfu.edu/federal-work-study-job-descriptions/

As you can see, most of them only provide 5-10 hours a week and are highly tailored to particular student interests.

I can't imagine anybody needing actual "part-time" wages to pay tuition or for housing or food would find these jobs attractive. They serve a particular and very useful purpose: federally subsidized labor on campus that serves a public good and earns some pocket money for students in full-time degree programs.
 
When I say "pocket money" I'm including expenditures on small bills like phone, car payments, insurance. For someone needing to pay tuition or for housing or food (which many students eligible for work study will not be), a 10-hour work study job will not be sufficient.

Again, the difference is that these jobs are designed specifically for full-time students. It makes perfect sense that these jobs won't pay at the same rate or offer as many hours as jobs off campus.

All this to say that the initial argument above that work study jobs aren't "keeping up" with wage raises elsewhere ignores just about everything that makes this federal program useful to students and employers.
 
Agreed! I didn’t need to insert myself into the discussion.
 
I had a work study job my entire time at Wake. Worked my freshman year for Intramurals with TJ (that guy didn’t like me very much) worked for Jay’s technical crew for sophomore year, for the rest of my time at Wake I worked at the bridge.
 
Saying that college students don’t need to be paid market rate because they just need some pocket money is the same bullshit people used to justify shitty wages for fast food jobs because those are “jobs for teenagers”

It’s sucks man. Their time/labor isn’t worth less because of their life circumstances.
 
wakephan09 said:
So what did you think about the program MDMH?
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I really enjoyed it - some of the jobs/programs were a lot more flexible than others. I never had a car at Wake. I looked into working off campus but having to rely on the wake shuttle I never found anything that worked for my class schedule. Intramurals was such a popular job that there weren’t enough hours available. Working at the bridge was perfect, the staff was super flexible and because it was open so late and on the weekends you could get 20 hours a week. Plus working at the bridge was one of the few work study positions where you could continue working during summer school and even get a full time job after graduation. My wife and I both were hired on temporarily after we graduated.
 
BeachBumDeac said:
Saying that college students don’t need to be paid market rate because they just need some pocket money is the same bullshit people used to justify shitty wages for fast food jobs because those are “jobs for teenagers”

It’s sucks man. Their time/labor isn’t worth less because of their life circumstances.
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That's what you take from all of my posts? Read again, dude.
 
myDeaconmyhand said:
I really enjoyed it - some of the jobs/programs were a lot more flexible than others. I never had a car at Wake. I looked into working off campus but having to rely on the wake shuttle I never found anything that worked for my class schedule. Intramurals was such a popular job that there weren’t enough hours available. Working at the bridge was perfect, the staff was super flexible and because it was open so late and on the weekends you could get 20 hours a week. Plus working at the bridge was one of the few work study positions where you could continue working during summer school and even get a full time job after graduation. My wife and I both were hired on temporarily after we graduated.
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Thanks for this. Aligns with what I know about the program and my own experiences with it. Pretty cool that a work-study job could turn into a first career
 
I loved referreeing intramurals and when playing I loved giving shit to my friends who reffed intramural like BacktoBack. I reffed flag football and volleyball. Reffed Randolph Childress’ team a few times. He was one hell of a flag football QB. We normally had 3 refs working a game. If someone couldn’t make it, we had 2. First time I got a Childress game, I think we had a 6 person crew. Some guys saw who was playing and just stuck around for the next game. I did that freshman and sophomore year and made $5 a game.

Sophomore year one of my professors gave me a research job for $7.50 an hour where I could set my own schedule as long as I got the work done. Senior year she hired more students and I supervised them. And that’s basically what I do today.
 
 
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