Re:Kickstarter’s Year of Turmoil
by ThrowawayR2 on Saturday September 14, 2019 @09:23PM
(#20974982)
> Note that such niceties as workplace safety; medical coverage and 5 day workweeks were in large part due to union involvement.
Those things always get brought up but that's history from 50-75+ years ago. Got any more recent examples?
Might have something to do with the weakening of unions ever since. You might consider the flip side—what has not having strong unions gotten us? Greater inequality? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_labor_law#/med...
The best 'more recent example' that I can think of is that even 50-75 years later there is still a continuous struggle to get basics such as healthcare sorted out in such a way that the outcome of the lottery does not immediately mean bankruptcy for those lower on the totempole. If unions were to be massively disbanded you'd be back to square one in a heartbeat.
It's a bit like marketing: if you stop doing it your marketshare will dwindle, even if you're top dog.
Medical coverage is still very much a concern; Whole Foods just announced they were cutting benefits for part-time workers.
Parental leave, workplace conditions, scheduling are other common things that are still very much up to unions to negotiate for, on behalf of their members.
Because collective bargaining means that the party with the largest resources and the power, in this case the company, will have to at least take into account their ability to operate.
> Collective bargaining gives employees leverage over employers by drastically reducing the supply of labor available to the company if their bargains are not met.
Exactly. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that when that power is used appropriately. As evidenced by a very long history that turned out to be an extremely good thing.
Note that such niceties as workplace safety; medical coverage and 5 day workweeks were in large part due to union involvement.
This whole discussion is right along the lines of 'what have the Romans ever done for us' from Monty Python.