Google Employees Demand the End of Forced Arbitration Across the Tech Industry

Re:Google Employees Demand the End of Forced Arbitration Acr... by 49531 on Monday December 10, 2018 @06:18PM (#18651979)

You cannot actually ratify a union without a majority of workers. Unions are typically democratic organizations. Also folks don't usually like to stick their heads out if there isn't enough of a movement to avoid being fired for organizing.

Another big thing anti-union propaganda pushes is that it's a vocal minority making a lot of noise. Usually it's the opposite.

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Re:Google Employees Demand the End of Forced Arbitration Acr... by masonic on Monday December 10, 2018 @11:30PM (#18653319)

  Unions are typically democratic organizations

Modern democracy relies on secret ballots.

Unions want "card check" votes that let the leadership see whom they need to intimidate.

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Re:Google Employees Demand the End of Forced Arbitration Acr... by drdeca on Monday December 10, 2018 @07:39PM (#18652423)

I think I misunderstand exactly what a union is, because my understanding of what a union is, doesn't seem to imply being unable to create one without majority support.

Is a union not just a collection of employees who have entered into a contract together which requires that they do certain things as part of collective bargaining actions.

I don't see why that would inherently require a majority of the employees, or even a majority of the employees in a certain occupation.

Is the 50% requirement due to some enshrinement of unions in law?

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Re:Google Employees Demand the End of Forced Arbitration Acr... by pseudalopex on Monday December 10, 2018 @08:27PM (#18652644)

Minority unions don't have the same legal status in the US. The contract would be unenforceable.

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Re:Google Employees Demand the End of Forced Arbitration Acr... by drdeca on Tuesday December 11, 2018 @01:39AM (#18653599)

That seems counterintuitive to me. Why does there being other people employed by the same people prevent me and the group I'm in from entering into contract together?

Why are unions treated differently than other contracts?

I'm assuming this is because of some historical accident that came about with a struggle between people who wanted to prevent all such contracts and people who wanted unions to have special privileges over other sorts of contracts?

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Re:Google Employees Demand the End of Forced Arbitration Acr... by pseudalopex on Wednesday December 12, 2018 @03:43PM (#18667581)

A majority union isn't a kind of contract. It represents all workers in a bargaining unit, even workers who voted against it. In theory, this simplifies negotiations and helps make sure all workers are fairly represented.

Some union supporters worry that allowing minority unions would weaken established unions. Union opponents have focused on passing "right to work" laws, which require majority unions to represent non-members for free. The status quo probably makes unions stronger in pro-union states and weaker in anti-union states.

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Re:Google Employees Demand the End of Forced Arbitration Acr... by drdeca on Thursday December 13, 2018 @12:48AM (#18670151)

Thank you for explaining! Your explanation is quite helpful.

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