The article “Low-wage workers now have options, which could mean a raise” was published in The New York Times by Eduardo Porter on July 20, 2021. It discusses how the coronavirus pandemic has shaped the job market for low-wage workers. According to the editorial, low-wage workers such as restaurant workers, lifeguards, construction workers, truck drivers, and building cleaners are demanding for higher pay across the companies (Porter, 2021). Unlike before the pandemic, these workers now have options since many businesses are actively looking for employees. The author concludes that low-income workers finally have leverage in negotiating for their wages.
The main premise of the article is that low-income workers’ wage is set to increase. This change is attributed to an increased demand for these workers. For instance, restaurants have announced 61% more posts for waiters and waitresses in the first five months of this year than they did for the same months in 2018 and 2019 (Porter, 2021). Since there is a high demand for workers, the workers have a say in how much they get paid. They can now afford to decline jobs that do not pay enough and wait for those that do. Consequently, this forces companies to increase their pay or face a staff shortage.
The author supports his claim using various pieces of evidence. First, the author references other sources as evidence for his claim. For instance, he quotes Hudson Riehle, the vice president for research at the National Restaurant Association, who said that restaurant operators were facing increasing challenges in recruiting and retaining labor force (Porter, 2021). Porter also cites data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York as evidence for his argument. According to this source, the least amount of pay that workers are willing to accept has been on the rise since 2017. This explains why low-income workers are now demanding for a higher pay. In addition, Porter also cites Burning Glass, a job market analytics firm that recorded a 61% increase in demand for restaurant workers (Porter, 2021). The author also mentions chief economists from various institutions such as Betsey Stevenson from the Labor Department, Jed Kolko from Indeed job placement site, and Ken Simonson from Associated General Contractors of America. It is easy to independently verify these sources through a simple internet search.
Porter also uses examples to explain his argument and support his position. In the first paragraph, he gives examples of restaurants such as McDonald’s, Chipotle, and Papa John’s that have raised their wages. Further, in some of these restaurants, employees get hiring and referral bonuses. Aside from the hotel industry, other sectors also face the problem of shortage of workers. There has been an increased demand for low-wage workers in nearly all fields (Morath, 2021). Examples of workers whose pay is set to increase include truck drivers, nursing aides, lifeguards, truck drivers, and many more. By giving examples from different sectors, the author shows that the worker shortage problem is widespread. Exemplification is a good strategy for building an argument because it solidifies the claim. His examples are easily verifiable by visiting the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The article also raises the possible counterarguments to its position and refutes them. For instance, some employers argue that the difficulty in finding workers is because of the expansion in unemployment benefits. According to them, the improvement in unemployment benefits discourages people from working. However, Porter argues that since more employers are looking for workers, it improves the prospects of job-seekers (Porter, 2021). As COVID-19 is now under control due to vaccination, there is a rebound in hiring. The author also gives evidence to support his refutation. For instance, the expansion of unemployment insurance is only a temporary measure (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2020). The fact that employees are rejecting jobs that refuse to increase their wages shows that this is attributable to a factor other than enticing unemployment benefits.
The writer does not seem to represent a particular interest. He makes an argument based on market observations by experts. Porter does not advocate for or against wage increase for low-income workers. Instead, he explains that this is an event that is likely to happen. The writer takes a neutral position as he explicates changes in the labor market. From his informative writing, it is evident that the author researched the topic extensively. Further, his argument is clear, consistent, and easy to follow. Consequently, there are no noticeable errors in knowledge. Additionally, Porter references some of the most distinguished minds in economics and builds his argument on their words. This dispels any errors in evidence and generally strengthens his claim. Finally, I did not detect any errors in thinking when reading the article. Overall, the article does not contain errors that would render the writer’s argument illogical, wrong, or irrelevant.
The main appeal used by the writer is logos, which is the appeal to logic and reason. Porter’s supports his argument through labor data and statistics. For instance, he uses data obtained from the Labor Department to explain why low-income workers have an increased bargaining power. The article also features an occupation-by-occupation analysis of the job market. The use of data, statistics, and other scientific proofs is an appeal to logos. Logos relies on logic, reason, and common sense to establish an argument. The writer also appeals to legitimate authority by citing people knowledgeable in the subject. Legitimate authority refers to people who are actually experts in a given field (Cummings, 2015). Appeal to legitimate authority differs from appeal to false authority in that the credibility of false authority cannot be established. From my analysis, the author does not commit any logical fallacies when making his argument.
Overall, I found the article very compelling because it provides sufficient evidence for its claim. The article argues that changes in the labor market could increase the income of low-wage workers. It cites various examples where this phenomenon has already been witnessed. The author also supports his argument by citing the opinion of experts in the field of labor economics. This makes his argument stronger because generally, people are more likely to believe experts. Additionally, Porter reinforces his argument with data and statistics pertinent to the issue. This information is easily verifiable by doing an internet search. Appealing to logic is a persuasive way of establishing an argument. Finally, I found the article compelling because it is easy to understand. It is not too technical that a person without enough information on labor economics cannot understand. Instead, the writer builds his argument step by step and makes it easy to follow. In conclusion, Porter makes a credible argument on why low-income workers having options could mean a raise for them.
References
Cummings, L. (2015). Argument from authority. In Reasoning and Public Health: New Ways of Coping with Uncertainty (pp. 67-92). Springer, Cham.
Morath, E. (2021). Lower-wage workers see biggest gains from easing of covid-19 pandemic. The Wall Street Journal.
Porter, E. (2021). Low-wage workers now have options, which could mean a raise. The New York Times.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2020). Employment recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.