The Worker Thread

[O Really]

Whether a union (or any other association) "works" for your membership fee isn't the issue. It's whether you get a value at least equivalent to what you pay. Unions do the same amount of "work" that, for example, the NRA does for your money. They represent your interests. A union can't guarantee its members more money or better benefits, although union companies do usually have those things, but it can guarantee - without question - that it will get a working grievance procedure and and end to "termination for any or no reason" or arbitrary discipline. That's sounds like its valuable enough for dues to me.

[Mr.B]

"Whether a union (or any other association) "works" for your membership fee isn't the issue. It's whether you get a value at least equivalent to what you pay. Unions do the same amount of "work" that, for example, the NRA does for your money. They represent your interests. A union can't guarantee its members more money or better benefits, although union companies do usually have those things, but it can guarantee - without question - that it will get a working grievance procedure and and end to "termination for any or no reason" or arbitrary discipline. That's sounds like its valuable enough for dues to me."

I guess I've been lucky throughout my working career. I've never had a reason to join a union; I've never worked for anyone that gave me grief;
I've only had my butt chewed twice; and I deserved it each time, I've only been fired once, (age 18) and I've never had an issue with benefits.

I suppose I had a very boring career....

[O Really]

The efforts of union members from the 40's, 50's and into the 60's resulted in a lot of companies improving their practices in an active attempt to avoid being organized. In companies that still have neanderthal practices, unions can still make a positive difference, but one reason unions have faded in the private sector is that companies are making an attempt to be competitive in pay/benefits and are giving the impression of having due process in discipline and termination issues. Of course, even the most progressive companies usually include the disclaimer in their employee handbooks about "not a contract" and "employment at will" so it's wise to read the fine print carefully before one thinks a union is worthless for them.

[Vrede too]

Trump's (fast-food executive) Labor Dept pick sends early warning sign to worker advocates

[Vrede too]

Hospitals Aren’t Churches: Why The Supreme Court Should Conclude As Much And Protect Hundreds Of Thousands Of Pensions

I'm not sure which of the many religious doctrines endorse screwing workers out of pensions. Sounds like it's corporate avarice masking itself as religion, instead.

[Mr.B]

[Vrede too]

[O Really]

I'm no fan of Putzner, but that statement isn't really accurate. The DOL found violations in 60% of the units it investigated, not 60% of the total units. Also, most of the units are franchises, not corporate, which tend to have higher likelihood of violations. That's because a lot of the violations are caused by less-than-professional managers who didn't know any better. Of course, we can also say it was the owner's job to train them, and corporate's job to train the owners, etc., but it's still not accurate to say 60% of Putzer's units had violations.

Further, a lot of the violations were not considered "willful" and were the same type as you can find in a lot of places. Missed paying somebody for a lunch period when he did some work during it, didn't record time spent traveling correctly, took a deduction for uniforms or something that made hourly rate under minimum in a short week, didn't get somebody's pay to them timely after a termination, yada.

IMNVHO, the real problem with Putzer isn't how Hardee's/CarlJr is run, but his own expressed personal contempt for the regulations that provide some measure of protection for workers.

[Vrede too]

Franchising is a time honored excuse for corporate to play Pontius Pilate. When the violations are so widespread, Puzder can't deny responsibility.

It's a graphic with limited space, I can excuse some shaky grammar. Anyone wanting to act on the poster will go to Fight for $15's website and find prominent links saying exactly what you do. For example:

Andrew Puzder Is the Wrong Choice for Labor Secretary

Working in fast-food is no picnic. The industry is infamous for grindingly low pay and labor law violations. Yet Andrew Puzder, the chief executive of the company that operates Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s, has been chosen by President-elect Donald Trump as labor secretary.

Here is the record at those restaurants. When the Obama Labor Department looked at thousands of complaints involving fast-food workers, it found labor law violations in 60 percent of the investigations at Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s, usually for failure to pay the minimum wage or time and a half for overtime....

Then, it goes on to assail Puzder's policy stances as you do.

[Vrede too]

[rstrong]

Back about 1982 my high school electronics teacher told the class that in 10 years there would be a 4-day work week, with 5-day work week being illegal.

There HAD to be. Automation and computers had already led to a dramatic rise in productivity, and the rise was going to continue. Women were continuing to enter the workforce in ever larger numbers. Without a 4-day work week we'd have to accept rising unemployment and ever-lowering wages.

It turns out the corporations were OK with this.

Future automation isn't just self-driving delivery trucks and drones. Higher energy-density in batteries and faster computing for less energy means that humanoid robots are becoming practical. Not AI, not fully-automated like in DARPA competitions. Think telepresence; Jobs like cleaning hotel rooms or stocking grocery store shelves, using humanoid robots remotely piloted from poorer countries for 1/10th the wages.

[Vrede too]

Plus, we've deliberately allowed that dramatic rise in productivity to benefit the fat cats, not workers, a one-two punch.

A lot of MD work can be done remotely or even by robots in some cases, not so much with nursing.

[O Really]

Legal billing, traditionally on an hourly basis, has been undergoing a lot of change. Research used to mean lots of time with the books. Now it's not much time on WestLaw or Nexis, and sometimes it's the junior associates or paralegals that are doing it. So the same task that used to generate say 15 billable hours now takes 2. Jobs for support services like legal assistants are getting fewer as more is automated and essentially all court filing is electronic. Cost of technology goes up relative to other expenses, and hourly rates go up, but clients want more billing alternatives. But most forward-thinking firms know what's happening and adapt instead of resisting. A lot of industries refuse to adapt until it's too late, and a lot of workers expect things to stay the same like their parents or grandparents had it.

You used to be able to go into any big industrial plant - steel, textiles, furniture, autos - and find generations of families working there. And when you retired you were likely eligible for a pension and continued health insurance. You could start out of high school, become an apprentice, make good money in trades and crafts or get into management. All that's long ago. Why anybody expects anything similar any more - any loyalty from company or employee - or stability in employment is beyond me. Maybe Trump can bring it back.

[Vrede too]

Pay to rise for millions as 19 states increase minimum wage

[Vrede too]

... Future automation isn't just self-driving delivery trucks and drones. Higher energy-density in batteries and faster computing for less energy means that humanoid robots are becoming practical. Not AI, not fully-automated like in DARPA competitions. Think telepresence; Jobs like cleaning hotel rooms or stocking grocery store shelves, using humanoid robots remotely piloted from poorer countries for 1/10th the wages.

Watch Korea's mech take its first steps with a pilot on board
Yes, Korea's real-life Gundam works.

I'll be really impressed if it turns into an ice cream truck and plays "Happy Days Are Here Again".

[Vrede too]

Tell the Senate to oppose Andrew Puzder for secretary of labor.
Sign the petition.

[rstrong]

[Vrede too]

... What happened was mechanization, and it was coming anyway....

[Mr.B]

[img]

15$ AN HOUR... ?

[rstrong]

Yup. A great many farming jobs disappeared over the last century thanks to automation.

A great many office jobs disappeared over the last 50. My accounting, online ordering and e-commerce software means that our companies are doing three time the business with the same number of staff - but that almost certainly cost jobs among the competition. Computers won't replace an accountant, but a staff of accountants can be replaced with just one, and one can be replaced with outside part-time help. We recently had two people retire who won't be replaced. Their roles, now simplified through software, will go to other staff.

Every ATM replaces three bank tellers. And not just the tellers, but entire bank branches with the other people they employ.

Eighty-five percent of the almost 6 million American manufacturing jobs that disappeared between 2000 and 2010 did not go anywhere; they just evaporated. The workers were replaced by tireless, uncomplaining machines that could do their jobs more cheaply. Even China and India can't compete:

A recent Citibank research note forecasts that automation will eliminate 57 percent of all existing jobs in the developed countries within the next 20 years. In China, 77 percent of manufacturing jobs are at risk over the same period. And the notion that the economy will create other, better jobs to replace them is just a comforting myth. Most of the new jobs that are being created are MacJobs.

I expect a few of those service industry MacJobs will go overseas via telepresence. Increased energy density in batteries - and vastly improved telecommunications infrastructure - means that humanoid telepresence robots are becoming practical. Workers in Indonesia will be cleaning hotel rooms in Charlotte.