The Worker Thread

[neoplacebo]

Well yeah, unions take power away from those who hold it. It's not surprising there would be a lot of resistance. But why are current employees so wimpy?

Mostly because of the prevalence of what you might call being an economic hostage to whatever job you happen to have. That's not lazy, but more like pragmatic this day and age. The apex of the American economy was in the period of about 1947 to 1970, which is also about the period of most skilled, and some not so skilled, labor being members of a unions. Today, the idea of a labor union is like fucking poison to both management and labor. That's the way management likes it.

[Vrede too]

Mostly because of the prevalence of what you might call being an economic hostage to whatever job you happen to have. That's not lazy, but more like pragmatic this day and age. The apex of the American economy was in the period of about 1947 to 1970, which is also about the period of most skilled, and some not so skilled, labor being members of a unions. Today, the idea of a labor union is like fucking poison to both management and labor. That's the way management likes it.

Plus, I THINK industry has become very skilled at tactics that divide and suppress workers without sparking the revolutionary outage of prior decades. I don't think individuals are any wimpier these days, but collectively it can appear like that.

EEOC Official Time Rule

The EEOC has proposed a change that would prohibit union representatives from representing their members in EEO matters on duty time. By denying federal employees their choice of representative – a union rep with knowledge and experience in EEO issues – they are making it harder for federal employees to address matters of discrimination and harassment in the workplace.

Fill out the form by February 10, 2020 to tell EEOC to reverse course and protect the federal workplace from discrimination and harassment!

The proposed rule can be read here: https://www.federalregister.gov/documen ... commission.

[neoplacebo]

Mostly because of the prevalence of what you might call being an economic hostage to whatever job you happen to have. That's not lazy, but more like pragmatic this day and age. The apex of the American economy was in the period of about 1947 to 1970, which is also about the period of most skilled, and some not so skilled, labor being members of a unions. Today, the idea of a labor union is like fucking poison to both management and labor. That's the way management likes it.

Plus, I THINK industry has become very skilled at tactics that divide and suppress workers without sparking the revolutionary outage of prior decades. I don't think individuals are any wimpier these days, but collectively it can appear like that.

EEOC Official Time Rule

The EEOC has proposed a change that would prohibit union representatives from representing their members in EEO matters on duty time. By denying federal employees their choice of representative – a union rep with knowledge and experience in EEO issues – they are making it harder for federal employees to address matters of discrimination and harassment in the workplace.

Fill out the form by February 10, 2020 to tell EEOC to reverse course and protect the federal workplace from discrimination and harassment!

The proposed rule can be read here: https://www.federalregister.gov/documen ... commission.

I agree that the corporate world has become adept at manipulating its workforce. They have become adept at subterfuge; it's sort of like a trump business model. Both hands on the throttle, fuck all else, create a crisis and mess, declare bankruptcy and move on to the next one. To be fair, this is what Mitt Romney used to do for a living....buy companies and then saddle them with tremendous debt and sell out before the shit hits the fan.

[Vrede too]

Well yeah, unions take power away from those who hold it. It's not surprising there would be a lot of resistance. But why are current employees so wimpy?

Plus, I THINK industry has become very skilled at tactics that divide and suppress workers without sparking the revolutionary outage of prior decades. I don't think individuals are any wimpier these days, but collectively it can appear like that.

I agree that the corporate world has become adept at manipulating its workforce. They have become adept at subterfuge; it's sort of like a trump business model. Both hands on the throttle, fuck all else, create a crisis and mess, declare bankruptcy and move on to the next one. To be fair, this is what Mitt Romney used to do for a living....buy companies and then saddle them with tremendous debt and sell out before the shit hits the fan.

Press Release:

Number of workers represented by a union held steady in 2019
Union coverage rate ticked down as more workers enter the labor market

... “The share of workers covered by a union contract is well less than half of what it was 40 years ago—caused in large part by fierce corporate opposition spending millions of dollars on anti-union campaigns and lobbying the government to weaken labor laws,” said Heidi Shierholz, EPI’s Director of Policy. “Despite this attack on unions, we’ve seen a surge of strikes in the last two years, showing that workers understand the importance of joining together with their coworkers to demand better wages and working conditions.”

Survey data show that 48% of nonunion workers would vote to join a union in their workplace if given the opportunity to do so. A recent EPI report, however, found that employers spend roughly $340 million annually on “union avoidance” consultants and are charged with breaking the law in 41.5% of union elections. This combination of illegal conduct and legal coercion has ensured that union elections are characterized by employer intimidation and are a strong departure the democratic process guaranteed by the National Labor Relations Act.

Report:

Unlawful
U.S. employers are charged with violating federal law in 41.5% of all union election campaigns

Why it matters: Unions are good for workers. Far more U.S. workers want unions than have the benefit of representation today. When workers are able to win union representation and collectively bargain, their wages, benefits, and working conditions improve. On average, a worker covered by a union contract earns 13.2% more than a peer with similar education, occupation, and experience in a nonunionized workplace in the same sector. Union workers are more likely to have employer-sponsored health insurance, and their employers contribute more toward those plans. They are also more likely to have paid vacation and sick leave. Union workers are more likely to have retirement plans, with their employers contributing more toward those plans than comparable nonunion employers do. Unions also create safer workplaces. And union workers are covered by due process protections, so that, unlike nonunion workers in the U.S., union workers cannot be fired “at will,” with no warning and for almost any reason.

What can be done about it: Policymakers must take action on legislative reform to restore and strengthen workers’ rights to organize and collectively bargain. The Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, introduced by Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) and Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.), includes many critical reforms. The legislation will help ensure that workers have a meaningful right to organize and bargain collectively by streamlining the process when workers form a union, bolstering workers’ chances of success at negotiating a first agreement, and holding employers accountable when they violate workers’ rights. Indeed, the PRO Act addresses many of the most significant tactics of aggressive employer opposition. This type of legislative reform is needed to restore workers’ rights to join together and bargain for a better life.

...

[O Really]

The authors have a point to make, and they're entitled to make it, but they're pretty selective in their facts.

"U.S. employers are charged with violating federal law in 41.5% of all union election campaigns"
Sure, but I'm surprised it isn't higher than that. Because that's what you do in election campaigns. Employee rights are defined in the NLRA, and haven't changed substantially, although interpretation varies according to the viewpoint of the board. Those violations, often called "Section 7 violations" are listed as "Interfering with employee rights (Section 7 & 8(a)(1))" So if any person who has discussed "union" in the workplace gets fired or any kind of discipline, you're going to get a charge. Getting a "win" in an unfair labor practice gives the union something to use in publicity, gains support of potential members, makes the company look bad, and may get some tangible advantage with an arbitrator or the Board. So yeah, lots of charges filed - as a part of campaign strategy.

Likewise, "Coercion of employees" is found in (Section 8(b)(1)(A)) and companies are equally eager to file unfair labor practice charges for all the same reasons the unions do.

"Survey data show that 48% of nonunion workers would vote to join a union in their workplace if given the opportunity to do so." Well sure, if it costs me no effort or time or money and I have no personal risk, I'll vote for the union." Employees have very rarely been "given the opportunity" - they have earned that opportunity though dedication, determination, and at great personal loss to many in the fight. And bottom line, they don't have that drive anymore because their employment lives are way better than 50 or more years ago. The author laments corporate efforts to fight unions now? Maybe s/he wasn't around when Willie Farrah of Farrah (clothing) manufacturing in San Antonio and El Paso turned German Shepherds loose on the picketers. Maybe s/he never heard of Haymarket. Maybe s/he never even saw "Norma Rae."

The story is a bit different with the public unions, though, since the states can legally cut their nuts off without much NLRA violation by passing "no-strike" laws, limited topics eligible for negotiation, and cutting off auto deduction for dues, etc. But public unions have long been considered more "collective begging" than "collective bargaining."

Corporations' resistance isn't any stronger than 50 years ago, and one could argue that incurring NLRA violations is a big improvement over dog attacks. But they've also made big (real) improvements in employee relations over the decades and have assumed a mask of "trust us." It is (mostly) a mask fershure, but a lot of employees buy it.

[Vrede too]

... "Survey data show that 48% of nonunion workers would vote to join a union in their workplace if given the opportunity to do so." ...

They make the point somewhere that the number has increased in the last few years, which I think is meaningful.

[O Really]

... "Survey data show that 48% of nonunion workers would vote to join a union in their workplace if given the opportunity to do so." ...

They make the point somewhere that the number has increased in the last few years, which I think is meaningful.

Yeah, thanks probably to increased effort by SEIU.
Breaks your heart to see non-union coal miners vote for Trump. Kinda like paying somebody to rob your house.

[Vrede too]

Yeah, thanks probably to increased effort by SEIU.
Breaks your heart to see non-union coal miners vote for Trump. Kinda like paying somebody to rob your house.

Even worse, the union coal miners probably voted for 45SHOLE, too.

I was an SEIU member decades ago. They also organized nurses in CA. It was pretty cool having waitstaff and janitor sisters and brothers.

[Vrede too]

Urge Congress to pass the Fairness for Farmworkers Act

[Vrede too]

Trump Gives Defense Department Power To Abolish Bargaining For Civilian Unions

President Donald Trump has officially granted the Department of Defense the legal authority to abolish the collective bargaining rights of its civilian labor unions representing some 750,000 workers....

Trump’s assault on unions contradicts his frequent claims to his base of supporting voters that he is a champion of the working class. A 2017 White House memo encouraged “eliminating employee unions” as part of a wide-ranging effort to weaken organized labor. Trump’s budget for fiscal 2021 would require federal workers to pay more for a cut in retirement benefits....

“Denying ... Defense Department workers the collective bargaining rights guaranteed to them by law since 1962 would be a travesty — and doing it under the guise of ‘national security’ would be a disgrace,” Everett Kelley, national secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of Government Employees, said at a legislative conference earlier this month, according to The Washington Post. “This administration will not stop until it takes away all workers’ rights to form and join a union — and we will not stop doing everything we can to prevent that from happening.”

[Vrede too]

Tell Amazon: Give ALL Workers 100% Paid Leave NOW and Tell Us Your Plans

Put Workers First in any Airline & Airport Bailout

[Vrede too]

Well yeah, unions take power away from those who hold it. It's not surprising there would be a lot of resistance. But why are current employees so wimpy?

Maaaybe less so than before. We'll see what comes after the CV-19 disruption.

Number of striking workers surged in 2018 and 2019
Data show largest two-year average in 35 years

[Whack9]

Find out what your favorite company is doing to help their employees through the pandemic:

https://didtheyhelp.com/

(I think the search is busted right now)

[Whack9]

https://www.nj.com/business/2020/03/who ... cerns.html

Whole Foods workers to stage national ‘mass sick-out’ strike over coronavirus concerns

Whole Foods employees are planning to go on a national strike Tuesday after claiming the company is not implementing protective policies amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Whole Workers, a Whole Foods labor organization, is the group hosting the “mass sick-out,” according to a statement on Twitter.

...

The statement says employees who call out will demand guaranteed paid leave and hazard pay; adequate equipment sanitation; social-distancing between workers; coverage of coronavirus testing and treatment; and immediate shutdown of any store where an employee has been infected with COVID-19.

All these people working jobs like stocking grocery store shelves and manning checkout lines and so forth, essential workers during the pandemic, usually have the shittiest healthcare plans (if any).

[O Really]

Happy Cesar Chavez Day to all!

[Vrede too]

Happy Cesar Chavez Day to all!

Venceremos!

Farmworkers left out of COVID19 aid. Email your congress member now

To: President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence
Healthcare Workers Need Protective Equipment Now

Tell Congress: Cutting hospitality workers to protect the companies that laid them off is a national disgrace.

[1 CAT FAN]

Media pundits mock MyPillow CEO after announcement on company's efforts to combat coronavirus.

Mike Lindell joined President Trump Monday evening to discuss his company’s contribution to healthcare in the United States by increasing its production of face masks from 10,000 a day to 50,000. During his remarks, he praised Trump and encouraged people to incorporate prayer and more time with family into their lives during the pandemic.

"God gave us grace on Nov. 8, 2016, to change the course we were on," Lindell said. "God had been taken out of our schools and lives. A nation had turned its back on God. I encourage you to use this time at home to get back in the word. Read our Bible and spend time with our families."

He added, "Our president gave us so much hope where, just a few short months ago, we had the best economy, the lowest unemployment, and wages going up. It was amazing. With our great president, vice president, and this administration, the other great people in this country, and praying daily, we will get through this and get back to a place that is stronger and safer than ever."

Some critics and media pundits pounced on the comments as an opportunity for mocking the businessman.

Article Washington Examiner

[billy.pilgrim]

Media pundits mock MyPillow CEO after announcement on company's efforts to combat coronavirus.

Mike Lindell joined President Trump Monday evening to discuss his company’s contribution to healthcare in the United States by increasing its production of face masks from 10,000 a day to 50,000. During his remarks, he praised Trump and encouraged people to incorporate prayer and more time with family into their lives during the pandemic.

"God gave us grace on Nov. 8, 2016, to change the course we were on," Lindell said. "God had been taken out of our schools and lives. A nation had turned its back on God. I encourage you to use this time at home to get back in the word. Read our Bible and spend time with our families."

He added, "Our president gave us so much hope where, just a few short months ago, we had the best economy, the lowest unemployment, and wages going up. It was amazing. With our great president, vice president, and this administration, the other great people in this country, and praying daily, we will get through this and get back to a place that is stronger and safer than ever."

Some critics and media pundits pounced on the comments as an opportunity for mocking the businessman.

Article Washington Examiner

Didn't he get one of the largest fines ever for lying about the medical advantages of using his foam crap pillows as opposed to all the other foam crap pillows?

Yes he did.

[neoplacebo]

He's a cultist, babbles nonsense, and courts praise and gets it, from the raccoon eyed juvenile minded pathological liar whose been convicted of running a fake university and a fake charity. On top of that, he's an ex crack head and now a religious fanatic. Nothing wobbly about that guy......he's tailor made for making fun of. He's funny.

[neoplacebo]

Media pundits mock MyPillow CEO after announcement on company's efforts to combat coronavirus.

Mike Lindell joined President Trump Monday evening to discuss his company’s contribution to healthcare in the United States by increasing its production of face masks from 10,000 a day to 50,000. During his remarks, he praised Trump and encouraged people to incorporate prayer and more time with family into their lives during the pandemic.

"God gave us grace on Nov. 8, 2016, to change the course we were on," Lindell said. "God had been taken out of our schools and lives. A nation had turned its back on God. I encourage you to use this time at home to get back in the word. Read our Bible and spend time with our families."

He added, "Our president gave us so much hope where, just a few short months ago, we had the best economy, the lowest unemployment, and wages going up. It was amazing. With our great president, vice president, and this administration, the other great people in this country, and praying daily, we will get through this and get back to a place that is stronger and safer than ever."

Some critics and media pundits pounced on the comments as an opportunity for mocking the businessman.

Article Washington Examiner

The cat man has taken my advice to heart......never let a chance to be a victim go to waste. Congratulations, victim. What will you be victim of next?