I'm sure that that got your attention! I don't think that that's what the author intended, but whether he doesn't realize it, or it's simply that a stopped clock is right twice a day, the piece makes a rock solid argument for even entry level jobs to pay well and be treated with dignity.
I monitor the infamous Generation Opportunity on facebook -- it's useful to know what the opposition is up to. These are the clowns (with apologies to hard working circus entertainers) who came up with those creepy Uncle Sam ads. In any case, today they posted this truly remarkable piece from freethefuture.org on their page. It leads off with
Many Americans today too often look down upon blue-collar, low-wage jobs. Earning the minimum wage working a cash register, stocking groceries, or serving food is viewed not as the first rung on the ladder to success but as a dead-end job.
Yes, many people do. Many businesses see blue collar, low wage employees as expendable. But not all. Costco in particular is known for paying all employees well and promoting through the ranks. Market Basket goes without saying for those of us in Massachusetts (and by now it's very well known elsewhere). In both companies, plenty of people have come up through the ranks into management, and even those that haven't have rewarding careers. Contrast this with McDonald's, Walmart, and so forth that treat their low level employees like dirt. It then goes on with
To avoid taking out more student loans than necessary, Tim Bell made the decision to work part-time at UPS while going to school. Having no experience related to the trucking industry, the low-wage job offered Tim a chance to learn basic work skills, without taking up school time.
Instead of rejecting the opportunity to work at a low-wage job, Tim loaded trucks at UPS for $8 an hour, paying down his college tuition bills while gaining valuable work experience.
and goes on to note that Tim's now making in the 6 figures as what sounds like a mid-level manager.
This is truly remarkable for what it says, if you pay any attention at all to it. In January 1994, the CPI was 146.2; in January 2014, it was 233.9. So that $8/hour wage (which in nominal dollars was still higher than today's national minimum wage) was worth $12.80 in today's dollars. That's not a great wage, but it offers a fighting chance to live on. As for student loans, things were also a lot cheaper back then, so Tim would have owed a lot less (https://trends.collegeboard.org/...). For example, the average net (of grants and tax benefits) price for attending a public 4-year college rose from $8000 in 1993-1994 to $12,600 in 2013-2014. And it sounds like Tim was treated pretty well by UPS, even though the work was hard -- his management recognized him as a good guy, and also let him earn his bachelor's degree (that would be tough with the kind of random scheduling that a lot of companies seem to insist on today).
Raise the minimum wage to $12.80 and have employers treat all workers with dignity? Yes, that is indeed a great Labor Day message!