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Amazon is intimidating and harassing organizing workers in Montreal

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Re: Amazon is intimidating and harassing organizing workers in Montreal

#241
post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because it's vague and hearsay. The most frustrating thing about these debates is that the pro-union side are so hostile to anyone who questions anything, as though they assume that anyone who doubts the union must be a business owner. I'm a worker, I would like to be part of a union that worked. But I don't see unions that work, I just see unreasonable and propaganda-like articles like these. When there is a dispute…

You can be anti-union, that's fine. It's even legit to be pro-union but to say that for you personally, you're such an amazing performer that employers are fighting over you and so maybe the union is good for most but not you personally. For example, maybe NBA players would make much less without the union but LeBron personally would make more. Maybe you're the LeBron of developers! (There's no debate on whether barg…

>There's no debate on whether bargaining collectively leads to greater leverage in negotiation overall. It clearly does

Totally! That's why I want to be pro-union. I don't know much about NBA, but I don't think I'm a top 10th percentile developer. It just sometimes seems like all the unions fight for is the bottom 10th percentile.

Re: Amazon is intimidating and harassing organizing workers in Montreal

#243

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's so interesting. Most people tend to call that a monopoly and use the word union for something else. What made you choose to use union for this behavior instead?

Well unions really only work well when they have a monopoly. If a plant want's to go on strike over something, but that means only 10% of the workforce is walking off, that's not as effective as if the union was in a monopoly position. In fact this is why the Clayton Act specifically exempts unions from anti-trust law, and it's why "Right to work" laws are so controversial - they reduce the monopoly status of the uni…

I get all that. I also understand that unions function as a labor monopoly. What I don't get is not simply referring to unions as unions and monopolies as monopolies as is the common practice.

Correct me, if I'm understanding but your point seems to be this

Unions are a monopoly so it makes sense to call OPEC a union.

Let me refer us both back to intro to programming and frame this in OOP terms. Just because a Cat has an IS-A relationship to Animal, does not make all Animals Cats.

Re: Amazon is intimidating and harassing organizing workers in Montreal

#244
post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

OPEC is a cartel. In most econ 101 classes it is used as the most prevalent example of a cartel. I have never seen anyone argue that it is a labor union.

Is a labor union not a cartel for labor?

No.

A cartel is a set of profit seeking firms in a specific industry who hold enough market influence to dictate price. It is the coordinated actions of an oligopoly to manipulate the market. You don't need to own the full market, you just need to be able to influence the market as a whole.

A union is, on a very surface level similar to a cartel, but unions are monopolies of labor, and do not represent the firms themselves.

They are both attempts to manipulate markets through group decision making, but even academically, they aren't seen as the same thing. There is a reason that cartel formation is very illegal while union formation is a protected right.

Re: Amazon is intimidating and harassing organizing workers in Montreal

#245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

OPEC is made up of oil producing countries and their combined output. They are extremely similar except that one deals in labor, and the other in petrochemicals.

One is big enough to influence the global market price for it's product, the other is small and localized and has effectively no influence on the going market rate for it's product.

You don't think the UAW has any impact on the price of autoworker labor?

Re: Amazon is intimidating and harassing organizing workers in Montreal

#246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well unions really only work well when they have a monopoly. If a plant want's to go on strike over something, but that means only 10% of the workforce is walking off, that's not as effective as if the union was in a monopoly position. In fact this is why the Clayton Act specifically exempts unions from anti-trust law, and it's why "Right to work" laws are so controversial - they reduce the monopoly status of the uni…

I get all that. I also understand that unions function as a labor monopoly. What I don't get is not simply referring to unions as unions and monopolies as monopolies as is the common practice. Correct me, if I'm understanding but your point seems to be this Unions are a monopoly so it makes sense to call OPEC a union. Let me refer us both back to intro to programming and frame this in OOP terms. Just because a Cat ha…

I wouldn't call OPEC a union, but I would call it a cartel, just like labor unions are.

Re: Amazon is intimidating and harassing organizing workers in Montreal

#247
post #34

Unions and vaccines are similar in that they are a collective action against which people only complain due to their effectiveness. That is to say, all the libertarians complaining about unions and vaccines can do so comfortably only because they have never been exposed to the horrors they helped to prevent .

No post body was provided.

Re: Amazon is intimidating and harassing organizing workers in Montreal

#248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One is big enough to influence the global market price for it's product, the other is small and localized and has effectively no influence on the going market rate for it's product.

You don't think the UAW has any impact on the price of autoworker labor?

On a global level? No.

On a local level? Maybe? But consider that the US workers of the most valuable car company in the world (by a factor of about 3)are not part of the UAW, so it's debatable at best.

Re: Amazon is intimidating and harassing organizing workers in Montreal

#249
post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which is something I've heard for the first time in this thread. I understand it's true, but isn't it a bit of a legal formality? When you go thru Mexican customs, it says Mexico, not Estados Unidos Mexicanos or United Mexican States (from the North). The passport says Mexico in bold on top and the full formal name on the crest. The U.N. seat's plate says Mexico. Americans tend to even abbreviate their country to the…

They don't, partially because "that name" is already taken by the so-called America. Arguably their name translates as "United Mexican States" whereas the USA has "of America" in it, nobody calls it the "United American States". My petition to rename the USA to solve this by labeling everything MURICA has stalled in committee it seems.

I wonder if there are any other United Kingdoms out there besides Britain.

Re: Amazon is intimidating and harassing organizing workers in Montreal

#250

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everyone uses the term "America" to the US and even if they are referring to the both continents they say "The Americas". There isn't even a contient named "America"

I know a number of mexican people who hate that dubious automatic America / USA association.

How about when Iran chants “Death to America”? Do they feel the same way?
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