I can remember when the clerks at the mine where I worked decided they wanted to make at least as much as the underground laborers. The company replied that the clerks could transfer to the mine anytime they wanted. Seeing as how the entry level at the mine were chute tappers who used 16 LB double jacks, scaling bars and metal hooks to break up and force oversized rocks through a grizzly into a raise in hot, dusty conditions, none of the clerks took the company up on the offer. Comparable worth is a very slippery slope.