Good Riddance to a Terrible National Labour Relations Board Head
https://jacobinmag.com/2021/01/peter-robb-nlrb-general-counsel-fired
Labour General Thread
Sun, 2021-01-24 13:26
#1
Labour General Thread
Tue, 2021-01-26 02:46
#2
Fri, 2021-01-29 19:46
#3
Feminist Trade Unionists Have Long Fought for Universal Health Care
https://jacobinmag.com/2021/01/feminism-trade-unions-universal-health-care
Fri, 2021-01-29 19:57
#4
Joe Biden Should Tell Amazon’s Workers They’re Stronger With a Union
Nearly 6,000 workers at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama are preparing to vote on unionizing. It's the most important labor battle in the US right now — and Joe Biden should say he stands with the workers.
https://jacobinmag.com/2021/01/amazon-organizing-union-joe-biden-alabama
Fri, 2021-01-29 20:01
#5
Why the Minimum Wage Won Where Biden Couldn’t
BY
In conservative Florida, where Trump edged out Biden last year by 51 percent to 48 percent, a ballot measure to raise the minimum wage to $15 by 2026 passed with nearly 61 percent of the vote. By appealing to Floridians' material interests across lines of race and geography, the campaign shows how left economic policies can win even in right-wing contexts.
https://jacobinmag.com/2021/01/minimum-wage-biden-fight-for-15-florida
Fri, 2021-01-29 22:34
#6
Re-unionizing America
https://rabble.ca/podcasts/shows/radiolabour/2021/01/re-unionizing-america
Mon, 2021-02-01 14:25
#7
Biden toughens workplace safety guidelines but lets stand DPA meat production order
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/31/biden-workplace-safety-dpa-meat...
Tue, 2021-02-02 15:15
#8
Silicon Valley Wants to Entrench the Gig Economy and Neutralize the Labor Movement
BY
Gig economy companies and organized labor are at war over the future of work and the definition of “employee.” The companies’ strategy has split the labor movement by enticing some unions into a partnership-based company unionism instead of independent workers’ organizing.
https://jacobinmag.com/2021/02/silicon-valley-gig-economy-labor-biden
Tue, 2021-02-02 21:11
#9
Wed, 2021-02-03 17:08
#10
When are we ever going to address inequality?
How about it Lower Mainland?
Seattle City Council approves $4 per hour mandatory pay boost for grocery workers during COVID-19 pandemic
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/seattle-city-council-...
Wed, 2021-02-03 22:38
#11
Thu, 2021-02-04 00:03
#12
Wed, 2021-02-17 05:37
#13
This is indeed sick!
https://rabble.ca/news/2021/02/how-ontario-limiting-wage-increases-paid-...
Fri, 2021-02-19 00:32
#14
Fri, 2021-02-19 22:25
#15
Sat, 2021-02-20 02:32
#16
Thu, 2021-02-25 00:17
#17
Thu, 2021-02-25 00:22
#18
Tue, 2021-03-02 02:33
#19
Nice to see Uncle Joe supporting the Amazon workers who are trying to unionize, eh!
Fri, 2021-03-12 02:45
#20
Sun, 2021-03-14 01:43
#21
The Pro Act could do more than revive Unions
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/03/what-is-the-pro-act.html
Fri, 2021-04-09 02:34
#22
Fri, 2021-04-09 02:37
#23
The 21st Century Serfdom Road Runs Through Silicon Valley
https://jacobinmag.com/2021/04/twenty-first-century-serfdom-silicon-vall...
Mon, 2021-04-19 08:25
#24
Wed, 2021-04-28 03:10
#25
Gee, how could that be as our US haters krop and NDPP keep telling us Biden is so terrible
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/biden-to-raise-minimum-wage-for-feder...
Wed, 2021-04-28 12:54
#26
Gee, how could that be as our US haters krop and NDPP keep telling us Biden is so terrible https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/biden-to-raise-minimum-wage-for-feder...
Indeed this is as good as it gets from Biden. He has bravely ordered a $15 an hour wage to people employed by the federal government. This affects a few thousand people at best and is the centerpiece of his help for the working class. He deserves great applause for this. By sometime in 2022 most of those people will see a raise.
All hail this champion of the working class. Actually maybe I'll just hold off on that acclaim until he amends the Fair Labor Standards Act like he campaigned on.
President Joe Biden will issue an executive order on Tuesday raising the minimum wage paid by federal contractors to $15 an hour
Wed, 2021-04-28 18:38
#27
[quote=NorthReport]
The 21st Century Serfdom Road Runs Through Silicon Valley https://jacobinmag.com/2021/04/twenty-first-century-serfdom-silicon-vall...
[quote=NDPP]
Fast friends of Joe Biden and the Democrats.
Sun, 2021-05-02 15:10
#28
Fri, 2021-05-07 02:38
#29
Not the sharpest tool in the union crib!
https://jacobinmag.com/2021/05/amazon-bessemer-union-campaign-rwdsu-jane...
Tue, 2021-05-11 21:21
#30
Union Nurses in Massachusetts Are Waging the Longest Current Strike in the US
Tenet’s CEO, Ronald Rittenmeyer, earns about 452 times the median pay for Tenet workers. As of 2019, Rittenmeyer’s total compensation package was over $24 million.
https://jacobinmag.com/2021/05/union-nurses-saint-vincent-strike-massach...
Tue, 2021-05-11 21:23
#31
Take Me to Your Leader: The Rot of the American Ruling Class
BY
For more than three centuries, something has been going horribly wrong at the top of our society, and we’re all suffering for it.
https://jacobinmag.com/2021/04/take-me-to-your-leader-the-rot-of-the-ame...
Wed, 2021-05-12 13:17
#32
Take Me to Your Leader: The Rot of the American Ruling Class
For more than three centuries, something has been going horribly wrong at the top of our society, and we’re all suffering for it.
https://jacobinmag.com/2021/04/take-me-to-your-leader-the-rot-of-the-ame...
Alas, it must be conceded that, until the bonds of that constitution are broken and something approaching a real democracy is instituted, Baltzell has a point about how the loss of ruling-class authority — a legitimation crisis — might lead to social tensions and disorder. With the center so weak, it does present an opportunity for the organized right to make gains — but it presents an opening for the Left, too.
Making revolution against the ruling class, however, is a hell of lot harder than making a revolution within it.
A very long redundant history that does rightly conclude that the US is in desperate need of regime change because it is not a democracy and has never been one.
Sat, 2021-05-15 14:55
#33
Here is an important message from the BC Fed for all those that might be thinking of visiting Vancouver when the province opens up.
The BC Federation of Labour (BCFED) is calling on the public to boycott the Hilton Metrotown and Pacific Gateway Hotel as UNITE HERE Local 40 workers battle draconian layoffs and wage and benefit roll backs. Representing nearly fifty affiliated unions with some 500,000 members across the province, the BCFED is asking its members and the broader public not to cross picket lines or do business with the two hotels.
https://bcfed.ca/news/releases/labour-movement-issues-boycott-pulls-mill...
Thu, 2021-05-20 21:22
#34
If you are earning $15 an hour in Vancouver, good luck finding accommodation.
After Almost a Decade, Fight for $15 Has Made Progress — But It’s Not Enough
https://jacobinmag.com/2021/05/fight-for-15-minimum-wage-labor-mcdonalds...
Sat, 2021-05-22 17:02
#35
Although the union strategy left a lot to be desired in the first place, once the Bezos' of the world become rich and powerful, the idea of a level playing field goes out the window, and why not, when they have friends in high places who can do their bidding for them.
Sun, 2021-05-23 00:34
#36
Mon, 2021-05-24 21:25
#37
Although the union strategy left a lot to be desired in the first place, once the Bezos' of the world become rich and powerful, the idea of a level playing field goes out the window, and why not, when they have friends in high places who can do their bidding for them. https://www.vox.com/recode/22446206/amazon-union-mailbox
Unions arose in North America during the Gilded Age. This cartoon says it all about friends in high places.
Sun, 2021-08-15 19:03
#38
First Came COVID. Then Their Hotel Locked Them Out
A four-month battle to save jobs reveals big gaps in BC’s employment laws.
https://thetyee.ca/News/2021/08/12/First-Came-COVID-Then-Hotel-Locked-Th...
Sun, 2021-08-15 20:18
#39
Hear, hear North American workers! The time to move on this is now!
App-Based Corporations Can’t Just Ignore Labor Law
https://jacobinmag.com/2021/08/spain-delivery-platforms-glovo-gig-econom...
Fri, 2021-08-20 19:35
#40
The Contemporary US Right’s Roots in 1930s Union-Busting
AN INTERVIEW WITH
The cotton strike of 1933 in the San Joachin Valley, California was a turning point in the conservative movement in America. (Bettmann / Getty Images)
https://jacobinmag.com/2021/08/contemporary-us-right-1930s-union-busting...
Fri, 2021-08-20 19:39
#41
It's probably the only way the country can survive.
Our massively unfair tax system: How do the ultra-rich get away with it?
Tax expert Frank Clemente on how "wealth begets wealth" — and how a fair tax system could save American democracy
https://www.salon.com/2021/08/19/our-massively-unfair-tax-system-how-do-...
Sat, 2021-09-18 20:57
#42
2,000 Washington Carpenters Are on Strike
BY
After rejecting a contract proposal from union leadership, 2,000 Washington carpenters walked off the job.
https://jacobinmag.com/2021/09/washington-state-carpenters-union-strike-...
Wed, 2021-09-22 11:18
#43
Who killed Sam Fitzpatrick?
https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2021/09/20/Who-Killed-Sam-Fitzpatrick-David-E...
Wed, 2021-09-22 19:27
#44
Emmys weren't wrong.
Many dream of having a boss like Ted Lasso
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/09/21/emmy-ted-lasso-vs-bad...
Tue, 2021-09-28 19:32
#45
Biden should step in and force John Deere to pay a decent wage, and if Deere refuses, nationalize them.
John Deere Workers Have Voted Overwhelmingly to Authorize a Strike
BY
Over 10,000 John Deere workers have voted to authorize a strike, with 99 percent voting yes. “We are making these shareholders billions of dollars while we are fighting for peanuts.”
https://jacobinmag.com/2021/09/john-deere-workers-record-profits-uaw-con...
Wed, 2021-09-29 14:38
#46
Biden should step in and force John Deere to pay a decent wage, and if Deere refuses, nationalize them.
When I read your posts I find it harder and harder to understand what kind of political system you actually would like to live in. You share the MSM hate on for China but you are basically asking for Biden to assume powers beyond the US constitution. The Chinese constitution on the other hand does give the central CPC government that level of legal authority, as we saw when they reigned in Alibaba.
Wed, 2021-09-29 14:44
#47
You need to stop projecting your anger onto someone or something else.
Biden should step in and force John Deere to pay a decent wage, and if Deere refuses, nationalize them.
When I read your posts I find it harder and harder to understand what kind of political system you actually would like to live in. You share the MSM hate on for China but you are basically asking for Biden to assume powers beyond the US constitution. The Chinese constitution on the other hand does give the central CPC government that level of legal authority, as we saw when they reigned in Alibaba.
Wed, 2021-09-29 17:51
#48
You need to stop projecting your anger onto someone or something else.
Biden should step in and force John Deere to pay a decent wage, and if Deere refuses, nationalize them.
Go ahead tell me how Biden uses his constitutional powers to nationalize Deere. Your ignorant comments are what prompt me to respond. Who knows someone might wonder into this place and leave thinking that Biden actually has that kind of power so I try to correct your more outrageous ridiculousness.
Wed, 2021-09-29 18:08
#49
In what universe do you imagine 'the representative of Credit Card' , a longtime lacky of US oligarchy like Joe Biden or any other duopoly president would or could 'nationalize' a large industrial concern like John Deere? As I remarked earlier, you've got everything back asswards NR.
Wed, 2021-09-29 21:25
#50
Amazon workers in Alberta facing off against union-busting giant
Now, one of the most powerful unions in North America, International Brotherhood of the Teamsters, are stepping up to the plate, hoping that Canada's union-friendly labor laws will give its local, Teamsters 362, an edge in its union drive at Nisku, and build momentum at warehouses across the country -- and the continent.
The 1.4 million-member Teamsters passed a resolution in June to lead an ambitious, international initiative to unionize Amazon. The union is taking a different approach than the RWDSU, promising to pour significant financial resources into a unified unionizing effort across its more than 500 locals in the U.S. and Canada, rather than organizing warehouse by warehouse.
As the warehouse filed for a union election Monday, Amazon Canada announced it would hire 15,000 new warehouse workers and raise hourly wages from $16 to between $17 to $21.65 Canadian dollars per hour. Dave Bauer, who is Amazon Canada Operations head of communications, touted the wage increase, telling Truthout in a statement that full-time employees also receive comprehensive benefits. "As a company, we don't think unions are the best answer for our employees. Every day we empower people to find ways to improve their jobs, and when they do that we want to make those changes -- quickly," Bauer said. "That type of continuous improvement is harder to do quickly and nimbly with unions in the middle."
Teamsters Canada's Monette countered that narrative, telling Truthout that the union believes Amazon's pay raise came as a direct response to its unionization effort at Nisku, and that its wage hike is misleading because the company also eliminated a monthly bonus scheme that allowed workers to receive extra money for attendance and other productivity-furthering behaviors.
"Because they've taken that away while increasing wages, a lot of workers have come to us in the past couple of days and said, 'You know, we're not actually sure that our take-home pay is going to be much higher at the end of the month,'" Monette tells Truthout. "It's being seen as a PR move to make [Amazon] look good, to basically increase wages on one hand and slash bonuses on the other."
Moreover, he points out, the new wages still don't match what Teamsters unionized warehouse workers in other kinds of large facilities in Canada regularly earn. Teamsters Canada warehouse workers make between $24.50 and $31.93 per hour within five years, depending on the sector, Monette says.
A collective agreement with seniority rights, he says, would provide a permanent solution to the problem of both favoritism and discrimination that workers have alleged are systemic at the Nisku facility, since workers with seniority would be able to bid on job assignments, preventing shop floor managers from making decisions potentially based on preference or prejudice.
"For both Americans and Canadians, this sends a powerful message. Nisku Amazon workers … are saying, 'No, we're not going to be afraid, we're not going to be intimidated. As Canadian workers, we have the legal right to unionization as a way to improve our lives, and we're going to do it,' and the Teamsters are supporting them through that process," Monette says. "We're hoping it's going to be snowball effect. We're going to start at Nisku, but this can snowball into even more sites as things go on."
Just as the failed union election in Bessemer, Alabama, sparked a wave of organizing at Amazon warehouses across the U.S., the new union drive at Nisku could inspire similar unionization efforts at even larger Canadian warehouses and provide important new lessons for union organizers in the U.S, where Amazon is set to become the largest employer in the next year or two.
Monette says the Teamsters are building relationships with warehouse workers across Canada and coordinating weekly to share information and best practices with union representatives in the U.S., where Teamsters unions have been focused on fighting tax breaks for new Amazon warehouses. The U.S. strategy has claimed several victories, with at least three local governments denying Amazon projects and tax abatements.
As Nisku Amazon workers push forward with their union drive, Teamsters officials are closely eyeing the differences in dynamics between Canada's first potential union election and the outcome in Bessemer, Alabama.
"We've spoken about the flawed NLRB process, the problems with which are well-documented and which have been tested in the Amazon context already," said Teamsters National Amazon Director Randy Korgan in a statement. "The process in Alberta is slightly different. We will be watching whether those differences result in a different outcome in this case. Meanwhile, our commitment to building worker power outside these flawed election processes has not wavered one bit."
Organizing a labor union is a far easier task in Canada than it is in the U.S., since Canadian labor law has much stronger rules against employer interference. At least 40 percent of workers must sign a union authorization card in order to apply for a union election. The Alberta Labour Relations Board then holds a secret ballot election in which a union must receive a simple majority of votes to win.
Another key difference is that Teamsters unions in Canada are more independent from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, with a higher degree of autonomy over locals and greater ability to elect their own leaders.
Amazon's response to the union drive in Canada will have to differ too. Protections for workers automatically kick in under Canadian law once a unionization campaign officially begins. Amazon can't fire workers without just cause during a unionizing campaign or arbitrarily change working conditions. Other kinds of threats and coercive approaches that the company has heavily relied on in the U.S. are more strictly prohibited in Canada.
Still, Monette tells Truthout that Amazon has already set up meetings with Nisku employees to attempt to dissuade them from unionizing. "Amazon is a notoriously anti-union, anti-worker company, and we are expecting the worst form them," he says. "We are expecting them to try to bend all the rules, and yes, we are expecting a certain degree of union-busting, despite the fact that Canadian laws and Canadian culture and Canadian perceptions of unions are quite different from what you find in the United States."
While much about union organizing in the two countries is different, one of the ways in which the new union drive is similar to the high-profile campaign in Alabama is that, like the Bessemer warehouse that opened in March 2020, the Nisku warehouse is also a newer facility, reaching its one-year anniversary just this month. Employee retention and turnover rate at the young Bessemer facility were among the challenges the RWDSU faced in its campaign.
Monette says the turnover rate at Nisku doesn't change the fact that a core constituency of senior employees at the warehouse have supported Teamsters Canada's campaign from the beginning. "That makes a difference, we believe," he says. "We're confident that if we do this well, Amazon workers are going to be able to get this [union]."
Candice Bernd is senior editor/staff reporter at Truthout. Her work has also appeared in several other publications, including The Nation, In These Times, the Texas Observer, Salon, Rewire News Group, Sludge, YES! Magazine and Earth Island Journal.
Copyright, Truthout.org. Reprinted with permission.
https://rabble.ca/news/2021/09/amazon-workers-alberta-facing-against-uni...
Sun, 2021-10-03 14:06
#51
Nice to see the workers finally waking up and realize the importance of unionization. If workers had to rely on the benevolence of the bosses and their sycophant mainstream media most employees would be earning $5 an hour. Evey single study I have seen, apart from the 1 percenters, show that if the workers in a community are unionized their average standard of living is always higher than if not unionized.
Amazon Workers in Canada Are Getting Organized
BY
MITCHELL THOMPSON
Amazon tripled its profits during the pandemic while its workers experienced sickness and stress. Workers at the company are fighting back by launching a unionization drive that could reshape Canada’s labor movement.
https://jacobinmag.com/2021/10/canada-amazon-workers-union-organizing-la...