Don't Expect Unions To Make a Comeback

Big Labor supporters like President Joe Biden are cheering the first successful vote to unionize workers at an Amazon facility, in this case, an 8,000-worker warehouse in Staten Island, New York. The effort was spearheaded by a couple of best friends who built support on TikTok, among other places. "Amazon, here we come," promised the president at a recent union rally.
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The New York Times gleefully called it "one of the most significant labor victories in a generation" and indicative of "an era of rising worker power." Former Times labor reporter Steven Greenhouse called it "by far the biggest, beating-the-odds David versus Goliath unionization win I've seen" in 25 years of reporting.
But the Staten Island story is overshadowed by other colossal unionization failures, including attempts to organize other Amazon warehouses, such as in Bessemer, Alabama, where last year 71 percent voted against joining the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union, which lost about a quarter of its members from 2002 to 2019.
It's proven so hard for unions to gain a toehold at Amazon because it's actually a pretty good place to work. If we are indeed in a time of "rising worker power," that's because of incredibly low unemployment rates and historically high job vacancies giving the rank and file more leverage than ever to negotiate more pay and better conditions.
For its part, Amazon has consistently increased its wages and benefits to attract and retain workers, especially during the pandemic, when it went on a hiring spree. It set a minimum wage of $15 an hour back in 2018 and last year boosted its starting wage to $18, while also offering health insurance, reimbursement for college courses, and signing bonuses of up to $3,000. More than anything else, those sorts of perks explain the overwhelming failure of unionization efforts. For the second year in a row, LinkedIn named Amazon the top company to work at if you want to "grow your career."
It's not just Amazon, either. The main reason that unions in the private sector have been fading for decades isn't that there are union-busting Pinkertons terrorizing organizers but because of the changing nature of work and the willingness of employers to offer better terms. Unions flourished during the era of assembly lines and standardization, when schedules were rigid and outputs, employees, and even customers were expected to be identical. As everything in our lives becomes more personalized, it only makes sense unions would fade, which is exactly what's happened.
In 2021, just 6 percent of private sector workers were unionized, down from 17 percent in 1983. Unions are even losing clout in the public sector. After peaking at 39 percent in 1994, unionization among federal, state, and local employees is down to 34 percent and shows little sign of turning around.
If K-12 teachers are any indication, the decline is explained by unions' inability to increase starting salaries. While unions such as the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers successfully lobby for health insurance and retirement benefits, the inflation-adjusted average starting salaries for teachers have actually declined from a decade ago. Why keep paying dues to a union that isn't delivering to younger teachers who are more interested in money now rather than promises down the road?
Labor organizers are turning to the federal government for help in strong-arming workers to rejoin their ranks. The Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act would abolish "right to work" laws that keep unions from forcing nonmembers to pay dues in 27 states. But the PRO Act, which would reclassify millions of independent contractors as employees, has no chance of passing an evenly divided Senate, especially in a midterm election year where the Democrats are already expected to lose big in both houses.
Biden can come after Amazon, Starbucks, and any other public or private sector employer all he wants, but it's unlikely he-or any other politician or labor organizer-is going to be able to turn around a decadeslong decline in union membership.
The biggest problem for unions, it turns out, is that workers are making real progress without them.
Written and Narrated by Nick Gillespie. Edited by Regan Taylor.

[@eriksnider7189]

libertarians aren't against unions, only making them mandatory

[@timpoolsbeanie2296]

Yea I am libertarian and I work a union job. Thankfully I have the choice to withdraw my membership if I wanted to.

[@bjnowak]

RIGHT!

[@eriksnider7189]

@@timpoolsbeanie2296 ya, choice is a four letter word to them.

[@willstikken5619]

@@eriksnider7189 A lot of union supporters wouldn't get that...

[@mattobermiller5041]

I agree. And entire businesses shouldn't have to go union, each individual worker should be allowed to decide if they want to join or not. That way, unions would have to offer actual value for their dues since both union and non-union would be paid the same. And all the laws favoring or protecting unions need to be repealed immediately.

[@scbluesman13]

I'm a 22 year tech worker in higher ed. Graduated from college in 96, went to work in my first tech job in the private sector for 4 years, got some good experience, then came back to my alma mater and got a tech job there, where I am to this day. Initially my first job back at my college was a union job. We always got these really crappy raises... 10% over 4 years. So you'd get 3%, 3%, 2%, 2% salary bumps, while the cost of inflation rose at about 6%. After 5 years - once I became fully vested with my benefits, I got recruited into a new job (effectively a promotion) that was non-represented. First my Union tried to stall the job change to try and get the new job to be union represented. Then my union tried to find all of the jobs on that college campus that were classified the same as the one I was trying to get into and made a play to try and get *all* of them classified as union jobs. They failed at both attempts. I had to wait 3 months for all this nonsense to clear before I could even negotiate with my new prospective bosses for a starting salary. When that time came, I negotiated for a 15% pay bump. The union tried to block it, but failed. 15 years later I'm in the same job, but the job - as well as my classifications - have promoted up through the years. I've received good compensation during each annual review, I've had a positive relationship with every manager my team has had, and most recently I was promoted to the top level of my particular tech classification, with a 10% pay increase, a $2k performance award bonus, and an additional 2 hours per month of accrued vacation time. I was also able to negotiate the promotion back to the beginning of the year, so the 10% will be paid retroactively back to Jan 1st. My point is this: Learn to bargain for yourself. Cultivate good working relationships with your bosses, do your job well, and negotiate your own contracts and your own compensation. If you are unable, seek out a job where you can. Or better yet, go into business for yourself and be your own boss. Unions are failing now because management structures by and large are doing a better job in these larger areas of managing people. It's not utopia or anything, but it's vastly better than the environment my parents worked in in the 70s and 80s. Unions need to find a better way of working harder in the places where they are needed the most, and packing up shop and leaving the places where they are not wanted or not needed. Stop trying to force themselves in working environments where labor & management actually get along fine without them.

[@jb8408]

Exactly this. Make yourself valuable, and then learn to communicate that value and ask to be payed what you’re worth in performance reviews. I work in tech, and scrape metrics all the time for my performance reviews, and make sure to use them in my reviews. I’ve raised my salary 37% the last 15 months. I don’t want a union to deal with or negotiate on my behalf. I want to take care of myself. I believe these collectivist organizations only benefit you if you’re average or below average in your value to your company. No thanks.

[@thehouse8891]

This is the reason why the US has the highest level of poverty in the West, has the lowest life expectancy in the West and the highest Wealth inequality, because those in power convince idiots like you that if you work hard enough you might make it. It’s funny how you complain about “collective” organization by the way great wording lol. Let’s actually sit back and learn what the last 30 years was like for workers in this country. Terrible pay, little protection, massive lay offs, increase living expenses, and on demand schedule which means your boss can change your schedule at any second. And what is your solution? Let’s the same people who cause all of this to remain in power. Why? Because they give you a little attention and little more pay. Amazing no wonder this country is falling apart.

[@abhishekdev258]

My father is still in steel industry, same story man..same story. I couldn't ask him to quit or change his job because he has been instituionalised.

[@Redmanticore]

"2 hours per month of accrued vacation time." so you.. get a one day off in a year? " it's vastly better than the environment my parents worked in in the 70s and 80s. " eh. anyone could buy a downpayment for house with a 2-3 months work in 50s. and with gi joe bill schooling was free.

[@scbluesman13]

@@Redmanticore No, that was my increase. My monthly vacation time went from 14 hours to 16. My exact sentence was, "an additional 2 hours per month of accrued vacation time".

[@RealMTBAddict]

My union just lied to me about a job costing me 2 weeks of pay if I would've stayed with my old company. Now I want to withdraw my pension. I hate them.

[@eddyvideostar]

Dear Mountain Bike: Could you please elaborate on this?

[@carlodave9]

Being opposed to unions is one thing, but government getting involved in making union formation prohibitive, if not nearly impossible, is the most unlibertarian thing I can think of. If unions are so unnecessary because "market forces" make them so, why make rules and policies incentivizing the shipment of jobs to communist China and other countries that devalue personal liberty? Why actively turn brazenly repressive governments into a global axis that is now kicking the ass of the supposedly freedom-loving UNITED (uh-oh!) States?

[@kimobrien.]

That's what Imperialism is. The movement of capital to foreign nations for greater profits where it can more easily defended by military force. USMC Major General Smedley Butler explained it in "War is a Racket" as did Lenin in "Imperialism is the highest stage of capitalism."

[@ferulebezel]

The one thing that kept me away from any union job was seniority. No one has ever explained why someone who was just good enough to not be fired for a long time should be favored over the new guy who is intelligent and diligent when promotion or retention decisions are being made.

[@TheBrokenLife]

Even better is when the guy that has been there for 20 years decides that he simply doesn't want to move up and likes his current job. This is a completely reasonable situation in a non-union job, but a nightmare in a union. Ask me how I know... (Spoiler: It took me a year to get promoted around that guy, as did it for every guy who had ever been promoted past him).

[@billmurray1431]

Unions are a big scam to protect lazy, useless workers

[@charlesballiet7074]

its called nepotism its the same reason the son of the ceo got fastracked for leadership at the company while 20 year vets in the field got passed over.

[@Terminxman]

Unions are socialist organizations

[@AbbysinianReaction]

@@charlesballiet7074 the CEO got a tax credit for letting his son work for him

[@marlonmoncrieffe0728]

I have nothing against PRIVATE sector unions. What I HATE are PUBLIC sector unions. I wouldn't mind a whole constitutional amendment abolishing public sector unions.

[@kimobrien.]

I think we could use an amendment abolishing the use of property for purposes of economic exploitation.

[@cdrone4066]

I worked a healthcare facility for the Amalgamated Clothing Workers, it was an awful union. They got annoyed with me because I wanted to see the new contract , the shop steward was a lazy bully. I never worked at a union job again. I can negotiate my own terms thank you. And public unions should be scrapped, they benefit no one but the bosses and politicians.

[@eddyvideostar]

Dear Chris Robalino: Unions are sometimes dangerous. Some shop stewards cannot be trusted and create pariahs. Supervisors will not help someone in situations with stultified co-workers since the mgt is scared of the union's backing. They analyze office politics and pick on the struggling. Management lumps all together even if there are different positive traits: One is swift, willing to put his best foot forward, presents well, having a good cultural background, and well spoken. It is difficult to stand out positively, often lumped in -- until they can dredge up something negative -- ironically, against the one desiring to flourish.

[@Artcore103]

I'm in a union NOT by choice, but because I have no other option. It has some benefits... there's always pros and cons, but overall it's stupid and it sucks. The older majority of workers always dictate the contracts (to the extent that they can with their leverage)... meaning they virtually ALWAYS vote to put the vast majority of contract pay increases into pension and annuity benefits, or increased health care costs. For younger people this is a crap deal, even for a millennial like me who's 35. I want ALL that money on my paycheck, for several reasons. 1) I don't have even close to 100% faith that I will receive the pension money... but more likely, it's an absolute certainty that even if I do, that money will be worth far less by the time I get it due to inflation. 2) It is easier and more common than ever - as well as far more rational and economically wise, for people to handle their own investments rather than paying a percentage to some pension firm to give you relatively low yields in traditional, "safe", and highly regulated pension investments like index funds. I would rather get the money on my check and invest in what I want to invest in - which for young people is primarily crypto, but also perhaps tech stocks, precious metals, or whatever else people are interested in via robinhood or ameritrade or whatever... or in the case of crypto, the plethora of options. To me it is a 99% certainty that crypto will outperform mutual/index funds and pension accounts, like not even CLOSE... and that's MY risk and my decision to make. 3) The wages are not necessarily better than private companies offer (I'm in HVAC but this goes for trades generally). The union leaders are largely oblivious as to why the % of workers they represent has shrunk and continues to shrink. 4) There are MAJOR downsides - they are not willing to do what it takes to make joining attractive to newcomers. In some cases it might make sense for a kid just out of highschool to join, who can continue to live at home and has no responsibilities to speak of, and hasn't already spent or wasted money on other schooling. But take me for example... I spent 15k to go through an associates degree program for HVAC. After that, and after working private sector briefly, I ended up at a union company - I hired on with the company before joining the union, or really even understanding anything about it or what it would mean for me. The union doesn't care about or recognize ANY school or training that happens prior to or outside of the union... so my degree and experience/time in the field means nothing, and I essentially have to start over being a 1st year apprentice. You can't get any credit for school/experience and you can't test out of any years of apprenticeship which includes 5 years of night school (2 days a week). It was already a huge sacrifice for me to do night school for 9 months for my HVAC associates program.... now I'm stuck doing night school twice a week for 5 years when I have 4 young children, and of course that part is unpaid. That last one is actually the biggest downside for me, I hate it, it is a complete waste of time and the schooling is far inferior, they dick off and waste time and I've learned virtually nothing in the classes compared to the private program I went through, and on the job experience. Had to pay for books too. They do pay for medical, so the value of the package is pretty good in theory... but guess what, young people, or people like me - 4 kids and an income below a certain threshold - don't need medical coverage AT ALL because we qualify for Medicaid which offers 100% coverage! And young people even if they didn't qualify for Medicaid may not be interested in health insurance at all which is a perfectly rational option! I would rather get that health care package money on my CHECK, I don't need 2 insurances, but I have no choice! And if I don't work enough hours in a given month, which can happen with layoffs or just with a general variation in work hours, then part of the cost of health care that's supposed to be 100% covered by the union package falls on ME and they expect me to pay it - when I don't use it need it or want it. This is a SKILLED TRADE requiring licensing and specific education and aptitudes... and yet the starting take-home pay is no better than Amazon or half the retail stores and food chains out there. The fact that you're getting medical, and a theoretical pension in 20+ years, does NOT make up for that... we need MONEY ON THE CHECKS EVERY WEEK! Sure if you're at the top of the scale, you can do quite well for yourself. But for the first few years, at the very least - best case scenario, it's a crap deal, and people are only putting up with it in hopes for how things will be 5-10 years down the line. And you can't even vote in most unions for at least 1-2 years, and until all the boomers retire, the votes will never make sense for people under 40 or especially under 30. It's a one size fits all package that in practice is a one size fits boomers ONLY package. The other fringe benefit is that you don't have to look for a job yourself anymore once you're in... they find it for you, that part is nice I'll admit... but they can't prevent you from being laid off, it happens, and there's no guarantee they'll get you a job within a week or a month after that either. I've been laid off 3 times, once was for a day, once was for 5 weeks, and once was for like 3 months. I was lucky enough to have savings and not have excessive monthly bills and expenditures... but for most people, getting like 50 or 60% maximum from unemployment, that is simply not feasible and can't provide for you... and your contract states you CAN'T get a job in your field outside of the union. You can find a job doing something else... but if you try to do the same work for a private company, you're out and they'll threaten to sue you and back-charge you for the schooling. So instead of having ONE boss to deal with... when you're in the union, it just feels like you have 2 bosses. They're like the cops or the government... in theory they work for YOU, but in reality they act like you work for THEM, especially while you're an apprentice - which is a long time. And they delay your advancement if your skill or experience level is above what year apprentice you are, either because of past experience, schooling, or natural aptitude. I think it sucks... there are some benefits, but they're outweighed by the cons.

[@wayward03]

Thar sounds terrible. You can make a solid 75k a yr doing hvac for a private company. Might have to live in the south and do house calls but you do what you need to do.

[@wayward03]

@Hells Only I'm fairly sure that it wasn't starting out and had some OT in it however not that much as I was told 30/hr. I'd assume you'd need to be able to install and do service calls for that wage. This was something I briefly looked into getting out of the navy, but chose a different path.

[@mojopare8954]

Well done,thank you.

[@RealMTBAddict]

I am vested in my union pension. If they deny my withdrawal I will sue them.

[@yodaguy6956]

Very insightful breakdown of your situation, thanks for sharing

[@Teekey90]

Whether Unions work or not in the long term seems irrelevant when right now the middle class is being squeezed into non-existence. 30 or 40 years ago you could own a home, a car, and afford a family, all while saving for retirement if you had an 18 dollar an hour wage. People, especially young people, look at the economy and feel completely helpless. All the jawboning about "how much better things are materially" is worthless when you can't afford the same basic life as your parents and grandparents. Right or wrong, Unions offer hope to working class people because they see it as a necessary part of what allowed their grandparents to thrive.

[@RealMTBAddict]

The rich want all the money while watching the actual workers suffer. Unions won't save you unless your area is very pro union. Here in Colorado the concrete union is very weak. I was trained in Cincinnati where the union is strong, 90% of work was union. Here they don't even have union work, even with spring and 70 degree weather. So now I'm going to withdraw my pension and do my own thing.

[@Teekey90]

@@RealMTBAddict While I have never been in a union, what you said has essentially always been my understanding. They can be a net positive or negative for workers depending on a lot of other factors. Considering that our economy is going down the shitter I would not be surprised to find more people gravitating toward unions as an answer to their issues.

[@weaksignal8009]

That's why it's "The American Dream" you'd have to be asleep to believe it.

[@Teekey90]

@@weaksignal8009 It wasn't always. Our government and economy have just been mismanaged to the brink of a crisis. We've been kicking the can down the road for 40 odd years, and it seems like we're finally coming to the end of it.

[@kimobrien.]

@@Teekey90 Its been managed based upon profit maximization. As long as the capitalist maintain control of private property they will do everything possible to maximize profits for themselves. That is why they have established the property owners government.

[@benjaminshropshire2900]

One of the big things that keep unions alive is that they exist in a carve-out with regards to monopoly and antitrust laws. If unions didn't have that, the would be forced to compete at the negotiating table with non-union labor or at least with other unions. If that happened, I suspect they would quickly become little more than a clubhouse for workers to hang out at. Given how anti-monopoly I am in nearly all fields, you can take a guess what I think about that outcome.

[@timpoolsbeanie2296]

Unions work best in an industry that is monopolized that never has to worry about the fear of competition effecting their bottom line. In industries that are highly decentralized, unions become obsolete. I am against the monopoly and anti trust laws but I also don’t think every industry can be truly decentralized so while I don’t disagree with your statement, I just don’t think every industry can be truly decentralized.

[@benjaminshropshire2900]

@@timpoolsbeanie2296 I think we are in agreement. I'm opposed to monopolies in general, but also concede that some are unavoidable (e.g. mostly "utilities" like last mile delivery of water and sewer, surface streets and the like, but also some others).

[@rockon8174]

Biggest Unions are GOVERNMENT SECTOR UNIONS!!!! They are corrupt by nature!

[@anancapcat4221]

@@benjaminshropshire2900 You don't need a monopoly to happen even for that. I mean as long as the free market is in effect there will be competition for literally any good or service.

[@yodaguy6956]

@@anancapcat4221 not really, plenty of smaller niche services don't have enough demand to support more than one competing business. Utilities also are difficult to keep as open market, because of the hardware and massive setup required for delivery. For example it works great for home delivery of propane to personal tanks, but it doesn't work for distributing natural gas via pipelines, because there's just too much infrastructure involved to support more than one service provider

[@AKlover]

Expect that Staten Island Amazon facility to shut down soon and relocate. Expect Amazon and other corporate warehouse/fulfillment facilities to flee "Blue" counties if not "Blue" states in the future.

[@slambrew3849]

Where are they going to relocate? Manhattan?

[@AKlover]

@Hells Only NYC and the surrounding areas have been in population decline for several years now. Yes already declining pre-coof. I have A dumbass bother who married and impregnated the wrong woman ........... Now they are effectively trapped in Brooklyn. Large cities are going to become killzones ........ NOT crucial markets.

[@bon7029]

@@slambrew3849 Texas.

[@nykka3]

Why did they go to NY anyway? Amazon knew they would have to deal with unionization at some point.

[@nykka3]

@Hells Only lol and how many left ?!

[@TheRisky9]

The president should not be endorsing, or even condemning, unions. Unions should be strictly kept as a private sector consideration. If workers wishes to unionize, sure! But it should be without the encouragement or influence of the public sector.

[@dedetudor.]

Governments noseyness and parentalism has gone a bridge too far. The lobbyist and corporatocracy we have become leave us no recourse But to sue when our constitutional rights get stomped on. Unions were made to protect workers from unscrupulous management and ownership of the businesses for which they work. Any President or government type should keep their noses out of it.

[@jimlovesgina]

I object to unions having special privileges that others do not. I can't simply decide to not go to work and call it a strike. I will get fired. A union does it and they have the protection of the government. If the employer hires another to do that job, the union dipshit's job must be saved when he decides to return.

[@carlodave9]

Private sector? You don't believe that. Being opposed to unions is one thing, but government teaming up with global corporations that make union formation prohibitive, if not impossible, is the most unlibertarian thing I can think of. If unions are so unnecessary because market forces of the private sector make them so, why make rules and policies incentivizing the shipment of jobs to communist China and other fascist countries that devalue personal liberty? Why actively turn brazenly repressive governments into a global axis that is now kicking the ass of the supposedly freedom-loving UNITED (uh-oh!) States? Private sector my ass! Freedom FROM choice is where libertarianism has lead. If the private sector is so freedom loving, why must it rely on countries that make union formation a crime?

[@alexisleskinen6090]

@@carlodave9 protectionism is the most libertarian thing for you? Damn

[@yodaguy6956]

@@carlodave9 explain specifically how government is prohibiting unions, that's simply untrue. Most people launching that complaint expect that companies should be forced to negotiate with them, which goes against free market principles

[@codegeek98]

My company got bought; the new owners tried to make us sign a _ridiculously_ handsy invention assignment agreement. They said we had "10 days" to sign it, despite the fact that it contained a clause stating that "no promises or inducements" had been made to get me to sign it. Needless to say - despite the fact that none of us are members of a union - I and everyone in my office simply no-sold the e-mail: no signature, no response, no contact. (We're all still employed.) -Alabama

[@WarningStrangerDanger]

I don't delineate between big government, big business, and big labour. Any time humans gather in massive organizations and concentrate power you can expect inefficiency, unresponsiveness, and antagonism against the smallest minority: the individual.

[@kimobrien.]

You can always follow the male orangutan into the jungle and swing from tree to tree eating low hanging fruit.

[@WarningStrangerDanger]

@@kimobrien. Decentralized and federated is the future. Oligarchy is the past.

[@kimobrien.]

@@WarningStrangerDanger Its only natural that some things be centralized and other decentralized. Time is an example of centralization. Is it the same time everywhere on Earth? How about the way people think about time and how that has changed. .

[@WarningStrangerDanger]

@@kimobrien. Not a particularly convincing argument. Time is not a form of government, business, labour union, or other organization. The idea that Time is an example of centralization is too far removed from the context of human organization. Standardization of time such as GST and federated Time Zones are not organizational structures. The more we've moved forward, the less centralized time has become!

[@kimobrien.]

@@WarningStrangerDangerTime and the concept of time has changed. The British were the first to build clocks accurate enough such that could be carried in sea going vessels giving the British navy the ability to map the world. Newton's idea of time was that it passed at the same rate for all observers. Einstein changed the whole we we think about time incorporating it into space and passing at different rates depending the quantity of matter located nearby. Obviously time is extremely important for travel, transport and in everything we build or measure. The GPS system was originally built to be able to successful launch guided missiles from submarines and hit targets. GPS relies on Einstein's Theory of General Relativity in order to properly calculate location on the planet. The modern world would not be possible without clocks and the ability to measure time. I quess you never heard the phrase "Time is money." Time is intimately bound up with change and information. Ignore time at your own peril.

[@jacobthompson6265]

I get into arguments with others about this. I’m from the Midwest and have seen our economy destroyed by the move of these companies overseas.

[@Changofest69]

You can tell this guy never worked at a warehouse

[@Snobert99]

I have yet to watch this video, but unions have pretty much sold out to the establishment, which would make one wonder why unions even still exist.

[@russetwolf13]

They're still around because they're the only effective check against corporate control over their workers.

[@MaestroAlvis]

How is this possible? Unions are owned an operated by the employees. Just agree not to take a lower salary and you have a union.

[@kimobrien.]

@@MaestroAlvis Unions came into being when workers decided it was necessary to have permanent organizations that could be used against the bosses when the need arrises. They are defensive organizations which make use of soildarity to battle dog eat dog capitalist competition in the workplace. .

[@jb8408]

My mom worked a union job at Safeway, basically my whole life. We were working class poor, living in a trailer where if we flushed our toilets the sewage dumped out into the back yard. We burned our trash in barrels. The union did nothing for her life, except every couple of years she had to work at a different store for a few months due to a “strike.” What a joke. Young people who have never worked in a union job imagine it’s going to be some sort of life changing thing. They still have to work the same jobs, for the same company, and pay their union dues. Enjoy that. We shall see if it ushers in the utopia (read: I don’t think it will).

[@denver-gi7ot]

So what's the alternative then? We just become slaves with no rights and let our bosses treat us however they want. Corperate Fuedalism.

[@yodaguy6956]

@@denver-gi7ot the alternative is what most companies do, just figure out a working relationship you are both satisfied with. If you don't like working somewhere, learn some skills and get a better job with more opportunities

[@k96man]

@@denver-gi7ot learn a skill that makes you hard to replace

[@denver-gi7ot]

@@yodaguy6956 They are always going to have the leverage over you though, because you need rent and food. Only reason workers rights exist is because they were fought for. Not offered generously.

[@denver-gi7ot]

@@k96man Sure that could work, but some people aren't intelligent enough to do this. Should they really have to be exploited or go hungry, just because they are a bit dull.

[@SamtheSham2000]

There was a county union strike amongst snow plow drivers. It occurred in the middle of winter. What ended up resolving the strike was that older workers kept their benefits while the new hires had to take the previously unacceptable contract. Union brotherhood.

[@jb8408]

On some level, the union ultimately exists to serve itself

[@SamtheSham2000]

@Hells Only Maybe in the land of Oz.

[@jb8408]

@@SamtheSham2000 Hells just really believes in Unions. He probably has his reasons, I just respectfully don’t see it myself. To each their own (unless you’re in a Union, then you’re totally at the mercy of a collectivist system).

[@jabrokneetoeknee6448]

Two-tier contracts like the one you're describing became more common after the 1980s, by which point unions had already lost much of their economic and political leverage. Those older plow drivers just realized that the union was a sinking ship and decided to save themselves. This never would have been an issue if unions in the US could bargain by sector, like in the Nordic countries, and not with individual enterprises. But the US government has at every turn moved to undermine the solidarity of working people to the benefit of the wealthy.

[@kimobrien.]

@@jabrokneetoeknee6448 Unions never lost their power the officials lost their willingness to fiigt. The bosses government is for them no matter which party is elected.

[@Hitman.13.]

I am an IBEW Electrician, and it doesn't make sense to go non union, we have the best wages benefits and training in the industry! I ve worked non union and I ll never going back! Union strong ✊️🇺🇲⚡️💪💯

[@rhynosouris710]

Unions will never come back mostly because companies exported nearly every union job overseas, & imported immigrant labor for jobs that weren't so easily sent to asia.

[@kimobrien.]

They can't export everything and we can organize foreign born workers into unions both here and abroad.

[@kimobrien.]

The problem for the bosses is the union movemnet is an international movement of workers.

[@embfixer]

I was in a union for almost 20 years. I had the mindset that if I have to be in one then I will be involved. I did everything from safety rep, steward, chief steward and contract negation committee. A Union is a business no matter what they want you to believe. My biggest issues were 1) the union is regressive in so many ways, I constantly heard things like, "we can't put that in a contract cause its not in any of our others contracts" or "we need to stay within what we normally do" this despite what the workers wanted. 2) I got tired of hearing "we are here to protect your career. Except that if I left this company and got a job doing the same thing at another company with the same union I still had to start completely over, pay , seniority, EVERYTHING. That's not protecting my career, that is forcing me to stay at this company, in a covered position because you know I will be paying dues. 3) The union punishes you for moving into management or any non-dues-paying position. You loose all seniority and have nothing if you come back into the rank and file. Again, not protecting my career but protecting the pool of dues payer.

[@rafaelacosta5724]

The same way business are intended to always act in self-interest, unions too.

[@eddyvideostar]

To Air Mech: Question: Why did you bother to "get involved" in the deeper machinations of the union, to experience what they think behind the scenes, out of curiosity? ---------------------------------- Unions, as you had indicated, are there to protect their nest of dues-payers, even though a one-one worker struggling with office politics gets no grace from the local union even without wanting to climb the ladder.

[@embfixer]

@@eddyvideostar I got involved for several reasons; to understand the inner workings of the union, to gain different skills and opportunities but mostly because if a job needs to be done, do it to the best of your abilities and hopeful make some changes for the good along the way. I’m glad I did it, but glad I moved on as well.

[@eddyvideostar]

​ @AirMech: The social security savvy support system psychology helps in workplace advancement. It's not school -- but all about people on your side. If your union co-workers claw at your heels, it's like fighting a tsunami with management lapping it up when one could have ventured further by deciphering and riding with the tides. Analyze the risk-to-reward ratio. I had to work in a union shop in a low-profile manner to avoid situations and somewhat sheer national discrimination that killed my potential advancement: being held back, settling for scraps they even tried to take away!

[@kimobrien.]

@@eddyvideostar The production workers produce the actual value while the profits are result of unpaid wages for the surplus value produced by the production workers. This is why capitalism always produces class struggle between labor and capital. The bigger and more powerful capital becomes so also does the natural tendency of the rate of profit to decline. So to do the bosses become ever more petty more cruel and more condescending to the workers. This is why the workers struggle becomes one for justice in every sphere of society. For no sooner than do you bring home that wage until you are set upon by al manner of bill collectors, rent gougers, grocery bosses and tax collectors.

[@princessmarlena1359]

I and a bunch of other members in my showbiz/theater union were fired and pretty much blacklisted after calling out our union representative for being a crook. They claimed that wasn’t the official reason, but we all knew the truth.

[@bwake]

A union is a labor contracting company which is theoretically owned by and run for the benefit of the workers. Too many are actually controlled by and run for the benefit of their retirees and union officials.

[@kimobrien.]

But they can be run for the benefit of the workers unlike a company based upon ownership of capital.

[@eddyvideostar]

To B. Wake: You mean for the benefit of the union heads and officials -- and retired officials!

[@kimobrien.]

@@eddyvideostar They are all members of the working class and their pay depends on the workers voting for the union in an election. When the bosses had to begin negotiating with unions then they began looking for ways to choose the leaders of the unions and to turn them into toothless organizations.

[@francescomorales7812]

It’s almost like Capitalism works.

[@anancapcat4221]

That's not capitalism, that's more like unionism/corporatism.

[@francescomorales7812]

@@anancapcat4221 so when unions aren’t needed or embraced by workers because the company pays them enough and is a great company to work for, that’s not capitalism? Seems like you need to re-read what capitalism is.

[@anancapcat4221]

@@francescomorales7812 OOOOH, I thought you were talking about something else with support of corrupt unions and other forms of economic elitism. You're talking about the free market and it's various benefits. My bad! I support capitalism too!

[@francescomorales7812]

@@anancapcat4221 oh good, I was worried for a second.

[@kimobrien.]

@@francescomorales7812 The capitalist seeks to maximize profits. To do so he seeks to pay the lowest wages and work us the longest hours in a pay period and charge the highest prices. The capitalist seeks to pay only the social minimum for the reproduction of our labor in a pay period yet get back the total value of what we produce in that same pay period. .

[@Voxphyle]

2:50 Easy with those graphs. That Y axis only ranges by about 5-6%. The points may hold, but let's not sink to the level of cherry picking our y axis to exaggerate changes.

[@M42-Orion-Nebula]

I hate it when channels do that, y-axis' should always start at zero.

[@charlytaylor1748]

That's a tic I really dislike

[@SomeTomfoolery]

He's not saying the drop is huge. Just that it's an obvious decline over the past 30 years.

[@Voxphyle]

@@SomeTomfoolery I agree, and the numbers are stated in the video, but there's never a good reason to limit the Y axis of a graph to about 1/20th of the total possible numbers. It makes me question whether this is a downward trend, or if it is a convenient snapshot of one incident.

[@SomeTomfoolery]

@@Voxphyle I wouldn't say there's never a reason. Including more of the y-axis would just add empty space, and you could equally argue that doing so would only serve to downplay and actual trend. It's really only deceiving if the values aren't labeled on the y-axis. Whether or not it's a real trend or a cherry-picked snapshot depends less on how much of the y-axis you include, and more on how much x-axis. If we went back 10 more years, would the here shown 30 seem less significant? That's where you'd want to look to see if the graph misrepresents the data.

[@johnslugger]

I read all about labor unions in the Communist manifesto.

[@lc2962]

Betcha unions aren’t losing in the police & firefighters “public” unions.

[@joeseibold1471]

Well they will now because of Janus v. AFSCME

[@agoge08]

Goodbye unions. Goodbye good riddance

[@MarcPagan]

How can we destroy Teacher Unions? School Vouchers.

[@anancapcat4221]

Homeschooling would work too. Don't need to deal with those darn teachers and their unions if we just learn at home.

[@MarcPagan]

@@anancapcat4221 Nice idea Ancap, But, for most parents, even the most loving don't have the ability to teach the wide range of subjects one learns in school. Plus, for learning social skills, in-person schools are excellent. Learning: A change in behavior as a result of experience. Test question on the FAA's Flight Instructor written and oral exams :)

[@anancapcat4221]

@@MarcPagan It doesn't have to be the parents that teach the student, it can be an online curriculum. As for social skills homeschoolers can get them from other homeschoolers or even field trips. Public school is horrible for socialization because it has all these dysfunctional behaviors in a concrete box which won't even be irrelevant after people graduate. If you have to be with a bunch of bad students and are taught to obey authority how is that real socialization. Also socialization isn't the point of school it's to get an education.

[@towardcivicliteracy]

@@MarcPagan That’s not what the evidence shows. Half of Ivy League school freshmen are home schooled, for instance. Which is incredible ideological hypocrisy, from these brazenly leftist academies. but I digress.

[@Johnjackjack]

It’s already been done with right to work laws

[@wayneyd2]

Unions has out used their usefulness.

[@poodlescone9700]

No sane person would stay at a warehouse job for a long time. Get a degree or new skills and move on and up. Nobody makes 6 figure salaries in an entry level job no matter how long they stay at the job.

[@jarekkish5515]

Not everyone can go to college and become an elite executive.

[@frenchmarty7446]

It's been shown over and over that the fastest and most effective means of raising your salary is to switch employers. Is there a union that will fight for my wages at another job? What about seek out better job placements? Fund my retirement savings independent of where I work? Count my previous work experience as part of my seniority?

[@mortson978]

Yes on all of your questions. I am a union heavy equipment operator. My retirement and health insurance is all through the local. I work out of a hiring hall. My pay at the beginning of the apprenticeship was $24/hour. My pay when I journey out this year will be about $45/hour (about 90/hour with benefits.) Granted, this is skilled labor. I have to maintain a cdl, which means I'm not allowed to use any drugs. But, I have zero student loans, all my training is free. There are good unions. Particularly for skilled crafts.

[@williemherbert1456]

And yet, do you think it's really easy to switch with ease to the next best job vacancy from one employer that located in place far away from yours and has really lots of terms that could be easy for certain individual within the region and environment there, but not for outsiders? Sure, job mobility certainly need not to be erased, but to think to make it as main viable option to get hold yourself for living in basic manner is just petty, even with the current model of working from home is not preceded fitting to many jobs that need direct contact, interaction, and exchange between employee and employer and client, especially those skilled trade job.

[@jakegarrett8109]

@@williemherbert1456 For young people like me its not the end of the world to travel halfway across the country, biggest issue I have is with anti-rights states banning self defense (even toy squirtguns are illegal to own near me), but that's not so much the relocation as corrupt governments (I'm near the capitol, so that figures)

[@frenchmarty7446]

@@williemherbert1456 Petty? That's an interesting choice of words lol. I've crossed between states multiple times for a better job, it has nothing to do with working from home or needing special conditions. It's not "really easy." Life isn't really easy. If you think you can do better living in one place for your entire life, that's your choice.

[@williemherbert1456]

@@frenchmarty7446 You do know how it affects one personal life, especially your kids for moving around states just for searching better jobs? As if this is nomadic world where nothing would change at all even changing location as far as from Mongolia to Ukraine, of course not. There are lots of factor that strangled people to stay entrenched to live in their hometown, most of the reason would be your own family that must be taken care. And again by that example, it just shows how the American current business world could no longer provide the existence of localized and well-competitive small business, since it has become more and more being shrink by major corporates that slowly monopolize the current market in the unexplored realm created after Information techs revolution and de-industrialization of many American towns. It means this shows how both American workers and small business owner are losing its ground in competition within current model of market system and living environment against the huge corporation since they too have stage monopsony scheme towards labor market in such small pool of job vacancy, thus rather you're losing more liberties than your forefather had.

[@_Solaris]

After 15+ years in the workforce, I took a permit slip and worked a project with the boilermakers union. What a shock. The habitualized laziness, the extended lunch breaks & coffee breaks, the endless meetings & sign-offs, the waste of materials and the sense of entitlement were awe-inspiring. A 12hr shift included about 7 hours of actual work with zero sense of urgency (an urgency that would have otherwise been inspired by male pride in production & efficiency). This was not isolated to the boilermakers. The pipefitters, ironworkers & labourers with whom we worked were part of the culture. I didn't stay long, but it was fascinating. ~To be fair, I'll say one thing though: though projects took a hellishly long and expensive time to complete, they did get the job done right with a good track-record.

[@NomadAlly]

You may not like it, but this is what peak performance looks like. Insane productivity comes at a cost.

[@_Solaris]

@@NomadAlly I'm a b-pressure welder. I've never worked a job with insane productivity. I've worked well-paying jobs with reasonable, efficient & safe productivity. Because I'm paid well and respected, pride prevents me from being lazy and inspires me to respect my employer through efficiency. This was not my experience with most union workers (some were *very* good though).

[@wayward03]

@@_Solaris three jobs post military and the union job was for a government contractor. It was a joke and so were a good 30% of the union labor building the facility I worked at.

[@_Solaris]

@@wayward03 it's hard to get used to, isn't it?

[@wayward03]

@@_Solaris yeah I eventually left as I felt my soul was being sort of used up.

[@gabriel4838]

THE WORKERS IN ALABAMA ARE JUST NOT THINKING WHAT THEY COULD OF HAD PROTECTION, HIGHER WAGES, PTO, PENSIONS, ALL VERY GOOD FOR ALABAMA

[@nathanielhibay6319]

Amazon, we will ruin you to.

[@WheresMyInhaler]

Amazon does not hire within , there is no place to grow within Amazon . God I hate boomers

[@northwoodsdad7506]

If you don't haveunions you will have socialism. The greed of corporations has to be balanced. Either by unions or governments. It is much easier to change unions than government.

[@weedpot100]

This is so true, the free market is better

[@kimobrien.]

What free market? You got s gun pointed at everyones head demanding your price at Walmart there is no bargaining. You want to pay the lowest wages, work us the longest hours and charge the highest prices and claim its because your the owner.

[@caballeinsan1535]

Well said. Thank you.

[@bradleypost8971]

Brandon’s so pro-union, he yelled at a union worker for disagreeing with him! 🤡

[@connorpeppermint8635]

And people still believe that he's even remotely left wing. What a joke.

[@iknklst]

"Look, fat...." Biden sure is a tough guy when surrounded by men with guns who will shoot you dead if you raise your arm.

[@bon7029]

@@connorpeppermint8635 Can't be left or right wing when you lack the mental capacity to make decisions. Biden's career is that of a crooked oaf who stayed in because the political machine kept him in.

[@connorpeppermint8635]

@@bon7029 it's not just Biden. The idea that that establishment democrats are at all left wing is absurd. Their similarities begin and end with social issues. Everything else they do is at the behest of oligarchs and mega-corporations because every single one of them is an unprincipled hack who lusts after money and power. Anyone one accusing them of being left wing hasn't a single goddmaned clue of what they are talking about.

[@Supernautiloid]

Democrats hate unions. That’s how I know unions are a good thing.

[@RealMTBAddict]

I just worked 2 days next to a highway, let's see if they even give me highway pay. 15 years doing concrete, and I'm tired of it. Always scraping by. Need to get paid to mountain bike. Anybody want to sponsor me? Big rides linked in bio.

[@reno8122]

Some of the comments on here are beyond the realm of stupidity. I work for a non-union auto manufacturer. My union counterparts have their healthcare paid for....no premiums, no deductibles, and no yearly out of pocket. We don't. They get profit sharing. We don't. Many of them have pensions. We don't....we have 491k's, which are dependent on ever more shaky and volatile stock market. They have a fair bid system for open jobs. We don't. Their seniority means something. Ours doesn't. They have SUB pay benefits, that pay them at least 80% of their pay, if they are furloughed or laid off. We don't. They have a grievance procedure, to keep employees from being wrongfully fired. We don't. I have seen good employees run off, simply because they ran afoul of an asshole supervisor. And if fired wrongfully, they have lawyers to take your case. If you didn't have a union and were wrongfully fired, could you afford to pay for a lawyer???? Most non-union workers are forced to sign Mandatory Arbitration Agreements, which basically force the worker to sign away all of their rights to ever sue the company for ANY reason EVER....instead forcing you into "arbitration", which always favors the company. Unionized employees are not subject to these agreements. That alone, is reason enough to join a union. So much bullshit in some of these comments.

[@russetwolf13]

These people live in a free market fantasy world, this is how bad the Anti-Union propaganda has got in this country.

[@TheViktorofgilead]

Labor has been divided and conquered, congratulations to reasonTV and Koch industries!

[@slambrew3849]

IDK, unions are fucking sick as hell.

[@averagejoeschmoe9186]

I currently work at a LIDL warehouse but i haven't joined any unions, i don't trust them nor do i ever plan to join a union of any kind at any time in my career. I don't want to give them a single dime nor do i intend to sacrifice my income by going on pointless strikes and for organisations and people who don't represent my values or beliefs.

[@eddyvideostar]

Dear Average Joe: Classic comment calligraphed in clay, beveled in gold.

[@drlove994]

Of course not America has to make sure it's workers don't make a living wage.

[@baddudecornpop5226]

You're not telling the whole truth. Union membership went down with de-industrialization.

[@faustsin9366]

American Unions are the worst, we do need more unions just not the business unions we have here

[@siggyincr7447]

Unions are one of those ideas that sound good in theory but inevitably get corrupted over time. I've yet to hear of any large labor union that hasn't negatively influenced the organization they are in.

[@mbr5742]

IG Metall IG BCE IG... The germans are still quite happy with their Industrial Unions

[@Johnjackjack]

Ummmm union members have higher pay and Benefits then workers in same industry

[@russetwolf13]

If you haven't seen one it's because you haven't been looking.

[@Johnjackjack]

@@russetwolf13 on average you really need me to say this of course there are bad unions just like there are bad people that are not good at raising wages about on average there wages are higher much much higher

[@kimobrien.]

@@Johnjackjack At business school they teach the prospective bosses that unions cost the bosses in overall profits,.That's why bosses oppose unions unless they are faced with no other choice. They agreed to accept unions because of strikes and protest demanding union representation.

[@ianandersen265]

Amazon is a good place to work?! They paid me $15 an hour on only half my hours, and paid $1 an hour shift pay on the other half. If it weren't for my $500 sign up bonus, I would have earned only $8 an hour. I'm a Republican, but even I have my limits on big business corruption. So glad I left Amazon quickly.

[@russetwolf13]

I think, maybe, Reason might be corporate shills or something. Maybe, possibly, this Amazon propaganda could just be coincidental.

[@Ohgreatcj.]

Sorry that happened to you but people take situations like yours and try to rationalize unionizing.

[@russetwolf13]

@@Ohgreatcj. which is good! Unions are rational and are universally better than not being in one! Unionize you fool!

[@breakingpoint3893]

Your political status isn't the issue. You have a right to a fair paycheck regardless of that and we all know who makes the big bucks when it comes to large corporations like Walmart and amazon.. That's just b.s. in my opinion, it's not really a bonus but rather the money they owed you from previously worked hours. I used to work for walmart years ago. And they had a similar set up, pay you shit wages and then throw a quarterly bonus check in here and there. But if the store didn't perform well we didn't get the bonus, it was just stupid.

[@LSMitchell]

Nick, have you read Michael Lind's new book Hell to Pay? Would you consider having him on your podcast?

[@r0mulyni2]

I worked in Union NYC Hotel now for 12 years, pay is good $39Hr 35hrs a week, After Pandemic where you don't get a Shot your Fired. The Job Security and Safety of being in a union is gone. Especially if they won't fight for your medical Rights, next whatever happens you don't go with the program there goes your Pension.

[@jl453]

Because Unions are liberal. They're pro jab and mask and don't ask questions.

[@CosmicHyperborean]

How many Mises nerds here rage against business lobbies and Chambers of Commerce? Zero.

[@xMetalhead2000]

Saying Amazon is a good place to work is just factual incorrect the turnover rate is insane

[@drlove994]

It's a good place to work.

[@jonathanwalker6074]

@@drlove994 Dr. Love can't tell a lie😂

[@jakegarrett8109]

I mean that's also true for SpaceX, but you know what its great for? Your resume. It shows you were probably leading edge, and early on in your career you should hop around often (fastest way to gain skill and increase pay rate), so its perfect for that.

[@xMetalhead2000]

@@jakegarrett8109 space x looks way better than warehouse worker just saying and probably pays way more than even Amazon and is hard to get into compared to Amazon

[@jimlovesgina]

Turnover rate does not equate to "bad place to work". You also like to come to conclusions with zero evidence and zero personal experience. You clearly failed in debate class.

[@JPG.01]

Good. The only times unions did anything good was when they were beating down open doors.

[@TheMagnificentMongoSlade]

The Democrats insist on pushing labor unions and their government has had a lot of undue influence in unionization conversations. They're knowingly and willingly putting their fingers on the scale.

[@jakegarrett8109]

@@iamnotgonnagiveyoumyname1373 Its obvious when Unions were begging to remove worker's rights to bodily choice, begging for mandatory pokes of experimental and rather harmful injections. I could see them doing some good asking to make all drugs legal, but then to force drugs? NO!

[@kimobrien.]

The Democrats want union votes and union leaders in their pockets but the Democratic Party is organized and paid for by the company bosses. The unions are organizations financed by the working class membership alone. The capitalist can help but fail in their pursuit of profits. That means they can help but provoke class struggle. Their system is failing world wide.

[@kekarddain4245]

The amount of grifting in these comments is hilarious.

[@Redmanticore]

grift · 1. the practice of obtaining money by swindles, frauds

[@Jigamanx2]

I realized at 16 when I das denied a raise because “we all get our raise and rate when the union says” that they’re terrible organizations. I was more reliable and dependable at 16 than over half the staff a that store but they had people who were the epitome of mediocre being paid $30+/hr to cut ham in the deli section just besucase they were barely decent enough to not be fired

[@AnthonyChinaski]

Throw them bums out on the streets! Get those high school kids in there to slice that ham at a more productive rate!

[@bon7029]

I worked at a Kroger deli some years ago that had a union. I had a coworker who would flat out tell me that they're gonna go goof off when I arrived. I had a manager who was easy to locate. Problem is, getting him to wake up and deal with a situation would just result in being told to "Deal with it yourself." The guy had a freaking recliner and television in his office. He would arrive, plop down, watching television and sleep until it was time for him to go home. I ask the general manager how this kind of thing happens and he just says, "He's management and he's in the union. I can't fire em without the union's say so." Blew my damn mind. Then a few months later, I find out that the general manager got sent to another store because it's falling apart and they sent the other manager to the one I work at. Needless to say, he was union and couldn't be fired, so they shuffle his sorry ass around to mitigate how much damage he can do to any one store. I do not miss working at that place.

[@Frank-pp9iy]

Make all the arguments for or against private sector unions you want. Public sector unions are the biggest scam ever

[@wraeth7]

I agree. Unions in the public sector exist to get more tax money out of tax payers without proper representation. Private sector I have no problem with them, I just dont think they should be mandatory.

[@Frank-pp9iy]

@@wraeth7 For sure. There is a lot of Union abuses, and they're becoming obsolete in the modern economy to a certain extent, but free people renegotiating their contracts with an employer doesn't strike me as bad in and of itself. there are certainly downsides, but so long as its optional to join it doesn't bother me too much. Public sector unions is just government bureaucrats giving themselves raises with wealth they did nothing to create

[@i-fart-n-elevators4610]

unions are a thorn in the side of companies who desire to join their competion by hiring illegal migrants over citizens and on that note I am grateful yet the downside is that it is such a struggle to fire the lazy so there is a pro and con for you to chew on

[@kimobrien.]

Fire the lazy? For what so you can pay taxes for welfare, out on the streets as criminals or to have them locked up in profit making hell holes. You talk about firing the lazy as if Bill Gates doesn't understand that you need to eat much more than another operating system. If laziness was a human problem then Bourgeois Society would have collapsed a long time ago. .

[@Kingof69ner]

Don't worry whenever everything goes to hell the unions will return

[@oceania2385]

Children aren't loosing their hands in looms anymore, Unions made tremendous progress and I am grateful. That being said having worked for a union long enough to get a pension. Their only job is to be a scapegoat for labor issues and collecting donations for democratic politicians.

[@Khajiidaro]

Yeah, Unions worked well early on but much like minimum wage and other reforms they got ruined by large corporations who found the loopholes to such reforms. Even patching said loopholes would only be temporary.

[@kimobrien.]

@@Khajiidaro The is because the government is the executive committee of the ruling class.

[@bjnowak]

I don’t mind unions… I don’t like government involvement in unions. If they get involved it’s just to help the government in some way.

[@lindyswing4368]

this guy needs to be on Krystal and Sagar

[@Medicine91]

Amazon should spinoff the warehouse division. AWS subsidizes the warehouse workers. This is why Amazon pays above market rate. The union leaders are looking greedily at AWS profits. If they want to share the profits, they must all share losses...just like the investors.

[@kimobrien.]

Investors not wage earners should take the losses since they have money they don't need. You'll just run hat in hand to the government for another bailout anyway.

[@RichardGeiszler]

Many workers have also found their personal politics and beliefs are much different from that of union leadership.

[@kimobrien.]

They can vote for whoever they want and the can almost always vote on either the contract or the leadership directly. Once every year they can vote the union itself either in or out.

[@Lobos222]

I used to be in a Union... now I pee in bottles and dont have a social life. Way better... Oh shit, gotta go, my robot app boss is telling me my bottle is full so my peek break is over.

[@patmcbride9853]

Unionize Congressional staff!!

[@kimobrien.]

The neo liberals cut them down as too costly now cheap government functions by using K St lobbyist who write all legislation for the company bosses.

[@uabir8338]

I don't know. Some of the retailers in Canada make crazy money while paying minimum wage to all of their lower level employees for years. The seniors are also making good money.

[@crissd8283]

Then find another job. It is way more powerful than having a union.

[@Ukepa]

really good video. also, companies can pay off unions to NOT organize. unions are for unions, not labor!

[@Johnjackjack]

I suggest you look into unions more and see the benifits and higher pay the workers receive and the workers are the union

[@eddyvideostar]

To Ukepa: Better still, companies like Verizon can allow themselves to be strong-armed -- then pay the workers after not wanting to pay replacements in addition to the striking workers combined with Unemployment Insurance.

[@kimobrien.]

That's a quote from the anti marxist Thomas Sowell. Professors like him are for the bosses because they are intellectual servants paid to sit in a chair and sing the praise of their masters the ruling capitalist bosses. Unions would not exist if workers didn't want them just as Sowell would not have a career as a bourgeois professor of economics if he came to the wrong conclusions on Fidel Castro. .

[@Ayo22210]

I was in the Union for UPS when I did a summer job driving the big brown truck. They canived me into it. And it’s probably 10% of the reason I left when they offered me the job at the end of it. If the union was any good they would’ve made it so we could have a beard but that changed later when the shortage of labor happened. So market forces have a stronger effect than unions.

[@jakegarrett8109]

Not just a beard, but many were screaming they wanted forced injections made mandatory for everyone. F unions, may they burn in Hello Kitty land. So much for respecting workers rights, they even want to screw with the non-union workers!

[@matthoward8546]

Not a fan of unions, but would laugh if they got a hold of Amazon like they did with the auto industry...Eat Amazon alive.

[@Mrbobinge]

Independent contractors forced to Unionise? Imagine if shop-keepers did (Unionise), they'd quickly be accused of unlawful Monopoly - the OPEC of bread milk and butter.

[@kimobrien.]

The ruling class already has a monopolies on everything as it stands now.

[@kimobrien.]

They are called convenience stores and they are monopolized into large corp like Circle K usually connected to the oil and gasoline company bosses.

[@esayasasefa5551]

Against unions because it allows nepotism in the hiring process, you basically HAVE TO BE related to someone who works at a strongly unionized company to get a job there

[@eddyvideostar]

Dear Esaysa: This is true: And even surviving office politics. At times, the national discrimination is to the rafters. Dirty union workers are biased -- some even racist, and will spin this on the victims.

[@kimobrien.]

@@eddyvideostar Ya all you clean office bosses such a bunch of lovely *****.

[@Fin4L6are]

Good

[@bon7029]

Many people know and remember what unions did to Detroit. They see what unions do to schools. No thanks. My first job saw me in a union at Kroger. Watching the worthless and extremely lazy keep their jobs because they're "in the union and can't be touched" and even if they DID get fired, they would be rehired within the week thanks to the union. Me having to work three times as hard because unlike them, I actually took pride in my work and saw my view of unions sour like milk left outside of the cooler for too long because the guy who worked the night before couldn't be bothered to shuffle around a few pallets to get the last one in.

[@kimobrien.]

Bosses chasing bigger profits closed down Detroit.

[@abhishekdev258]

Love this take. 😊

[@eddyvideostar]

To Adhisken Dev: Who?

[@BicBoi1984]

Good. Unions are terrible.

[@WaffleStomper69]

I'm sure Biden would welcome unions if he owned the company lol. Could you imagine?

[@yodaguy6956]

The only thing I can see Biden negotiating successfully is an extra serving of jello before hitting the shuffleboard court before the 430 dinner buffet

[@superdupercooper5826]

I started True bill because I have no idea how to manage my money and I’m a complete idiot.

[@Sweet-as-banana]

All my family members are in unions and it was the best thing that has ever happened to my family. We went from sharecroppers to middle class in one generation. I'm going to join one as well. $18 is not enough to live on and as an African-American, black americans who are not unionized are last hired first fired, are paid less, and wage theft is more common. Thanks to unions my family had stability and can also all retire very well because they actually get pensions, stock, overtime, benefits, vacations and weekends. My friends and I who work in the private sector don't make nearly enough and have no benefits. Unions are the way.

[@tommyanomaly6193]

Unions are a double edged sword. They may help in the short term but they also keep people stagnant. Small business owners that produce a decent income probably have the most personal freedom.

[@Sweet-as-banana]

@@tommyanomaly6193 unions are not a double edge sword for anyone I know. Not everyone wants to start a business and deal with the hassle of what comes with it. In order to start a business you’ll need a loan, network, advertise, deal with payroll, pay rent, etc,. When you start a business, you live and die with every account/client. Not everyone wants to deal with the stress. Some people just want to work and go home. Unions have given everyone I know more than enough freedom, money, stability, and leisure. Everyone I know can retire with several streams of income too. I can’t wait to join.

[@elephantman2112]

Finally, a sane comment! More power to you.

[@Mark_Cook]

I don’t blame you for wanting to join a union. In many ways the personal benefits are tantalizing. But eventually you will see why so many of these comments are warning about unions, most of them from personal experience and many with decades of personal experience. There are severe problems that come with the shift of power dynamics to the handful of people that represent the unions, and essentially rule the union workers as well as any company using union labor. There is a cost to every action, this one is exceedingly high, just not always to the union workers themselves, but most times it eventually catches up.

[@elephantman2112]

@@Mark_Cook But you have no objection to capitalists centralising power? Let me ask you this: If people want to voluntarily associate with each other to increase their bargaining power by joining a union, why can't they?

[@tacomuncher211]

Companies will crush them im in favor of them as i was illegally terminated (like so many others)but wheres the $30 an hour chris smalls promises? i cannot take the guy seriously AT ALL

[@MisterLobb]

(Off topic but don’t know where else to make this known yo you) KZbin hasn’t recommended a reasontv video to me in six months. They don’t even show up under my subscription feed. Had to go to your channel to find this one.

[@MrThetruthhurts]

FJB

[@charleschenhua]

Good, I hope your prediction is true

[@nicasa78]

Maybe if unions weren't social, they won't be losing members.

[@kimobrien.]

So the should be anti social?

[@flyoverkid55]

It's simple. Most of the reasons unions existed are no longer valid. Things like wage and hour law, OSHA, EPA, etc. have codified law regarding the labor issues of decades ago. Unions do as much to jeopardize jobs as they do to support them. Don't take my word for it, ask a former GM employee.

[@kimobrien.]

Those are basically greed regulation laws passed by the executive committee of the ruling class. Naturally they fail because they are placed under corp. control.

[@gilgabro420]

They already are lol.

[@TickedOffPriest]

Unions increase salaries and make better working conditions for union leadership.

[@RealMTBAddict]

Lol my tax rate with the union job is 28%. Non union job is around 18%. Makes a HUGE difference.

[@oceania2385]

Fact checked true !

[@rdevil5330]

@@RealMTBAddict wait - how does the tax rate go up for unionization? Taxes are collected by the government based on graduated taxation - which means your income went up LMAO

[@RealMTBAddict]

@@rdevil5330 Taxes with union include things like pension and other dues. Trust me. I'm talking overall money out of your check, not simply federal or state taxes. I consider pension to be a tax since it's locked up until a certain point, usually 60 years old.

[@kimobrien.]

@@RealMTBAddict Why would the bosses just give you that money you never see in your check? All you need to do is look at the homeless population to see the workings of BOSS charity.

[@abhishekdev258]

I don't get the logic behind the war cry of making independent contractors as employees. Are youtube creators underpaid too. Should they too get health benefits?

[@kimobrien.]

Why not make healthcare a human right and pay for it like roads and education.

[@rolandserna7805]

It's also worth noting how many union members voluntarily joined

[@Johnjackjack]

Then get a job that’s not unionized

[@rolandserna7805]

@@Johnjackjack it’s not that simple. Not every job gives you the option. In the summer of 2020, I worked at Stater Bros because it was the only place hiring teenagers within a walking distance I could find. They kept trying to get me to sign up with a union and a good portion of my paycheck would have been taken out. I don’t agree with everything unions spend wages on and I was only working at Stater Bros for just a few months to help pay for my first car. If I didn’t quit as soon as I did, I would have still had to join that union or get fired.

[@Johnjackjack]

@@rolandserna7805 so unions on average take 2% of your pay on the high end and you pay I would be willing to bet 500 dollars was higher then other similar jobs due to the union so it more then made up for the cost. And for the political donations tough luck they are fighting to keep there union and your pay alive and high. And for getting fired for not joining union if I was your shop Stewart I would have done the same after a couple of weeks of trying to educat you on the benefits you are not contributing to that is the brotherhood

[@rolandserna7805]

​@@Johnjackjack I don't know why you're defending this. You sound like an apologist for unions. They wanted FAR more than 2% of my paycheck if I joined. Even if it was only 2%, I don't want to give them any of my money when I shouldn't have to. I am anything but a Democrat, so I'm not comfortable giving any of my money to them when I disagree with at least 75% of their policies. Even if they donated to Republicans, I still wouldn't want them taking money out of my paycheck for any political donations. It would also depend which specific Republican organizations they're donating to as well. Why do you guys always have to use force and threaten people by firing them if they don't meet all your demands that you shouldn't have to make in the first place? I was a high schooler trying to save up money for my first car. Let me keep whatever little money I made and don't force me to unionize. If unions were completely voluntary, then I might have a slightly more favorable view of them. The job I got in the summer of 2021 paid me even more and gave me some good benefits without me even needing to unionize. Maybe it made sense 100 years ago, but employers are MUCH more reasonable these days without laws and unions telling them what to do.

[@eddyvideostar]

Unions are strong-armed and need to keep up with office/workplace politics. They provide no protection for pariahs discriminated against. Unions feed management into harassing the vulnerable.

[@Redmanticore]

3:00 - 3:28 hmm, why k12 teachers' salaries have not increased? are you saying unions keep wages down? then wouldn't all employers want unions if they keep wages down?

[@aarononeal9830]

Reason tv needs to talk about Ecosia they are a search engine that plants tress ...

[@joshfritz5345]

I remember when one of my teachers described the right to work act in a very negative light, but I was the only one in the class who was suspicious of it. I thought it sounded like a bad thing for the workers to force them to join a union, and asked "wouldn't it be better if the workers could choose to join a union or not?" And this seemed to tick her off, she wasn't used to being questioned by a student like that. This was in grade school, long before I was familiar with concepts like voluntarism or libertarianism.

[@rockon8174]

Dude..you were thinking critically. That teacher had the mentality of "my vaccine doesn't work unless you get one too."

[@towardcivicliteracy]

The totalitarian mindset is pure emotion, and it’s mostly class hate. You don’t expect facts or reason from such narcissism. Just violence and hate.

[@Johnjackjack]

Oh you could just find a job that wasn’t unionize to work at instead of stealing the collective bargaining power that give them there higher wage

[@joshfritz5345]

@@Johnjackjack What if I want to just be able to work without being coerced into joining a group that will take part of my income?

[@Johnjackjack]

@@joshfritz5345 then find a different job with lower wages due to lack of union dues. You don’t get the privilege of collective bargaining without paying into the brotherhood

[@jaytilala7388]

I have no problem with Unions, but to force people who don't want to Join a union into joining a union is just Bullshit. "Right to work" states doesn't make Unions Illegal, it just gives the employees a choice to join a union or not

[@RealMTBAddict]

In my experience companies that give the option fire the union guy first due to all the extra benefits they pay in. Happened to me yesterday. Fired me for not being a carpenter, when they know I'm a concrete finisher. Even though I work faster than all the other non union guys. It took one guy 2 minutes to tie one wire, took me about 10 seconds. And I was the only white guy.

[@yodaguy6956]

@@RealMTBAddict it makes sense from the employers perspective, it's a natural downside of being unionized

[@RealMTBAddict]

@@yodaguy6956 yeah well I'm about to leave my union and withdraw my pension

[@jaytilala7388]

@@RealMTBAddict Yes, I think we can have some regulation regarding that. But I still think forcing people to Join a Union is bad

[@yodaguy6956]

@@RealMTBAddict to each their own, I don't blame you. I'm curious if you don't mind sharing, do you take a penalty for withdrawing your pension from the union?

[@adharshs3004]

I think this vedio is gonna age like milk. In the last 4 or 6 union election in Starbuck,it passed unanimously. The besmer example there was a re election and the unions almost won. All the points the vedio point out to might be TRUE, but one thing we forget is feeling Don't give a shit about facts. If workers at amazon feel they are being treated poorly, they Will vote in the unions. And people nowadays Don't look at themselves or fellow workers when they measure growth in life. They look at the fact that productivity has gone up 70% from 1970, but wages adjusted to inflation hasn't gone up even close, I think the vedio is rationally blinded. I am not sure if there will be success in the push for unions but there will be many more historic(eg statin island) and symbolic victories(eg Starbuck suspends it share buy back due to unionization efforts, to focus on its people ie workers)

[@jimwerther]

When unions are strong, the economy craters, and then people don't want unions to be strong.

[@russetwolf13]

Literally backwards.

[@kimobrien.]

@@russetwolf13 The teach the bosses to be anti union in business schools because they explain that when a union is established bosses no longer have a free hand and profits suffer such that any advantage the union might provide the bosses like a more stable wrkforce isn't worth the added expense.

[@jimwerther]

@@kimobrien. ...says the communist whose profile pic is a hammer and sickle. Newsflash! Your side lost, because your side sucks.

[@jimwerther]

@@russetwolf13 Learn Basic Economics.

[@paul-ld9vh]

Let's discuss the elephant in the room and question legality of PUBLIC sector unions and what a scam those are on the taxpayers.

[@_Solaris]

I have to agree. I'm not pro-union, but I can understand labour unions. Public, tax-funded unions are another animal completely.

[@kimobrien.]

@@_Solaris The same corp. profit hungry bosses run the government into the ground as too expensive for them and their big profit low wages government policies.

[@johnsuder7671]

Lol lol , no it's not a good great place to work.