Is There a New Militant spirit in the American Workforce

[GreenJesus]

Agreed, the people at Deere need to talk to the teamsters. And make them stop delivering until deals start getting delivered on. Same with Kellogs.

Instead this will probably just. Fizzle and the outrage will go to very unproductive channels and against "others".

Ironically while putting decorations on the Christmas tree with my mom, my dad was watching a documentary on Fox about the start of Coca Cola, Kellogs, and Heinz (I didn't stick around for the whole thing) and how they revolutionized factory production etc. One thing that really stuck out to me was some historian saying these CEO's exemplified the "american dream". They made hundreds of millions of dollars and then they showed pictures of the workers (including children that looked to be around 10 years old) were all huddled up packed like sardines in some factory. Yep, "American dream".

Another thing that was interesting, was that Heinz actually lobbied for FDA type regulation so that they could outlaw their competitors that didn't have the same level of production quality and dominate their market. (At least that's what was represented in the documentary).

[Edge-]

John Oliver did a segment on this a while back. Something like over 80% of second elections end in Unions not being formed. The punishments for interfering with a union vote are so lax that companies are actually incentivized into interfering because it usually leads to the vote they are looking for. Workers see this and have no confidence in the governments ability to protect their unions.

Yep, it's a shame there aren't any actual consequences for companies violating labor laws. I'm just pleased to see the what appeared to be pretty overt action by Amazon was at least acknowledged and actioned, itssomething.jpg

But hopefully this is part of the 20% of the times that they're successful, if that's what the workers there want.

Real though, the lack of punishments for companies writ-large for violations of the law are pretty hilariously pathetic. It's pretty much a system designed to allow them to do so by making it financially better to make more by breaking the law and then paying a small fine, than it would have been to comply with the law in the first place.

- - - Updated - - -

Yep, "American dream".

It is. To be a capitalist owner of the means of production and to fully exploit your workers - including children - to the maximum ability you are allowed to has long been, and still largely is, the "American Dream". Why the hell do you think Fox was promoting it as if it was a good thing?

[Kokolums]

There is increased contempt for modern business practices. At the same time, union members are increasingly fleeing the democrat party for the GOP. So its a very complicated issue. It would appear that modern union workers associate corporate with the democrat party and workers rights with the republicans. Trump trying to fight against corporations moving overseas, and the left blocking and criticizing him is probably having this effect.

For example,
1. Trump suspending H1B visas is him working on protecting American jobs. Democrats resisted that.
2. Tariffs on nations where manufacturing was pulled from the US.
3. The 2017 tax bill that made delaying paying taxes on overseas investments.
4. Perhaps most importantly of all, blue collar and union workers are the most skeptical of vaccinations with the lowest vax rates. In their view, its untrustworthy corporations that are pushing questionable vaccines on their workers. Democrats are clearly taking the corporate side and stand against the workers on this one, while the GOP is using this as a wedge issue to pry blue collar and union workers away from the democratic party. And this is a big issue on this front.

[Edge-]

3. The 2017 tax bill that made delaying paying taxes on overseas investments.

How do you figure this helps workers?

[Endus]

There is increased contempt for modern business practices. At the same time, union members are increasingly fleeing the democrat party for the GOP. So its a very complicated issue. It would appear that modern union workers associate corporate with the democrat party and workers rights with the republicans.

Only if they're idiots.

Republicans have been outspokenly and openly anti-union.

Trump trying to fight against corporations moving overseas, and the left blocking and criticizing him is probably having this effect.

Literally shit that is not happening.

For example,
1. Trump suspending H1B visas is him working on protecting American jobs. Democrats resisted that.
2. Tariffs on nations where manufacturing was pulled from the US.
3. The 2017 tax bill that made delaying paying taxes on overseas investments.
4. Perhaps most importantly of all, blue collar and union workers are the most skeptical of vaccinations with the lowest vax rates. In their view, its untrustworthy corporations that are pushing questionable vaccines on their workers. Democrats are clearly taking the corporate side and stand against the workers on this one, while the GOP is using this as a wedge issue to pry blue collar and union workers away from the democratic party. And this is a big issue on this front.

1. This is just obviously a lie. H1B visas keep American jobs in the USA. You can't offer immigrants work visas for jobs that are already overseas.

2. Tariffs only increase prices on products in America. The goal of a tariff is to raise prices on imports to a high enough level that American alternatives can compete on price. It does not create new jobs, and the only real effect is raising prices for Americans. It also does nothing to reduce profitability of those foreign competitors, who are just passing on the tariff price to American customers.

3. I'm not sure how encouraging investing in overseas companies is a protection of American employment. Real big-brain stuff, there.

4. Stop pushing bullshit anti-vaxxer conspiracy disinformation garbage and trying to get people fucking killed. Because that's all you're fucking doing, here. This isn't about worker rights, this is about you pushing disinfo with the goal of getting American workers killed by a pandemic outbreak.

[Kokolums]

To be perfectly honest, I don't know if the GOP really believes that vaccines should be questioned. But I'm 10000% positive the GOP thinks that opposing the vax is gonna flip a TON of blue collar and union votes to their side in 2022 and 2024. They are tapping into this militant spirit of the American workforce in a brilliant way.

[Glorious Leader]

The goal of a tariff is to raise prices on imports to a high enough level that American alternatives can compete on price. It does not create new jobs, and the only real effect is raising prices for Americans.

If the tariff forces or encourages people to consume American made goods or services presumably those American made goods or services would be done by Americans I e American jobs.

[Blur4stuff]

A large majority of American adults don't have serious issues with vaccines. It's mostly whack jobs that weren't going to vote for a democrat anyways. Yes, I know there are some dem voters that are also vaccine whackos, but not enough to matter. Those people aren't going to suddenly vote republican anyways because of how horrible the republican party has become. A significant portion of republicans also don't have problems with vaccines and took them as soon as they could.

This isn't an issue that will magically win republicans their races. If anything it will hurt because it could turn off the more sensible republican voters that don't buy into conspiracy theories and more republican voters are dying. I wouldn't be surprised if the difference between dem and republican deaths since vaccines became available has passed 100,000.

[Endus]

To be perfectly honest, I don't know if the GOP really believes that vaccines should be questioned. But I'm 10000% positive the GOP thinks that opposing the vax is gonna flip a TON of blue collar and union votes to their side in 2022 and 2024. They are tapping into this militant spirit of the American workforce in a brilliant way.

Again, you're supporting a propaganda disinformation policy whose intent is to kill hundreds of thousands of at-risk Americans.

That isn't "brilliant". It's an egregious human-rights violation that should see contributors sentenced and convicted as mass-murdering terrorists.

[Endus]

Gonna bump this thread since this news is pretty directly relevant; the Kellogg strike that's been ongoing for several months and led Kelloggs to disastrously try union-busting via hiring scabs, that strike's now over. The union signed a new contract, earning concessions from Kelloggs on every issue to the union's satisfaction.

The union wins.

Collective action works, folks.

https://www.npr.org/2021/12/21/10663...3-month-strike

[Edge-]

I wonder how much the /r/antiwork folks spamming the ever-loving shit out of their online hiring system impacted this. Probably not much, but it'd be funny if a part of this was due to Kellogg having huge problems sifting through all the spam applications while looking for scabs.

Great shit though, good job union folks.

TAKING IT TO THE CORRECT THREAD NOW : |

[Endus]

I wonder how much the /r/antiwork folks spamming the ever-loving shit out of their online hiring system impacted this. Probably not much, but it'd be funny if a part of this was due to Kellogg having huge problems sifting through all the spam applications while looking for scabs.

Great shit though, good job union folks.

TAKING IT TO THE CORRECT THREAD NOW : |

Took me a sec to find it! It dropped to the 2nd page.

[downnola]

Gonna bump this thread since this news is pretty directly relevant; the Kellogg strike that's been ongoing for several months and led Kelloggs to disastrously try union-busting via hiring scabs, that strike's now over. The union signed a new contract, earning concessions from Kelloggs on every issue to the union's satisfaction.

The union wins.

Collective action works, folks.

https://www.npr.org/2021/12/21/10663...3-month-strike