Just following on from this: https://lemmy.nz/post/1134134

Ex-Tesla employee reveals shocking details on worker conditions: ‘You get fired on the spot.’

I’m curious about how far this goes.

You can’t get fired on the spot in NZ, unless you like, shot someone or set the building on fire or something really bad.

But it seems that in the US, there’s little to no protections for employees when their bosses are dickheads?

Also, any personal stories of getting fired on the spot?

You are viewing a single thread.
View all comments
43 points
*

Basically the case, yes. It varies state by state and there are some federal laws but, the enforcement is lacking to say the least and funding tends to be gutted to make it worse. Effectively, since Reagan, there’s been an unending attack on labor rights and regulations. Currently, multiple states are passing laws to bring back child labor and workers who try to unionize are getting axed with no real repercussions.

permalink
report
reply
9 points
*

Got a source on the child labour thing? Not doubting you, but as a non-American I’m confused as to how the hell youse aren’t in open revolt.

EDIT: Responding individually later. In short, fuck. In long, thanks all for sending me those links, I’m gonna go wash my eyes out with bleach and attempt to un-know all that I now know

permalink
report
parent
reply
6 points

Yeah… Others really beat me to it. It’s pretty fucked up.

permalink
report
parent
reply
9 points
*

You likely won’t see this on the coasts, where riots would definitely occur, but throughout the middle of the country all kinds of wild shit can happen and we’re so disconnected from each other at this point that it basically feels like it’s happening in another country.

The union is weak is how it’s being got away with is my take on it.

permalink
report
parent
reply
3 points

What was it like before Regan?

permalink
report
parent
reply
8 points

It was still a constant fight but, union membership was at 23.3%, annual strikes and work stoppages were measured in hundreds, wages increased proportionally to productivity gained through technology, and executive salaries were 5-10x average workers’.

Reagan, who had benefitted from membership in the Screen Actors Guild, launched a political war against unions and labor rights, starting with the firing of 11k striking air traffic controllers who he banned from working for the Federal government (a ban only lifted in 1993) and dissolved their union (a fun sidenote to this being that PATCO were the only union that endorsed Reagan and a final “fuck you” cherry on top was the renaming of the DC airport to Reagan National). This showed business that, at least under a GOP government, strikebreaking was again allowed.

All that precipitated rapid decline in union membership for workers in the US, leading to a cycle of increased share of wealth to the top, which was used to buy more legislation to erode labor’s power and roll back protections, which increased the share of wealth to the top…ad infinitum. Now, union membership is 11.3%, exec pay is 400x that of workers, and compensation has completely decoupled from productivity and stagnated.

permalink
report
parent
reply
3 points
*

Uhh that hurts to read. Because I imagine the unions must have otherwise made up for the lack of a legal safety net

permalink
report
parent
reply

And a reminder that Biden, supported by the dems including “good” politicians like AOC (lol) smashed the rail strike just this year

It’s bad folks

permalink
report
parent
reply
14 points

Oh, yes I heard about the child labour thing. That’s so fucked.

permalink
report
parent
reply

Asklemmy

!asklemmy@lemmy.ml

Create post

A loosely moderated place to ask open-ended questions

Search asklemmy 🔍

If your post meets the following criteria, it’s welcome here!

  1. Open-ended question
  2. Not offensive: at this point, we do not have the bandwidth to moderate overtly political discussions. Assume best intent and be excellent to each other.
  3. Not regarding using or support for Lemmy: context, see the list of support communities and tools for finding communities below
  4. Not ad nauseam inducing: please make sure it is a question that would be new to most members
  5. An actual topic of discussion

Looking for support?

Looking for a community?

Icon by @Double_A@discuss.tchncs.de

Community stats

  • 35

    Monthly active users

  • 2.3K

    Posts

  • 29K

    Comments