I have worked in this field for 15 years and I can honestly say I have never met anyone actively involved in it. At least no one has ever brought it up during the day.

This might be a good time for it though with all the talk of raising the federal minimum wage. We should take a stand and lobby for our field. This field has been uniquely screwed for a long time. We don't even get federal rates for the most part anymore since the service act, so while there is a federal wage rate system in place, private sector doesn't have to pay those rates. Raising the minimum wage doesn't guarantee equivalent raise in our field.

Personally I think federal minimum wage legislation should have built in categories for minimum wage per qualifications i.e. minimum wage for no education, no experience or minimum wage for college degree plus experience etc. This would also help other low paying fields like school teachers. Maybe we should find some allies like the red for ed movement and take to the streets with that?

Yes it has been very rare to find someone with direct experience with the union for me as well.

Not sure if this is a regional thing, the result of this industry’s endemic turnover, or that more experienced archaeologists tend to be in management positions and thus have particular incentives vis-a-vis unionization (not universally true, but you know what I mean).

I agree though that the current political moment is one ripe with opportunity, and that archaeologists have a somewhat unique way of getting screwed!

There is no reason that wages and benefits should be so low in our field. They are higher for laborers with 8th grade education (thanks to labor organizing), and higher for other consulting professional scientists such as biologists and geologists, who effectively perform the same compliance work. We think of ourselves as “professionals,” but for most technicians, materially speaking, we’re solidly working class.

Honestly it’s amazing to me that anyone can stick it out in this industry... It’s a total between a rock and hard place type situation:

Rock = Increasingly high student debt, cost of living (rent, food, health care), etc.

Hard place = low wages, unpredictable schedule, etc.

This stacks the deck on who can actually make it in this field - typically those that can rely on external support, especially inherited wealth, living with family, etc. I’m sure you can imagine the socio-economics of the people that fit that bill. Obviously this is not to take away from those who have been able to make it, external help or other wise. And of course there are great companies out there that treat their employees well. I am just arguing that we treat this situation like a fact of nature, when in fact it is completely socially created.

And yes: Red for Ed is great. Grad Student Unions are great. There is a wildcat strike at UCSC as we speak for living wages for grad students. Amazing! Linking up with the broader labor movement is crucial. But it won’t happen until we realize that field technician work is working class, and not merely a stepping stone to professional managerial positions later on - most people don’t make it that far. 

Good luck out there everyone!

Cheers,

Your Friend Josh

I wouldn't advise anyone to get into this field. We are among the lowest-paid college graduates out there. More and more education is required for doing the same jobs, but the pay does not increase. I see more and more jobs for techs doing basic survey that say, "bachelor's required, master's preferred." Why do you need a master's degree to walk over a hill? I used to do a lot of monitoring. Not any more, now you have to have an MS degree to watch some high school dropout drive around on a bucket loader--and he makes more an hour than you do. Forget unions--there is a fresh batch of young, naive rookie archaeologists graduating every year who will be happy to take your job, and the employers know this. And the employers do talk to each other, so if you start to beef about unions you better get your retail skills up to speed, because you will get blacklisted. I loved my time in archaeology, but I can't keep up with the youngsters any more, so I'm out, and not by choice. All that talk about not discriminating due to age or disability is a crock. The last guy to the top of the hill will get dropped from the next project, no matter his experience, attitude, or anything else. Been there, done that, or rather, had that done to me.