12th January 2011, 12:24 AM
I haven't had a chance to watch the video yet so bear with me if I am a little off topic.
I know some people who work in the New England area, specifically Boston / Rhode Island / Connecticut, and start pay for entry level is typically around $12 to $15 an hour with accommodation and travel expenses. This is roughly ?8 to ?11 right now I think. The thing is though, being an archaeologist from that area, you can only work from March/April until about October when the ground freezes. US contract archaeologists tend to be uber-migrants and head south for the winter where they can still dig stuff up when the temperature drops.
I had never heard of an archaeology union until I moved to the UK. Americans tend to be ridiculously anti-union unfortunately because my fellow countryfolk are too easily swayed by the whims of the media/corporate/political power structure. I would imagine this to only affect archaeology indirectly because anti-unionism is just part of a more general, broader problem back in the states. I don't see how an archaeology union would work specifically because of how the laws are written for contracted workers vs. those made permanent. Contracted workers tend to be denied even the most basic of rights (such as healthcare, dental, eye coverage) because a signed contract is considered a forfeit of those rights in a way. I've seen it done to construction workers who work as private contractors as a way for companies to circumvent mandatory employer provided health coverage to full time employees. To be honest though I haven't ever asked any of my friends how this specific issue affects them. Whats worse, in my opinion, small businesses in the states tend to be able to get rid of workers easier if they consider unionization than large corporations. Most private archaeology firms I think would be classified as small businesses and it would be very easy for them to just get rid of the undesirables.
I would love to see it happen though but the political climate is only getting worse for any of that talk. The nation is moving too far to the right for union support to become a hot topic again.
I know some people who work in the New England area, specifically Boston / Rhode Island / Connecticut, and start pay for entry level is typically around $12 to $15 an hour with accommodation and travel expenses. This is roughly ?8 to ?11 right now I think. The thing is though, being an archaeologist from that area, you can only work from March/April until about October when the ground freezes. US contract archaeologists tend to be uber-migrants and head south for the winter where they can still dig stuff up when the temperature drops.
I had never heard of an archaeology union until I moved to the UK. Americans tend to be ridiculously anti-union unfortunately because my fellow countryfolk are too easily swayed by the whims of the media/corporate/political power structure. I would imagine this to only affect archaeology indirectly because anti-unionism is just part of a more general, broader problem back in the states. I don't see how an archaeology union would work specifically because of how the laws are written for contracted workers vs. those made permanent. Contracted workers tend to be denied even the most basic of rights (such as healthcare, dental, eye coverage) because a signed contract is considered a forfeit of those rights in a way. I've seen it done to construction workers who work as private contractors as a way for companies to circumvent mandatory employer provided health coverage to full time employees. To be honest though I haven't ever asked any of my friends how this specific issue affects them. Whats worse, in my opinion, small businesses in the states tend to be able to get rid of workers easier if they consider unionization than large corporations. Most private archaeology firms I think would be classified as small businesses and it would be very easy for them to just get rid of the undesirables.
I would love to see it happen though but the political climate is only getting worse for any of that talk. The nation is moving too far to the right for union support to become a hot topic again.