"We are paid only a little more than minimum wage, and $7/hr under a living wage in Portland, which is $27/hr according to MIT's Living Wage Calculator. I actually need that food. Our company's profits rely on everyone on my team having a second job, a dual income household, or financial help from their families. We work a 40 hr week, managing the feels of rich people whose sense of entitlement, were we able to harness it, would power the whole city for a year."
"Our labor is skilled, despite being labeled otherwise. We use a dozen active and reference tools. We are expert communicators for a broad variety of demographics, translating our communiques into French and Spanish using AI tools. We decipher the most convoluted requests into plain, actionable language. We have to grok a massive product catalogue that is constantly updated."
"At any given moment, we act as investigators, therapists, instructors, and subject matter experts. It is absolutely infuriating that we are not shown the respect we deserve through our compensation. I spend 60% of my take-home pay on rent. I spend 28% of my gross pay on taxes. I have to take LIHEAP for my energy bills . My copay for a dr appt is $50, or about 4 hrs of net-pay."
"THEY ARE NOTHING WITHOUT US, AND THEY DO NOT GIVE ONE S*** about how we struggle, daily, especially now. The "culture" is so inclusive. except when we have to pay the bills.- Anonymous"
Workers describe being paid slightly above minimum wage and below a living wage, with high rent and taxes consuming most income. They report needing assistance programs for energy bills and facing substantial out-of-pocket medical costs. They say company profits depend on employees working while managing customer needs for affluent clients. They characterize their work as skilled and multifaceted, involving active and reference tools, multilingual communication using AI, and translating complex requests into actionable language. They also describe their roles as investigators, therapists, instructors, and subject matter experts. They express frustration that compensation and respect do not match the importance of their labor.
Read at Portland Mercury
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]