SpaceX to cough up $4 million to employees - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: logictom
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 13, 2017, 12:47:52 am
content: https://www.inverse.com/article/31478-spacex-settles-underpaid-workers-lawsuit-for-4-millionSurely no one benefits long term from messing employees around by not allowing them to take the appropriate breaks. It's a shame these large tech companies don't set an example.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 13, 2017, 03:22:54 pm
content: Only ones winning there are the lawyers.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 13, 2017, 06:39:10 pm
content: SpaceX (along with Tesla) standout in the tech industry as among the lowest-paying companies to work forNow I understand why we see so little from Free_electron in this forum

author: Kjelt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 13, 2017, 06:48:19 pm
content: Overtime should be paid out in shares, if the company is a success so will those that put in the extra time benefit from it.

author: RGB255_0_0
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 13, 2017, 07:14:25 pm
content: Quote from: Kjelt on May 13, 2017, 06:48:19 pmInvestors won't like that, and after a while, neither will employees as it dilutes their earnings.

author: Kjelt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 13, 2017, 08:17:42 pm
content: Well it would be much better than the $500 they are now offering which is two days pay for how much overtime? Hundreds of hours?Or time for time, if it is work that is worth be doing, it is worth getting paid for it.If every person on earth would be his own irganisation and large organisations are clusters from those individual organisations we would not have this discussion.So why would an organisation not pay his workers for the hours they make if they have a contract? Why would those same organisations pay another organisation? First is called exploitation, the second a velony.

author: RGB255_0_0
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 13, 2017, 09:37:40 pm
content: Of course they should pay, I didn't say they shouldn't in anywhere of my reply. Paying a lot of people in shares, which seems like it'd be a not so insignificant amount is not something big investors like as it dilutes their investment.Likewise, if you're being paid in shares, your earnings go down as well as up with the share price, and also get diluted.It's not a steady income, and if it's written that you cannot sell them for some time, could be worth nothing.Bonuses should be paid in shares, however, as bonuses are a share of the company's success

author: T3sl4co1l
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 13, 2017, 09:39:59 pm
content: And here's why I didn't run off to join any of these trendy companies...If you're not going to treat me with respect, I'm not going to treat you with designs.Tim

author: retrolefty
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 13, 2017, 10:01:48 pm
content: Quote from: RGB255_0_0 on May 13, 2017, 09:37:40 pmThat is how the large company I worked for did it. Hourly workers got time and half for overtime pay, double time on holidays. Even salary workers (exempt from overtime) would get 'comp time-off' forwork outside normal 40/week, but did have to be scheduled and approved. All got yearly bonusesif safety goals for each year were met. All also got a profit sharing stock plan based on companyprofits each year.The stereo type around here seems to be that most all large publicly owned companies are maximum profit only motivated where my experience with working with a couple of large companies is the opposite with real effort given to balance the needs of management, employees, and stockholders.I just guess negative charges are stronger then positive charges.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 13, 2017, 10:07:49 pm
content: Quote from: RGB255_0_0 on May 13, 2017, 09:37:40 pmI don't want no friggin' shares made out of fried air. I want the cold hard cash which makes the world go round! If I want to invest I'll do that on my own with the risk minimized by spreading the investment properly.

author: cdev
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 13, 2017, 10:24:23 pm
content: The pressure is extreme on companies to make big profits. Its not seen as enough to make a product or service, make a profit, and provide jobs for people.The excuse thats given is "highly mobile capital" demands higher and higher profits or it wants to get its money out and go somewhere else. . Ive lost count of the number of times that has happened to companies friends were working for. A lot.Also, its not unusual that wholly viable, even great companies are bought and broken apart just to get rid of the competition they present.Its so potentially dangerous to take external capital that makes the idea of starting a business not really work for most people, even if the idea is really good. Because your ideas will just as likely as not get stolen.Its also always been my impression that younger people, especially seem to get taken advantage a lot by companies that promise "green jobs" or anything involving what the general public perceive as ultra high tech, the wages are sometimes lower because of the draw of the "coolness factor".

author: JPortici
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 14, 2017, 06:41:20 am
content: Quote from: RGB255_0_0 on May 13, 2017, 09:37:40 pmif my company paid me in shares i'd update my resume and start looking for a new job. how long till it turns out they don't have any cash left for salaries? (maybe not tesla, but it happened here and i think is still happening right now)

author: scatha
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 14, 2017, 08:10:25 am
content: From what I've heard SpaceX has a really high incidence of workload induced burn-out among its engineering staff. I'm sure the employees know what they're signing up for, but you have to assume that there will come a point where SpaceX runs out of bright-eyed aeronautics engineers or someone makes a fatigue related boo-boo.

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 14, 2017, 09:35:37 am
content: Quote from: retrolefty on May 13, 2017, 10:01:48 pmI would never do a job where I'm expected to do unpaid overtime, unless it was for a huge salary with big bonuses. There are people where I work who are on a reasonable salary, yet end up being paid an average hourly rate much less than lesser skilled people, with fewer responsibilities.

author: tszaboo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2017, 01:01:32 pm
content: Quote from: scatha on May 14, 2017, 08:10:25 amAs I understand, the other company is called Stressla by the employees. In general, I have no idea, the americans put up with the average 10 paid vacation days total. 0 vacation days by law.About the unpaid overtime: Overtime is there if there is an emergency. Like something on fire. Deadline coming AND screw up. If you need constant overtime, it means the company has bad management. Becuase it is either not profitable (DA!) without overtime, or they are not capable to calculate the time required for projects. IMHO Musk fails at both. Or they are abusive psychopaths who think of the human resources as a throwaway item, lying is fine.

author: ajb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2017, 06:08:27 pm
content: Quote from: cdev on May 13, 2017, 10:24:23 pmI think most people are willing to trade off some amount of financial reward for other, less tangible rewards, such as "coolness factor" or work that does some social good, or work that's just plain more interesting in itself. Of course there's a cap on how much of the financial benefit you'd be willing to trade away based on what sort of bills you have to pay and lifestyle you're looking for, so naturally younger people who don't have families to support will tend to show more flexibility.A key difference between today's young people and those of previous generations is that real wage growth has been at best flat for quite a while for most people, but the costs of housing and of the education that so many jobs require even at entry level have been growing rapidly. So the people entering the workforce these days on the whole do so with a large debt load and with much higher living costs. You would think that would mean they'd be seeking higher wage jobs, but the pool of qualified candidates who desperately need a job to stay on top of their bills is large enough that employers have no incentive to increase wages. Couple that with a really high non-monetary attraction (aka, cool factor) and of course companies like SpaceX are going to wring their employees dry, whether they mean to or not.

author: DimitriP
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2017, 06:49:26 pm
content: QuoteYou can't pay for a house, a car, or an order on mouser , digikey or amazon using "less tangible rewards".

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2017, 08:17:12 pm
content: I think a lot of people work at these companies to get some good looking experience on their resume. When I was younger I didn't mind working long hours but now I'm at the stage of life where free time is more valuable to me than extra money.I think the environment is the way it is at companies like this because the companies are run by obsessive workaholics, their work is their life and they have no concept of wanting free time to do something else. It's a characteristic that makes people like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, the late Steve Jobs and others like them successful at revolutionizing the fields in which they work, but I suspect most of them are sociopathic and it takes a certain kind of fanatical person to want to work for somebody like that.

author: T3sl4co1l
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2017, 08:39:18 pm
content: Quote from: DimitriP on May 15, 2017, 06:49:26 pmIt's not a liquid asset. Cash, no. Car, probably not. House? Absolutely!What, you think you'll be working at a place like that for 30 years? Of course not. You'll do your 2-5 years there, move on to somewhere less stressful and more lucrative, they'll see your cred, and make the offer. THAT goes into your mortgage.Tim