Have you ever applied for a job and was asked how you were paid at your previous employment, or asked how much you would like to get paid?  These questions put a job applicant at a disadvantage and serve to keep wages as low as possible.  Have you worked at a place where everyone’s compensation level was a big secret and sharing that information was discouraged?  This also serves to keep labor costs as low as possible.

Similar to civil service employment, at Mondragon Corporation, the world’s largest worker cooperative, there are six tiers (or levels) of compensation.  No need to negotiate your beginning wages nor any need to guess what you can ask for in a raise.  All new workers start at the same wage and you advance through developing skills and proficiency, knowledge, or any other requirement that is approved by guess who — the workers themselves.  As a group that participates in the decision making process, employee owners can influence decisions such as these when the company is properly structured.  At Professional Home Projects it will be the employees that will have the final say in how they are compensated.