Everywhere you turn, it seems like Americans are working harder and longer for less and less. The technology world is not excluded from this new reality. Jut ask former Yelp employee Talia Jane.
Friday afternoon, this Yelp customer service representative wrote a letter to CEO Jeremy Stoopelmen complaining of low pay. Two hours later, Talia Jane was suddenly fired for that letter. That letter, and her response, made it to Twitter and has been circulating social media ever since. Jane’s letter brings up two other issues. The cost of living in Silicon Valley/Bay Area is becoming unbearable. The letter states that Jane earned a bi-weekly paycheck of $733, 80% goes to paying the rent. She’s not alone. The 25-year-old stated most colleagues around her age are struggling economically. It’s so bad that they have to take second jobs and/or live with their parents. Even Stooplemen tweeted in agreement that costs of living were astronomical. ?The letter also kills the stereotype of the Silicon Valley techie as overpaid and entitled. One tech rep wrote they will move some of their customer support team to Phoenix, Arizona. The housing market is cheaper, and they will be paid the same wage. Stooplemen insists Jane’s firing had nothing to do with her protest letter or Twitter campaign.
I hope Stooplemen is telling the truth on that. Nobody should be fired because of a complaint letter that was sent to the CEO before it hit social media. I could see if Jane made a malicious social media smear campaign, but clearly she didn’t. This was a genuine concern of her own survival. Even Stooplemen agreed on that, somewhat. But there is a crisis of wealth inequality in this country. Even political candidates address this. For instance, in the mid-1980s, the average CEO made 30 times that of the average American wage earner. Today, the average CEO makes over 300x that of American wage earners. So this problem is by no means limited to Yelp or the computer tech industry. And frankly, I don’t see it getting any better. Do you?