I'm not talking about executives. I'm talking about rank-and-file office workers who have nobody reporting to them. Now, while there are probably some individual office workers treated worse than individual warehouse employees, the contrast is stark. Like, I work at the office of a factory. I don't have anybody under me, but the difference between how I'm treated and how they're treated is so stark. Hell, they're even union guys and I'm not.
Is there some obscure theory thing explaining this?
Also, offices tend to be where the bosses and managers live most of the time. Kind of a "don't shit where you eat" type situation. Notice that line managers and shift leads usually only get a small percentage more than line workers. Because they aren't in the same place as the big managers/bosses.