I tried to edit my post too late and don't want to edit again, so here it is:
Quote:
Originally Posted by ZBTHorton
Dude, why are you so heated about this? No pun intended. Seems really weird.
I guess all of the derping from highstakesfan about slave labor, sweat shops, Fox News(???), etc. got me a little worked up. I apologize.
I have to say, though, that I am genuinely surprised that people seem completely unfamiliar with the difference between an employee and an independent contractor. There are an endless number of employer / independent contractor relationships that do not require any sort of minimum wage. This an extremely common practice.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ZBTHorton
But there's a reason that 92 year old people are generally not very utilized in the work force. Among those reasons are lack of performance, lack of speed, etc.
This would be something in favor of allowing them to be classified as independent contractors. A couple of others off the top of my head: They work when and where they want and at their own pace. They work for an entrepreneurial venture making a unique product designed by their employer.
Another thing that people probably don't realize is that there isn't a lot of money to be made in the field of hand knitting and crocheting, anyway. Buying patterns and knitting things by hand is not something anyone does for a living. My mother has been knitting and crocheting as a hobby her entire life. She co-owned a yarn shop for almost a decade. I asked her for some specifics yesterday. She says it takes her 30+ hours to hand knit a sweater. Imagine how long it takes someone who hasn't been knitting almost every day for years. Her most profitable item has been personalized Christmas stockings forever. People at church have a kid, they need a Christmas stocking. The yarn for a stocking costs $8 and it takes her ~two hours to make them with a machine and then finishing by hand. She sells them for $20. Big moneymaker. Again, it's a hobby. She makes a little money doing something she loves.
She wanted to know why I was asking about this. 'Argument on the Internet lol.' Anyway, she looked at the bags. She pointed out a few things. The retirees are not putting out a finished product. They are just knitting the basic form of the bag. They would be using heavy or bulky yarn. Think of the work that goes in after they are finished. The bags are 'felted.' This is why thy don't look like a purse that was simply knit out of yarn. 'Felted' means they are thrown in a washing machine and then shaped/formed when taken out. The bags still need straps, buckles, a lining, etc. A big silver sterling buckle probably costs $20+, for example. I don't know how long it takes to finish a bag after knitting, but the labor cost for these is a hell of a lot more than $17 in the end.
My mother said $17 a bag isn't bad as far as knitting goes. When you add in the cost and time involved with getting a pattern and yarn and then selling whatever it is you decide to make, you're not going to make an hourly more than that independently, anyway.
There are probably certain items where someone could squeeze out $10 an hour. Maybe they could make those arm knit infinity scarves or something. Prices on those came down as soon as a bunch of people realized how quickly they can be made, though. The only way to really make money from hand knit products is to do what Sarah Oliver did: design a product, create a brand, market/build the brand, find people to make your product. I imagine these seniors are free to go ahead and do all of that if they choose. Maybe there is a non-compete clause lol.
Last edited by heater; 12-06-2015 at 03:29 PM.