Fucking no strike clause, what the FUCK
Liberals are fucking moronic scum, we have no freedom, we have no rights, we are granted no provisions for our betterment or even protection or basic decision making
I will destroy this evil land, I will spill the blood of oppressors and free my fellow workers from their chains
I AM RISEN
My union had this whole fight about the field workers not wanting to advocate for something only the office workers would benefit from (remote work). They threw a whole stink about it and ended up letting management take it away without a fight. Office workers are pissed and we’ve had a couple quit over it.
Like what the fuck is the point of collective bargaining if you only bargain for things everyone benefits from?
A WIN FOR YOU IS A WIN FOR ME. CLASS SOLIDARITY, MOTHERFUCKERS.
No yeah there are definitely unionized engineers, just wondering what the expectation was, cause a union advocating for non-union workers would be unusual but potentially cool
It’s part of why I have moved on from “more trade unions is the most important thing.” Yes unionization is important and more unions is better than the fewer unions in every way, but they can easily be a dead end. Between the horrible laws in the US that restrict union activity and the reactionary thinking of “fuck you what’s in it for me” that is standard to Americans, there’s only so much unions can do.
It’s why I think a revolutionary workers’ party is necessary that works closely with unions but isn’t beholden to them.
Part of the reason I went for this job is because of an episode of Revleft. I cant remember the episode and its been years now… but they spoke about a lot of trade unions being very right leaning, especially for being a union. In particular, the IBEW is especially bad. But, getting lefties into these groups and pushing then further left is possible and very impactful.
Amazon workers trying to strike in the town over? Well, good thing the utility workers have class solidarity. It’d be a shame for something to “happen” to Amazon’s power.
AYYY found the episode
Climate Change as Class War: Building Socialism on a Warming Planet
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0fskXlQ1Qrzf19gJlx2v0E?si=-69zj3n2Rg6k1-5Fa91AEQ
Man it’s amazing, I work with some super-right wing people- like borderline Q conspiracy nut jobs
But as long as I’m careful about with my phrasing, I can go almost full Marx on their ass and have them nod along. At least when it comes to labor issues.
It goes back to the AFl. Gompers led a much more exclusionary union movement, and as time went on became more racist and anti-communist. However the reason a trade union federation was needed and is still a great development for that moment is because the Knights of Labor fell apart and fell apart hard. So a more organized “profession” union of trade workers with the specific purpose of collective bargaining directly with management proved effective in a time of serious reversals of labor power.
The problem is these things are not a substitute for socialism, and in fact create a stronger labor aristocracy. I can’t blame the craft unions for taking their shot and gaining those wins for themselves. It is a response that sadly makes sense even if you isolate yourselves. And as organized labor is crushed again, it is obvious that the same process is happening.
Like what the fuck is the point of collective bargaining if you only bargain for things everyone benefits from?
I mean, the field guys have a point. They would also love to work from home, but they don’t have that option. So what is on the table for them in these negotiations?
A good union should be advocating for the entire unit, particularly when everyone is expected to stick their necks out at once. Talk about better hazard pay or overtime or sick leave as part of the negotiation package. It can’t just be field workers taking the hit in the name of “solidarity” when the office workers aren’t reciprocating.
A WIN FOR YOU IS A WIN FOR ME.
Make the implicit explicit and negotiation for benefits across the entire unit.
So what is on the table for them in these negotiations?
Literally everything you’d expect. Better pay, better retirement, more PTO, more vacation, more budget for safety equipment, etc.
We weren’t going out of our way to only cater to one group and forget about everything else. We just wanted to add one thing into the negotiation bundle.
The old guard in a lot of unions is secretly against work from home because it makes it harder for reps to talk to workers.
Imo that’s terrible logic because it should be workers talking to workers with reps just there to fill the gaps, and because work from home is a reduction in working hours which is exactly what we should be fighting for.
