Conspiring to suppress wages is clearly off-limits. But because the intention is to raise wages to a uniform base that makes all high-impact work similarly attractive, rather than to suppress wages, I'd be interested to explore whether workers could pursue the strategy above by forming a union and bargaining collectively with employers for a consistent contract.
(I feel very uncertain of the feasibility of this idea -- Before pursuing this idea any further, I think it would be important learn more about constraints on collective bargaining with multiple employers for similar contracts, as well as any limits on funders' ability to encourage grantees to hire members of a union.)
[Edit: The original version of this comment offered an idea that, as Mauricio flagged below, could be inconsistent with U.S. antitrust law. Thanks, Mauricio, for flagging my mistake. I retract the comment.]
I wonder whether the exception for organized labor might apply in this context?
Conspiring to suppress wages is clearly off-limits. But because the intention is to raise wages to a uniform base that makes all high-impact work similarly attractive, rather than to suppress wages, I'd be interested to explore whether workers could pursue the strategy above by forming a union and bargaining collectively with employers for a consistent contract.
(I feel very uncertain of the feasibility of this idea -- Before pursuing this idea any further, I think it would be important learn more about constraints on collective bargaining with multiple employers for similar contracts, as well as any limits on funders' ability to encourage grantees to hire members of a union.)
[Edit: The original version of this comment offered an idea that, as Mauricio flagged below, could be inconsistent with U.S. antitrust law. Thanks, Mauricio, for flagging my mistake. I retract the comment.]