If you’re one of these folks, consider unionizing. The best time to become an organizer is when you have one foot out the door. If you win, you get a union job. If you’re illegally fired, you get a nice payout and a new job. I’m an experienced union organizer with lots of connections, I’m willing to help folks find resources.
You (I was going to say “rock”) are awesome!
I’d be open to some of those resources, if you don’t mind
Sure thing! The NLRB is a fantastic source, but only covers national labor rights. You’ll want to look up your state’s department of labor for local labor laws. CODE-CWA is the group I organized with, they specialize in the tech industry and offer free training each weekend; I know several of the top organizers in CODE, you’ll be in good hands. Dr Richard Wolff’s program Democracy@Work is a great general news source with a heavy emphasis on worker power and the broader economy. If there’s anything more specific you’d like, I can definitely provide those too!
I appreciate having the reference for the NLRB. The right to discuss wages was a good thing to read and a good thing to remember.
So, the company I work for is based in multiple states, and I work in multiple states as well. What should I reference in relation to the local labor laws?
There’s also no unions for this job (yet), and I feel like it might be very difficult to start because of how new/niche it is. I’m questioning if there is even enough people to warrant starting a union, and where to begin with the research. Would a union be able to cover all employees of a certain job type, regardless of which company they work for specifically? If that was the case, then the labor pool would be slightly bigger.
Yes, sharing wages is always a good thing at work! My company has a tradition of an anonymous salary survey, so folks can properly grasp that it’s the company’s fault you aren’t getting enough.
Your work sounds very unique, but thankfully I’ve been there a few times trying to figure out an appropriate bargaining unit. There aren’t any hard and fast rules or laws on this topic, but it gives us flexibility to decide how big we go. Traveling and working at a national company has some good precedence with the Teamsters and NALC, as long as you have a “home” office that you work at when you aren’t traveling, that should be enough to claim an appropriate unit.
It’s ok to be first, someone has to be! What you’re referring to, where unions bargain for an industry minimum for all the workers in a particular industry, is known as sectoral bargaining. It exists, but it will take time. You’re taking the first step towards that point, but start just with your workplace. I also understand your concerns about the work being unique and small. Protected concerted activity only takes 2, so there’s always enough people! When it comes to bargaining, you and your coworkers know the work best, which is why you elect a bargaining committee from your coworkers. For the time being before you get too concerned about how bargaining will go, you must win your union first. Even industries with sectoral bargaining still need to organize workplaces to bargain the stuff that isn’t covered by the standardized working conditions.
I’m open for DMs to continue this if I didn’t cover everything
I’d love to see some of your thoughts against the hopelessness. One of the things I hear about a lot is how companies are good at union-busting. What’re some of the suggestions you have in general on overcoming that?
It’s understandable that people are afraid of union busting. Having been there myself, it feels like you’re David going up against Goliath when you start out, and that’s ok! You have to remember that they want you afraid, because if you’re afraid then you can be manipulated by the company. The type of union busting people are most afraid of, namely workplace closure and firing organizers, is rare and illegal. Illegal union busting is also not very successful once challenged with the NLRB, they see through most of the lies.
Companies are good at union busting because every single thing the company will do in opposing your union is going to be framed as being “neutral” while every single sentence is going to be about why unions are “scary”. You have to prepare yourself and your coworkers for the boss’ campaign with inoculation, and that’s where CWA’s union busting playbook will be helpful.
I live in Minnesota so I never had the chance to shut down a captive audience meeting (they’re illegal here), but the best way to shut it down is to get confrontational. Here’s some of my favorite questions for union busters
- Reverend Dr Martin Luther King Jr once said that union organizers are doing the Lord’s work. Are you saying that he’s wrong?
- So what you’re saying is that you, a contracted management consultant, were hired as an outsider to tell us that unions are a 3rd party?
- How much is the company paying you for reading this script to us?
- Wouldn’t the company be better served raising our wages and benefits rather than wasting money to tell us their opinions?
The labor market in general is still massively in favor of workers on the whole. Yes, unionize in place where that makes sense. Jump ship, make more money, and make companies nervous as well.
It’s easier to get a new job than a raise.
And a new job at a desired position will get you 3x the raise than promotion within to that position.
HMW did a video on this, which informs why everyone quiet quits that is, doesn’t work beyond their official duties in order to get management to take notice. So instead of putting your heart into your work, you half-ass your work and put your heart into seeking your next job (résumé, calling headhunters, etc.) and hope to to get upward mobility via job changes.
The companies screwed themselves over, by being too stingy with benefits and promotions, and by seeking to hire experienced workers from without, rather than training them themselves (and saving on onboarding).
What is HMW?
How money works. It’s a YouTube channel.
yeah nobody has gotten a proper raise over last few years so people taking matters into their own hands.
boomers are huffing their own farts thinking we should just keep working for them few more years while they exit
You’ve got it wrong! Boomers are actually the number one generation currently ENTERING the workforce. I suspect that it’s people who never prepared for retirement taking minimum wage jobs.
The boomers who are holding wages down are old clowns looting the companies… not the same boomer
But either way, boomers are net negative for the labour force.
Do you got some numbers to back your claim that they are re-entering he work force at rate greater than they are exiting?
How are they out entering gen-z who is graduating college at like 2 millie per year?
An article came by a month or so ago but I’m sadly unable to find it. The argument was that boomers left and are now re-entering the workforce at higher numbers than Gen Z is currently doing.
I’m reading Work, Retire, Repeat currently and you’re correct…only they arent so much reentering as not leaving. Many start claiming SS as soon as they can for extra money while they work…only they shoot themselves in the foot by not waiting longer to claim much higher (8%/year) benefits. Waiting until 70 nets you 96%(!) higher benefits. The rich who don’t actually need the extra 8% largely benefit, and because they live longer, collect it for longer. The poor get screwed again, which of course aligns with minorities and women being the most affected.
This started in the 80s when corporations took advantage of Regan’s policy to shed pensions and instead, ask financially illiterate Joe’s and Janes to manage stock accounts and decide how much they should save. The results were predictable. There have been winners though, corporations (much cheaper 401ks), and financial service industry that sprang up to support pillage uninformed retirees trying to save money to find their retirement for the first time. Regan admin also raised the retirement age to 67 for Social Security in 1983. This represents a permanent 13% decrease in benefits for Americans as it’s 13% less time on average they’ll collect based on mortality rates
There has been a large media gull-court press to try to make working longer because:
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Government knows citizens aren’t saving enough and without pensions can’t manage retirement funds. They are put in power by lobbiests that prevent changes to the 401k structure and repairing social security.
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Corporations love older workers; they have fewer options despite the magazine covers showing laughing, healthy retirees on their laptop overlooking their vineyard. In reality they are working physically and mentally taxing jobs no one else will, and this also suppresses wages for younger workers. This is another reason why corporations lobby like hell against national healthcare…TONS of folks would stop working or work much less if they could see a doctor without bankrupting themselves, but can’t until they are eligible for Medicare.
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Financial services want that money. Asset management, trade fees, expense ratios, “financial advisors” instead of fiduciaries so much easier to bully folks when they are on their own or in small groups. National programs have buying power and muscles in the marketplace, bad for worthless leeches.
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was this something from cnbc type article?
they do a lot FUD on employment topics.
This is a really, really good news for the employer class. I remember some economists pushing FOR unemployment rate. It lowers the value of your labour.
NO, no way. Not when all they talk about is no one wants to work. My state boasts 3.4 unemployment. Our maga mouthpiece of a governor wouldn’t lie. /s
Some blame needs to go to ai
Some blame needs to go to
aicorporate busidiotsFIFY
There is no AI, so?
GM just replaced 1000 software engineers with AI. You can argue that it’s not AI all day long, but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s costing people jobs, and will impact 80% of the jobs on the planet in the next 10 years.
In the US, up to 80% could see an impact from automation, robotics, and machine learning, but AI?
Weird… Democrats will tell you that the job market is great and that not being able to afford a house is just vibeflation.
Who specifically is saying this?
Fake news over last few months were tryingto explain to people they are making most money they ever made and their income increased higher then inflation (for like 1 or 2 quarters).
The people did not accept this shite as they can do basic math on money they got left after they pay rent and food. This aint rocket science and no amount of propaganda can fix this basic mathematical issue.
Joe Biden:
“We now have more jobs than we did before the pandemic. And workers aren’t just finding more jobs, they’re finding better jobs, higher pay, higher job satisfaction. And unemployment is down and so is inflation.”
If they’re saying there are more jobs, people are finding more jobs & better jobs, higher pay, higher job satisfaction… and inflation is down. But then people go buy gas, or go to the store, and still struggle substantially, or they want to buy a house for a family but the prices are out of control, or they keep getting rent increase notices… they aren’t going to feel what the Democrats are selling, cause it isn’t their reality. Poll after poll, the economy is the biggest reason people would not vote for Biden (and now Harris). They are trying to gaslight a majority of voters about reality.
Now, regardless you’re still better off voting Democrat. I would not recommend voting for Trump cause he did worse & will do worse. But Democrats need to stop trying to gaslight Americans. Kamala has changed her tune a bit to try to recognize that people are actually struggling, but it doesn’t help when they act like the economy is the best its ever been despite that not being a reality for a lot of people.
All of those things you quoted Biden as saying can be (and are) true while still requiring improvement, which is also true.
That is also completely ignoring the fact that with a Republican Congress a Democratic president is severely hampered from having any actual impact on the economy.
There is also the issue of companies inflating the appearance of available work. Which would, again, make all of Biden’s statements appear to be technically true while simultaneously being more complicated in reality.
All of those things you quoted Biden as saying can be (and are) true while still requiring improvement, which is also true.
I agree with most of what you’re saying… there are plenty of other statements though that is kind of like a slap in the face, basically making people feel like Democrats haven’t been honest about the job market & inflation. It is not a simple issue though and there are a lot of contributing factors. Kamala Harris suggesting going after price gouging is actually a significant cause of the issue that corporate shills on both sides are attacking her for. It actually does work to help solve some of the issues though, but thus far is merely a statement. The FTC actually has legal authority to go after companies for this already… it seems like we’ve seen a shortage of government attorneys tackling these issues and utilizing PR for the cases to reassure Americans that the administration isn’t just loyal to corporate donors. They should be hiring attorneys in droves to sue the fuck out of these companies engaging in this.
That is also completely ignoring the fact that with a Republican Congress a Democratic president is severely hampered from having any actual impact on the economy.
The FTC has authority to go after these companies already. There could be new laws and improvements in regulations, but laws already exist to tackle the issue.
There is also the issue of companies inflating the appearance of available work. Which would, again, make all of Biden’s statements appear to be technically true while simultaneously being more complicated in reality.
Exactly. Job number and statistic on the economy can be completely manipulated. That is why Democrats shouldn’t use economic numbers constantly to make it seem like everything is great and they should know better.
The courts so far have been spotty though but yeah feds need to do their job first!!!
That is also completely ignoring the fact that with a Republican Congress a Democratic president is severely hampered from having any actual impact on the economy.
just vote for my guy… trust me bro lol
Nothing in your quote says if you can’t afford a home is just “vibration.”
What he said is accurate: wage growth has been out pacing inflation, especially among low wage workers, and unemployment is low. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do because of inflation over the past few years, but what you quote barely resembles what he has been saying.
The people did not accept this shite as they can do basic math on money they got left after they pay rent and food. This aint rocket science and no amount of propaganda can fix this basic mathematical issue.
Over the past few years my wife switched jobs and works fully remote, making about the same amount of money. I got a 30% raise by switching jobs, and it has way better perks. My investments have gone crazy. I noticed things are more expensive, but day to say it hasn’t been much of a concern at all. Financially speaking , it’s been arguably the best few years of our life.
The difference between me and these people who “do basic math” is that I’m smart enough to realize that my personal experience is not the economy.
Thank you for the services dear:
Over the past few years my wife switched jobs and works fully remote, making about the same amount of money. I got a 30% raise by switching jobs, and it has way better perks. My investments have gone crazy. I noticed things are more expensive, but day to say it hasn’t been much of a concern at all. Financially speaking , it’s been arguably the best few years of our life.
The difference between me and these people who “do basic math” is that I’m smart enough to realize that my personal experience is not the economy.
I am happy for you but we are talking national statistics, mainly incomes and core expenses for the population not a trust me bro :)
Wage growth has been outpacing inflation for a while now. And this is what Bidens pointing out: we’re going in the right direction. As I said, we have a lot of work to do, I realize that people are struggling.
But if people are like “in struggling so the economy is shit” well, then, I stand by my point that they are confusing their personal experience with the economy as a whole…
