News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:German Union Steps Up Fight for ‘Modern’ 28-Hour Workweek by alkonaut on Tuesday January 23, 2018 @10:19AM (#16214208)
> Companies in Germany don't have to be part of a union.

That's the case in scandinavia too, but there it's "optional" (scare quotes intentional). In Sweden for example, if you open up a factory and refuse to have a union agreement with your workers, you'll find that your deliveries might not come, or your trash might not be picked up (for example), as unions (including OTHER unions entirely) will try to force the employer to make a union agreement. The law makes those kinds of actions legal.

In germany there are other examples such as unions having guaranteed seats in the boardrooms of companies, to ensure the same kind of balance.

Re:German Union Steps Up Fight for ‘Modern’ 28-Hour Workweek by carlmr on Wednesday January 24, 2018 @03:21AM (#16221189)
I haven't heard of non-unionized companies being threatened in Germany, unions do work on their influence as soon as they're inside though.