As bad as we have it it with low wages, we aren't being beat and our wives raped and hung.

I don't think we need to get into a pissing contest over the definition here.

Is "wage slavery" as bad as "chattel slavery"? No, of course not.

Are people working themselves to illness or death under the rule of someone doing neither of those things? Are people unable to switch jobs because lifesaving medical benefits are tied to their job, because there's a gap between paychecks when you switch employers that could mean not having rent for the month? Are people forced to tolerate inhumane working conditions for a pittance? Yeah.

Beside that, the chattel slavery you're describing is only one type of slavery that's been practiced throughout history. It may be the worst type, but that doesn't mean that the current situation doesn't share many of the effects. Call it "indentured servitude" or something if you want, but as far as I'm concerned being told to work while being given barely enough to survive is close enough.