Wage gaps constitute a major component of workplace inequality. While scholars have explored the causes and consequences of differences in pay, very few question the basic presumption that workers are paid differently in the first place. Drawing on ethnographic research in a worker cooperative with a policy of equal pay, this article analyses how the organization compensated its members in the context of low wages, economic uncertainty, and insufficient social benefits. Over time, I found that members justified small variations that led to wage difference without amending their commitment to pay equity. This was made possible through a system of survival finance, a set of compensation practices that supports the reproduction of both individual members and the organization as a whole. Whereas members understood money wages as market-based incentives for labor, the cooperative enacted its principles of equality and fairness by compensating members with alternative currencies (time) and additional benefits (zero interest rate credit) to help make ends meet. The article concludes by reflecting on the challenges of equalizing pay and its implications for reducing workplace inequality.

中文翻译：

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生存金融和同工同酬政治

工资差距是工作场所不平等的一个主要组成部分。虽然学者们已经探讨了薪酬差异的原因和后果，但很少有人首先质疑工人薪酬不同的基本假设。本文利用对实行同工同酬政策的工人合作社进行的民族志研究，分析了该组织如何在低工资、经济不确定性和社会福利不足的背景下补偿其成员。随着时间的推移，我发现成员在不修正他们对薪酬公平的承诺的情况下，证明了导致工资差异的微小变化是合理的。这是通过生存融资系统实现的，这是一套支持个体成员和整个组织再生产的补偿实践。尽管成员将货币工资理解为基于市场的劳动力激励措施，但合作社通过向成员提供替代货币（时间）和额外福利（零利率信贷）以帮助维持生计来制定其平等和公平原则。文章最后反思了薪酬均等化的挑战及其对减少工作场所不平等的影响。