This is very well put and the way you describe the intra-company blue-collar / white-collar divide is on the money. You are right, this sucks.
I'm more skeptical about not being in a free labor market. I know many people in London who get by on the minimum wage (~16K). I doubt the cost of living in a small-town factory in the Midwest is comparable to the cost of living in London.
It's a shitty situation, sure, but it sounds like a far cry from not being able to change jobs because a single day without any income would lead to insolvency.
I'm more skeptical about not being in a free labor market. I know many people in London who get by on the minimum wage (~16K). I doubt the cost of living in a small-town factory in the Midwest is comparable to the cost of living in London.
It's a shitty situation, sure, but it sounds like a far cry from not being able to change jobs because a single day without any income would lead to insolvency.