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Wikipedia Workers to Seek Union Recognition

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Re: Wikipedia Workers to Seek Union Recognition

#81

Post by arrrg »

simianwords wrote: post #78
Frieren wrote: post #56

There is no reason for any employee to not search for unionization. It is your right and it is in your best interest. Good for them.

[flagged]

It‘s the exact opposite of selfish. It’s solidarity and efforts to denigrate solidarity and lift up stories about selfishness as the only important thing are the thing that keeps unions down.

Workers working together in solidarity is the right approach to get more power in the lopsided power dynamic between owners and workers. Owners have too much power, workers too little. Solidarity is a path towards fixing that.

Re: Wikipedia Workers to Seek Union Recognition

#82

Post by chpatrick »

simianwords wrote: post #78
Frieren wrote: post #56

There is no reason for any employee to not search for unionization. It is your right and it is in your best interest. Good for them.

[flagged]

That's like saying not wanting to work 14 hours a day in a coal mine is selfish because it's at the expense of global prosperity.

Re: Wikipedia Workers to Seek Union Recognition

#83

Post by throwaway93135 »

jonkoops wrote: post #71
philipallstar wrote: post #66

> The workers are longtime contributors and organisers, and are deeply committed to the Wikimedia movement. It always starts this way, and ends with over half the people not bothered but still under union protection, and cannot be removed.

Ahhh the American mindset.

Imagine how high must those salaries be in union-prolific Euro nations, compared to the measly ones of those uncivilized Americans!

Re: Wikipedia Workers to Seek Union Recognition

#85

Post by IncreasePosts »

krior wrote: post #79
IncreasePosts wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It may or may not be in any individual's best interest. For example, look at "bumping rights". If a company needs to eliminate a union position, and this is occupied by someone with say 20 years seniority, that person can "bump" some other union member out of their position who has a lower seniority. So, that person whose role was eliminated can push a person with only 5 years seniority out of their position. And the…

The wikipedia atricle only cites american sources so that may be something unique to how US unions operate.

Cousins of American style bumping is definitely in employment law in the UK(where it is done by the employer instead of the employees and union). It also exists at least in Germany(sozialauswahl) where employees theoretically who could get chopped are given points to determine who to chop, where seniority is one of the ways to gain points, as well as age, as well as having children.

Re: Wikipedia Workers to Seek Union Recognition

#86

Post by philipallstar »

jonkoops wrote: post #71
philipallstar wrote: post #66

> The workers are longtime contributors and organisers, and are deeply committed to the Wikimedia movement. It always starts this way, and ends with over half the people not bothered but still under union protection, and cannot be removed.

Ahhh the American mindset.

Your zero-content bias is on display, but I'm not in the least American. If I were American I probably wouldn't have seen so much union nonsense.

Re: Wikipedia Workers to Seek Union Recognition

#87

Post by iso1631 »

Telaneo wrote: post #70
iso1631 wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Aside from legal support, advice, and contributing to industry influence?

What have the Romans ever done for us?

My union does very little for me directly. Neither does my house or car insurance. I've never needed either.

Indirectly though my union does do stuff

I'm sure Alec Baldwin was happy he was a member of a union to represent him.

Re: Wikipedia Workers to Seek Union Recognition

#88

Post by gbanfalvi »

simianwords wrote: post #78
Frieren wrote: post #56

There is no reason for any employee to not search for unionization. It is your right and it is in your best interest. Good for them.

[flagged]

“Global prosperity” is a good one.

How is global prosperity achieved? Business owners get all the profits of our labor and maybe some of it trickles down? Workers get “prosperous” on crumbs?

I’ll be expectantly awaiting for my prosperity in the mail.

Re: Wikipedia Workers to Seek Union Recognition

#89

Post by RandomLensman »

throwaway93135 wrote: post #83
jonkoops wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ahhh the American mindset.

Imagine how high must those salaries be in union-prolific Euro nations, compared to the measly ones of those uncivilized Americans!

Hourly wages in Germany are not that different from the US. Depends a bit on how exactly to compare - nominal, PPP, net/gross, etc.: e.g., average nominal is about 10% higher in the US, real median is higher in Germnay, ...

Re: Wikipedia Workers to Seek Union Recognition

#90

Post by JdeBP »

This is the same press release from the union as at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48663861, and the same discussion points apply as there, including the fact that the press release is conflating 'Wikipedia Workers' and 'British-based employees at the Wikimedia Foundation'. The two are not the same.

This conflation appears to be the fault of the union. Certainly the people who write Wikipedia well know the difference between themselves and the Wikimedia Foundation staff.

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