Charles Schwab sits on a mountain of cash and still can’t be bothered to pay its frontline people a living wage. CEO Rick Wurster talked about raising salaries because the cost of living keeps climbing… then quietly didn’t follow through this year. Meanwhile the company rolled out a fresh $20 billion stock buyback in July 2025 so shareholders and executives can keep getting richer.
CS&S workers and the rest of the frontline grind every single day under that pressure. But leadership still loves the corporate Kumbaya about “seeing through the customer’s eyes.” Funny how nobody ever has to see through the employee’s eyes while they’re drowning.
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@es “Learn how to handle being poor better than expecting a decent raise for decent work from your employer that continues bragging about the record profits they’re bringing in!”
Fu-k off with this tone deaf, bootlicking bullsh-t. It’s fu--ing ridiculous that Rick and the EC keep giving themselves raises and awarding themselves shares while the rest of us doing the actual work don’t even get merit raises that keep pace with inflation.
You get paid what it would cost to replace you. If that's not keeping up with inflation, then you need to see how you can add value to the company in order to raise that replacement cost. Otherwise your option is to cut expenses. Try packing a lunch instead of going to the cafeteria. Cancel the streaming services you hardly ever watch. Brew your coffee at home instead of going to Starbucks. Take a staycations rather than vacations. Check out what's available from local thrift stores before going to Macy's or Nordstrom to buy your clothes. You'd be amazed how that all adds up.
Having worked at Schwab is more valuable to you than actually working there!
Look around! Most people I know bumped up their salaries 15-25% by going somewhere else, working for a company that respects you.
30% off government groceries in NYC. I recommend the government cheese.
Even great performers don’t keep up with inflation. My raises pool was 3.2%. Inflation is well over that. My guys? All are working for less than they were five years ago, including shares for high performers, when adjusted for inflation. None of them work only 40. And all have expensive commutes.
My only advice is leave. New hires almost always see a double digit bump in their new salary. Until labor wises up it isn’t going to change.