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Thousands of Google’s cafeteria workers have unionized

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Re: Thousands of Google’s cafeteria workers have unionized

#101

Does anyone have any good/neutral book recommendations on unionization?

I'd really like a good book on the legal basis and evolution of unions in different countries. My sense is that there's a lot about US versus, say, Danish unions that works differently and Japanese unions are generally specific to a given company making them something else again.

Re: Thousands of Google’s cafeteria workers have unionized

#102
post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Employees will go apeshit. Food is such a huge deal for the culture.

If you work in a tech company, you'll quickly realize that the food is something everyone focuses on to a disproportionate degree. This guy knows what he is talking about.

I know a QA ex Google engineer that refused to ever work for a company with a cafeteria again solely because he got tired of people complaining about food that was free. It annoyed him that much.

Re: Thousands of Google’s cafeteria workers have unionized

#103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In a perfect world, unions would be unnecessary. I think that would be a less controversial opinion. Wanting them to be illegal is more a moralization of your economic ideology - it would not be compatible with a belief that “labor is entitled to all it creates”. And stating it as matter of fact rather than as an opinion is kind of lame

When corporations band together to extract higher profits we penalize them, same logic should apply to labor unions.

Well, all of Google's shareholders are banding together against thousands of individual workers. We don't penalize them banding together. We just call it "a company". Why is it any different when some of the workers band together to be on equal footing?

Re: Thousands of Google’s cafeteria workers have unionized

#104

I’m glad they were able to unionize but why should they deserve to have similar or same benefits as Google workers? Sorry to be blunt but they are cafeteria workers working for Bon Appetit. If I were Google I would just close all the cafeterias in order to avoid further precedent setting actions. The meals are going to get taxed by IRS anyway so might as well bite the bullet now and get rid of free food entirely.

They are not Google employees here they are employed by a third party.

Re: Thousands of Google’s cafeteria workers have unionized

#105

The only reason labor unions are legal is that certain unions have outsized political clout, in a perfect world labor unions would be illegal under antitrust laws as forcing companies to pay workers more than what a free market dictates inevitably increases prices.

Google has net income of almost $30.7 billion and payed only $4.2 billion in tax. If they gave all 2,300 cafeteria workers a raise of $25,000 that would reduce their net income from $30.7 billion to $30.64 billion.

Google has become a social parasite - one that propels greater and greater wealth inequality. The parasite profits tremendously from public infrastructure and open source - while giving nothing back.

Re: Thousands of Google’s cafeteria workers have unionized

#106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apparently guilds are for independent contractors and unions are for employees. A developer guild would be for freelance devs and the like

Ah. Thanks for the clarification. All I could piece together in my mind were the medieval guilds of Belgium. But I guess this isn't that far removed.

Screen actors guild is the most famous current example. While less well known they have made a significant difference in actor safety.

Re: Thousands of Google’s cafeteria workers have unionized

#107
post #93

I have mixed feelings about unions, but I'm OK with this move. Cafeteria workers need unions. The maids who muck out hotel room toilets need unions. Coal miners who work in horrific conditions for little pay need unions. You know who doesn't need unions? Millionaire TV anchors. Millionaire movie studio execs and actors. Anyone who makes six figures, which includes a hell of a lot of union members. In those cases the…

Entertainment unions handle such things like health insurance and retirement funds. Most actors aren't millionaires. Having the few millionaires in the same union is good for the non-millionaires. Because it means that studios only get the in-demand millionaires if they provide okay conditions for everybody else as well.

And in the UK "tech" and "Entertainment" are in the same union.

There is a lot of similarity and crossover between teh workers in that area.

Re: Thousands of Google’s cafeteria workers have unionized

#108
post #72

I have mixed feelings about unions, but I'm OK with this move. Cafeteria workers need unions. The maids who muck out hotel room toilets need unions. Coal miners who work in horrific conditions for little pay need unions. You know who doesn't need unions? Millionaire TV anchors. Millionaire movie studio execs and actors. Anyone who makes six figures, which includes a hell of a lot of union members. In those cases the…

> Cafeteria workers need unions. The maids who muck out hotel room toilets need unions. Coal miners who work in horrific conditions for little pay need unions. aren't all those jobs ripe for automating? unions feel like an intermediary measure to the end goal: no more humans in shitty jobs.

Everyone needs unions - not just the little people.

Re: Thousands of Google’s cafeteria workers have unionized

#109

Does anyone have any good/neutral book recommendations on unionization?

I don’t think many people write light reading on the topic of unionization.

That said, you should be able to find plenty of modern material on class, law and labor.

If all else fails, read some classic sociology.

Re: Thousands of Google’s cafeteria workers have unionized

#110
post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"literally"?

> in a perfect world labor unions would be illegal

As in workers can't legally demand higher wages as a group, as in those negotiations won't be legally binding and fines would be imposed on strikers, no need to hit anyone.
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