You always have a choice how to spend your money – however, we don’t always consider with WHOM are we spending our money. What are our spending choices supporting? Does our money support things we believe in, or does it support business practices that are detrimental to our society?

I ask this question in all seriousness as related to the moving industry. As a moving company who takes pride in how we treat our employees, when a dollar is spent with us, fair labor practices are being supported. The moving industry is famous for paying workers (often not employees) “under the table.”

There are many economic and ethical reasons why this is problematic – however there is one in particular to consider. While yes, these workers are not paying taxes, and, yes, these workers are not receiving benefits, the point that is often overlooked is that if these workers get hurt on the job – moving pianos is brutal on one’s back – they are not covered by worker’s compensation. They are essentially left to fend for themselves because their medical treatment will not be covered, and they will be unable to work and unable to receive worker’s compensation.

In worst case scenarios, this can lead to a nasty cycle of poverty as many workers who are paid under the table are those who are not financially stable. So the next time you choose your mover, have them verify that they have employees (not workers or “lumpers”) who are covered by worker’s compensation. Their payroll company should be able to verify this.

While it’s an extra step, it means a lot to be responsible for the social impact of your money.

Put your money where your values are.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 31st, 2009 at 2:22 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.