| This question <691|717> overall <697|699> Fred: <582|63>. |
| Question 773: The only way the worker can improve his lot in society is to increase the productive powers of his labor. Right or wrong? |
| [698] Fred: Slowing Down to Increase Your Lot In Society. Karly's [683] states that increasing productive powers of labor can lead to increased wages. Karly mentions personal experience with working harder and getting more money for doing so. Gregory's [691] agrees with Karly's idea of working harder for more money. I think they are only talking about the short run. Work as hard as you want, you are still in the long run only going to get necessary labor time wages and you will still be exploited. It will not improve your lot in society. It is the nature of the beast. It is a predator-prey mechanism as stated by Hans in [2004fa:585]. |
| My experience with this was having worked 15 years in a manufacturing plant here in Salt Lake City making X-Ray tubes for medical service equipment. I worked on swing and weekend shifts. I took great pride in working hard, always received high reviews from management, and was actually at the top of my pay grade. This means the last 3 years of work, I was making good money relative to starting over, (or if I were to go elsewhere), and worked with no increases beyond cost of living increases based on inflation, but these increases were less than inflation. I was let go, (they called it a R.I.F., or reduction in force), but then 3 other people were hired at entry-level positions in my place shortly thereafter. |
| My shift experienced great animosity from other shifts because we were producing at a higher rate than they were. However, on the weekends we were not interrupted by engineers needing equipment to run their tests on, or from special projects needing to be moved to the front of the line. We should have been producing more. But all the other shifts saw was that it made them look bad. They went to great lengths to get us to slow down. Our levels of production became the standard, and wages were not increased. Because we were producing more, other shifts were being expected to do the same. However, no one got any more money for it! The end result was that I was let go, with excellent reviews and 15 years of service. I tell you Marx is right. What Hans has talked about in this class has validity to it. Increasing your productive powers by working harder at a manufacturing plant is not going to improve your lot in society. I am now self-employed. |
| Engineers were making more money, although not a lot, as I was making more than incoming engineers during my last 8 years, (but working swing and weekend shifts to do so). Engineers are also salary and expected to work a minimum of 50 hours (even though contracted at a 40 hour salary rate) and to be on call when needed. |
| I believe the movement to slow down here was because the workers realized they would not get any more money for their extra efforts or harder work, and it was the only way they could increase their lot in society through not being so exhausted at the end of the day, having a less strenuous day, and thus being more relaxed after the work day was over for their leisure time. |
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