Re:Amazon workers on Staten Island vote to unionize
by leetcrew on Friday April 01, 2022 @01:35PM
(#30880924)
maybe this is a naive perspective, but it seems to me that the union should have more to offer labor than simply middlemanning access to an employer. if people genuinely want to be in the union, it should be hard to find non-union workers.
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Re:Amazon workers on Staten Island vote to unionize
by brimble on Friday April 01, 2022 @02:11PM
(#30881427)
They also often provide legal help and various sorts of insurance. They'll also usually provide representation & assistance for workers who come into conflict with management, which can be super important when it comes to enforcing safety standards, contract terms (e.g. working conditions, rules around time-off requests), and even legal requirements.
The trouble with completely optional membership is that it introduces the good ol' Free Rider Problem, bane of many an attempt to make things better without forcing anyone to do anything.
Re:Amazon workers on Staten Island vote to unionize
by selfhifive on Friday April 01, 2022 @02:09PM
(#30881406)
That could end badly because you don't want to have too many gatekeepers. I should be allowed to not be part of a group and work as I see fit. Unions are hit-or-miss. Bad ones have too much petty politics and corruption and that's why some people genuinely don't want to be in a union. Enforcing unions more strictly can make the good better but it can also make the bad worse.
Re:Amazon workers on Staten Island vote to unionize
by BuckRogers on Sunday April 03, 2022 @12:30AM
(#30894453)
it should be hard to find non-union workers.
It is. Everyone wants to work for union shops like UPS or John Deere, and people feel it's a great victory to be hired. While non-union shops are always hiring, because they drive people into the ground.