It doesn't matter if the work itself is meaningful, the meaning is the saving/sacrifice. How many people earn without someone else earning off their back? Very few. My grandfather was a door to door salesman, worked in a clothing factory cutting fabric, bartended, bussed tables, worked in kitchens. My grandmother worked at a candy factory.

There's this funny notion now that work needs to be personally fulfilling or important to humanity or else it's not worth it. It's worth it if you can save money, afford a better life, educate your kids.

Getting fixated on the inherent unfairness of the world, where some people who have wealth and things you can't afford, seems to be a frequent cop out. If you want to be a union organizer and do things to change the inequality of the system, great. That doesn't mean that working to improve your own existence is a waste of time.