So they were offered a 50% hike, so what? When was the last time they got a meaningful pay increase? And if it’s not the money, it’s got to be something else: remember when the rail workers were on strike and the bosses made big noise about the pay increases they were offering, only it turned out that the workers were constantly expected to work double shifts on no notice, with no real option to refuse, and they had no time off for months on end? Fuck that shit, pay the workers what they’re worth. If I can’t buy a brand new car or some bananas, so what?
It could also mean that they started young, perhaps babysitting, dog-walking, or delivering papers. It also could mean that they’ve worked multiple jobs at the same time: in college, I worked two full-time and one part-time job in addition to classes, which ramped up my job numbers noticably.