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Exploitation in the Workplace

Diana Hargrove

Department of Organizational Leadership, South Texas College

ORGL-3332- KV1-Business Ethics II

Dr. Scott Sparrow

September 14, 2022

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Exploitation in the Workplace

With all the changes we have seen in our workplace lately, I do not believe that any of

them have been for the benefit of the workers of this union. There were a lot of workers who

experienced hardships through the COVID-19 pandemic. The construction industry was one of

them. We all continued to work every day, some of us having to work longer hours and making

up for some people who might of got the virus or had to stay at home after being exposed.

Nevertheless, our hard work and determination through everything has never been reflected in

our pay. While the capitalists of our companies continue to make more profits every year than

they did the year before, our pay has not increased. Our benefits have not increased and we do

not have access to paid time off. We also do not have access to health care through our employer.

Most everyone in this room is just living paycheck to paycheck and trying to just survive in order

to provide for their families. While the capitalists of the company are making millions of dollars

a year and we as workers are seeing none of that. Marx describes laborer power as “being a

source not only of value, but of more value than it has itself” (Nielson, 2020). This is something

that is known as surplus value. We might have been paid enough just to survive, but our surplus

value is something the capitalists of our company need to take into consideration. I have these

recommendations for our union to consider. These are yearly wage increases, profit-sharing,

health benefits, and paid time off.

I do believe that many of our workers here today do not realize that they are being

exploited. We, are the workers have in our possession the labor-power that is needed in order for

this business to be successful and make profits.  Labor-power is a commodity which its

possessor, the wage-worker, sells to the capitalist (Hurst, 2018). We, as the workers have the

right and the ability to ask our employer for more pay. The workers have not made more money
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every year as opposed to the capitalists of our company. The highest paid employee here is

making $18/hr., while the least paid employee is making $13/hr. Many of us have not seen a

wage increase at all in years and especially since the pandemic hit. It is my recommendation that

we ask our employers to have yearly wage increases. Also, our wages should not just be based

on how much money we just need to survive. They should be based on the value of our surplus

labor as well. While, the capitalists of this company might say that the supplies or raw material

prices we have used are going up, their profits are still going up as well. The income inequality

has been justified to us by stating that the pandemic has caused a hardship for capitalists as well.

This hardship is something the employees have had to deal with more than the capitalists. We are

the ones out there working at job sites every day. While many of us could have left during the

pandemic and received unemployment, like a lot of others we did not. I do believe that our wage

increase should be justified by our performance and attendance. We are the ones out there

finishing the jobs and working hard on them, while the capitalists collect all the money earned

from them. They then pay us what they feel they need to in order for us to merely survive. Our

surplus labor value needs to be addressed and the capitalists need to pay us what we are worth.

The next item I would like to address and see added to our benefits of pay is profit-

sharing. This is the biggest change that I could see happening that would have the biggest

positive impact for the most employees. Since most of us do live paycheck to paycheck, we ae

unable to prepare for any sort of retirement. A profit-sharing plan is a defined contribution

pension plan in which the workers and employees are allowed to obtain their share in the overall

profit of the organization in such a way that they are encouraged to contribute more and more to

the profit of the organization and motivates to give their best efforts; thus it is an incentive plan

that gives a variable benefit to the employees based on a certain percentage of profit (Srivastav,
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2022). I would recommend at least a 10% profit sharing in the company. There are on average 20

of us working in this organization. With a company making over a million dollars a year, this

could help us tremendously. I would recommend a combination plan. Since there are cash plans

that you give you money instantly at the end of the year and deferred that put your money into a

retirement account, I believe a combination of both would best benefit us. Many of us do not

have any money saved for unexpected expenses. For example, one of our employees his

refrigerator went out this week. In order for us to pay for unexpected emergencies like this we

have to get a loan from our employer and pay back a certain amount each week. It would help if

we had a profit-sharing where money was put into an account where that we would have access

to for things such as this.

My next recommendation is access to health care through our employer. The capitalists in

our company are making enough money to where they are able to afford healthcare coverage for

themselves. None of us are making enough money that we are able to do this. When we need to

go to the doctor we have to pay the full amount out of pocket. I am personally am making $1500

a month. When I applied for the Obama Care I was quoted over $400 a month. There is no way I

can pay all my bills, buy food and necessities for my family, and still be able to afford health

insurance. The capitalist of this company are able to afford an employer health plan and share in

the premiums with us as well. Many of us, if we do have to go to the hospital for anything do not

have the means or money to pay for it. I know I was put in the hospital and had to undergo an

emergency appendix removal. It would have been a lot stressful if I knew I had health insurance

going in. Also, with as hard as we work we should be able to afford and have access to

affordable health insurance.

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The last thing I would like to address is paid time off. This is something that has never

been done at our organization. If any of us go out of town or are sick, we just don’t get paid for

that time. It is my recommendation that after an employee's first full year of employment they

are given one week of PTO to be used how they see fit. Additionally, for every year of

employment after that they are given two weeks of PTO. Being able to still be paid if we are sick

or go out of town would be a huge benefit for all of us. I know if you miss a few days of work

that could really create a hardship that month for you and your family. We work hard enough and

have enough surplus value in our labor that this is something the capitalists in our company can

and should do.

In conclusion, the exploitation in our workplace needs to immediately be addressed by

the capitalists in our company. Our goal should be nothing less than the creation of a new system

that ends exploitation by vindicating life-making over profit-making (Nielson, 2020). The

employees of this company work hard every day to ensure that the capitalists of this company

maximize their profits. All of this is done while the employees of this company are seeing no

increase in their profits and we do not have the ability to create a better life for ourselves and our

families. Some of us have been at this company for over 20 years and are still having to live

paycheck to paycheck. We do not have the luxury to afford any kind of lifestyle that would

benefit us better. This is something that we have become complicate and used to. It is time for

the power and profits to shift in our company. The ones who are out there working everyday

should see a better quality of life not only for themselves, but for their families as well.
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References

Hurst, A. L. (2018, December 31). Marx on wage labor and Capital. Classical Sociological

Theory and Foundations of American Sociology. Retrieved September 19, 2022, from

https://open.oregonstate.education/sociologicaltheory/chapter/marx-on-wage-labor-and-

capital/

Nilsen, A. G. (2020, November 23). Marx on exploitation: An ABC for an unequal world.

Retrieved September 19, 2022, from https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-

trafficking-and-slavery/marx-exploitation-abc-unequal-world/

Srivastav, A. K. (2022, September 13). Profit sharing Plan. WallStreetMojo. Retrieved

September 21, 2022, from https://www.wallstreetmojo.com/profit-sharing-plan/