How Wages Stay Low Without Anyone “Setting” Them

How the System Works — Without Anyone “Setting” Wages

People often hear explanations like this and ask:

“If no one is legally setting wages…
then how are wages staying so low?”

The answer is simpler than most people think.

It starts with who controls the contracts.

In New Brunswick, one corporate ecosystem — including J.D. Irving Limited and its related companies — dominates large portions of industry, transportation, energy, forestry, ports, and services.

This is called vertical integration.

That means one system controls multiple layers of the economy:
production, transportation, distribution, and services.

When that happens, wages don’t need to be “set.”

They become anchored.

Here’s how that works.

Large companies set contract prices, not wages.

Those contracts go out to:
trucking companies,
cleaning companies,
security firms,
maintenance crews,
food services,
and support services.

To win the work, contractors must bid low.

Labour is the biggest cost they can control.

So wages are squeezed.

Not because workers aren’t worth more —
but because the contract won’t allow more.

Over time, something important happens.

When one buyer dominates contracts,
its prices become the market reference point.

Other employers don’t raise wages to compete —
because they don’t have to.

Workers can’t easily leave —
because alternatives pay roughly the same.

This creates a wage ceiling across entire job categories.

Truck drivers feel it.
Custodians feel it.
Retail and service workers feel it.
Administrative and support staff feel it.

No one announces it.
No one votes on it.

It’s structural.

This is why working harder doesn’t fix the problem.

This is why “just get another job” often leads to the same pay.

And this is why service jobs are hit first and hardest.

In a concentrated economy, competition disappears —
and bargaining power disappears with it.

That’s how wages stay low
without anyone ever setting them.

This is the second part of understanding why Saint John struggles.

Not because people aren’t trying —
but because the system limits what effort can return.

This is the Canadian Citizens Journal.

#SaintJohnNB #NewBrunswick #Wages #WorkingCanadians #Labour #EconomicReality #CCJ