Amazon workers on Staten Island vote to unionize

Post by Ekaros » Fri, Apr 01, 2022, 6:36 PM UTC

josephcsible wrote: post #86

beaconstudios wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In what way do you believe unions are useless and bad? That's like saying "companies are useless and bad" - some companies may be useless and bad, but you'd need to show an essential reason why the majority must end up that way. FWIW, I think you're wrong and that unions are good at improving worker conditions and pay, and that's why companies engage in aggressive union-busting and anti-union propaganda to prevent un…

Unions are definitely bad for companies, but the fact that companies don't want them doesn't automatically mean that they're good for workers. They're a parasitic drain that's bad for both. Also, with the sole exception of Japanese bus drivers, every union I know of that's ever gone on strike has, in doing so, used innocent third parties as collateral damage.

Post by wowokay » Fri, Apr 01, 2022, 6:38 PM UTC

striking wrote: post #142

VirusNewbie wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I will fight tooth and nail to keep our industry from unionizing. One can simply look at the public school system and how well it performs with one of the strongest unions in the country. You don't have well paid teachers (except those who have been teaching for a long time, at the detriment to new teachers),you don't serve the children well and you now have to navigate both a career and politics of a union. Unions b…

Have you worked somewhere (big enough to no longer support a flat hierarchy) where there were no office politics or social games? I don't think unions are the cause of that.

Post by gojomo » Fri, Apr 01, 2022, 6:40 PM UTC

Post by legitster » Fri, Apr 01, 2022, 6:40 PM UTC

whimsicalism wrote: post #155

legitster wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On a macro level, a US union is much more expensive per member than a EU union because members/companies have to front the cost of healthcare (as opposed to countries with universal healthcare). On a micro level, traditional US unions have huge pension funds that they have won from employers and promised to existing members, and so they can be very restrictive on membership qualifications.

Hm, in my experience, even in a union context, healthcare was supplied by the employer, it was just negotiated in the contract. I'm not sure why that would make a US union much more expensive. Typically, you don't really get unions with dues unless they've managed to get a contract with a wage increase that covers the dues.

Post by briansteffens » Fri, Apr 01, 2022, 6:41 PM UTC

wowokay wrote: post #165

VirusNewbie wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I will fight tooth and nail to keep our industry from unionizing. One can simply look at the public school system and how well it performs with one of the strongest unions in the country. You don't have well paid teachers (except those who have been teaching for a long time, at the detriment to new teachers),you don't serve the children well and you now have to navigate both a career and politics of a union. Unions b…

1000% agree. Unions promote individual rights at the expense of the customer, product, and company. In reality they facilitate corruption and union rights over individual rights. I understand everyone wants to feel valued at their company, but value should be evaluated on merit and unions essentially lower the bar to keep more people paying dues and less product/service running efficiently. WE ALL HAVE THE OPTION TO…