VW is raising workers’ wages 11% because of competition from unionized manufacturers, even though their workers aren’t unionized. Hyundai announced a 25% wage increase over the next four years, even though their workers aren’t unionized.
#Unions raise wages for everyone, not just unionized employees. Imagine how much greater workers’ bargaining power would be if more would #unionize.
Don't get me wrong: It's good if individuals do "their part" in tackling the climate crisis, by changing their habits and lifestyles, but blaming them, when its clearly the #capitalist system's fault is just wrong.
Be #vegan, consume sustainably, ride your #bike, don't fly.
There are many good reasons to do so, e.g.:
👉 it's the right thing to do
👉 it's healthy
👉 you're a role-model for others
👉 if many people do this, it slightly changes how companies act.
👉 it fosters your awareness for the issues
But also be aware that its a droplet on a hot stone. Non-wealthy individuals won't fix the climate with their daily choices. We have to demand action by the big players.
And I don't mean blame China!
All of us need to demand radical climate action by our governments.
Today is Labor Day for our American colleagues, and it's a perfect occasion to discuss reasons for unionization.
Some facts:
Workers' productivity has steadily grown in the past 45 years, yet their pay hasn't kept up with this increase. The workers generate more profits each year, but these profits do not return to workers proportionally to their productivity levels.
«The workers in question were salaried, nonunion employees in technology and engineering in the U.S.
One mechanical engineer let go on Friday..., “It was a mass firing of everybody that was on the call.” He suspected the real reason behind the layoffs involved a push to move jobs to “low-cost countries,” noting that Stellantis is outsourcing many jobs to India, Mexico, and Brazil.»
so 240,000 people got laid off from #techbro companies so they could go lay down solar panels?
if this is not more reason to unionize all software developers, project managers, info architects, sysadmins, whatever the #tech title pops into your mind?
"Only through collective action and solidarity – unions – could tech workers hope to truly resist all the moral injuries of their bosses enshittification imperatives. No surprise then, that tech unions are on the rise [...] But what is a little surprising – and very heartening! – is what happens when techies start to self-identify as workers: they come to understand that they share common cause with the other workers at the bottom of the tech stack."
Are there unions for programmers or software engineers? I googled it just now and only found articles saying "programmers don't unionize because they're satisfied with their working conditions :blobfoxangrylaugh:"
I believe that unions need a complete overhaul before they can win over tech workers.
In my experience, unions focus on minimum wage, duration of lunch breaks and, at least country, talks about all the worker’s rights they got passed into law in the 50s and 60s.
None of that is relevant to tech workers.
We need a union that focuses on psychological safety, coaches people on how to interact with HR without compromising their jobs, how to deal with toxic managers or “rockstar” engineers, fights against unpaid overtime.
#REI continues in their #UnionBusting efforts, working swiftly to continue alienating customers and firing low-level managers for essentially no reason. They are doing a great job demonstrating why being a #CoOp doesn't guarantee good #labor policy. I hope they will wake up to the fact that they need to treat their employees better and stop interfering with their attempts to #unionize, and penalizing managers put into a difficult position.