[lotsofpulp]

> That seems to be an argument for keeping non-compete clauses

That was an argument that the labor buyers you were negotiating with were perceiving an excess supply of labor that they wanted relative to demand at that time.

Your solution would have been to try to sell to other labor buyers or change the type of labor you were selling to something that was in sufficient demand such that buyers would not have a choice other than to train you, and treat you well enough such that you are incentivized to stick around.