"There is no such thing as permanent labor peace. Companies are tigers in cages. You can lock them in there and pet them and feed them for years, but let them out for one minute and they will eat you. That’s it." Well said!
As a variation on the theme of the workers have the power, the workers also have the power to make the bosses redundant. Have you read Nick Romeo’s book The Alternative? It’s almost as good as The Hammer 😎. I try to see the two movements as one but the rules are different and the legal infrastructure is less developed.
Yes, exactly. I’m really referring to all forms of moving away from authoritarian structures towards more democratic and cooperative structures. The Alternative is a fabulous book. It is sort of a world wide survey of implemented alternatives to Thatcher’s dictum that there is no alternative to the neoliberal world order. Very inspiring.
I’d say that there’s AI (actual intelligence) as represented by the workers, AI (artificial intelligence) a loaded gun whose benefits or horrors will be determined by who manages to gain control of it from the barroom floor and II (illusory intelligence) as represented by the bosses. Now to be fair to the bosses, it’s not that they are actually stupid but they are conducting their activities under the influence of a misguided view of the world. The goal is not to for ever and always produce more but to produce communities that are sustainable and representative of our better natures.
"It may sound weird to say, but I find the plainness of this dynamic comforting."
Exactly. The plainness of the dynamic is its power. It prevents the opposition from being able to muddy the waters with convoluted doublespeak. In fact if there was ONE concept I could sell to labor, it would BE that plainness. In that way you can ignore ANYTHING that goes off script
"But, but, but, wait......what about the beneficent, Solomon-like wisdom of our highest court, which, after all, ensures the American people the promise of equal justice under law and is the veritable guardian and interpreter of the Constitution?" haw haw haw. weep.
Unions work great until the owners shut branches or locations down. Also, I have seen in Montreal where unions have their members strike themselves right out of jobs such as what happened at The Montreal Star in the 1970's. The strike went on so long that the newspaper went under.
Currently the union for the Canadian Public service are saying it is an outrage to have to go back to the office 3 days per week (instead of 2 days) while other Canadians are having trouble feeding themselves. This union has no idea of what an outrage is and they are getting very little sympathy from the general public. All this to say that I believe unions can be helpful, but they also game the system and in many ways crooked companies and crooked unions deserve each other!
It probably is in Canada as well, but it does happen because they use an excuse such as the store is doing poorly. In Quebec we have had American stores shutter their businesses and move out of the province or back to the states.
I'd wager that they were shuttering those stores to send a message to potential strikers...Just because an American franchise Isn't doing as well in another country as it is in America doesn't mean that it isn't profitable. any American business that does business in another country factors that difference into their bottom line. And blaming poor performance of a business on employee wages is the oldest trick in the book, and complete bullshit. And a lot of times these Americans companies aren't there to make a profit so much as to be a presence in that country. A Kind of advertising.
Unions definitely have their place in society but they are not free of corruption. People often say that unions are good for society as a whole because even non unionized workers benefit from their gains. I believe this is only partially true because unions especially in the government are as out of touch as the politicians, they are in their own bubble and they do not reflect the problems of the common worker. People in the private sector nowadays barely get raises never mind cost of living increases. Paid vacations are a luxury many common people cannot enjoy. The public service union in Canada is moaning and groaning about having to put in another day at the office while working from home has put many businesses in jeopardy in Ottawa because restaurants rely on workers coming into the city. These may be unintended consequences but they are consequences of unions.
There’s no reason to spite public workers because they have it better than private workers. They put in the work to get organized. Being unionized is not easy, as this article points out. And working from home is not only more efficient for workflow but better for quality of life, family life, and the environment.
The public service under Trudeau has grown an extra 40 percent. During this time we have also seen the government farming out work to contractors this has resulted in an arrive can app causing 80 billion dollars and it doesn't work. The phoenix pay system designed by some of the civil servants that cost Canadian millions has never worked. And this is just two examples of the failures of Ottawa and the civil service. In the private sector many people would be fired because of incompetence this doesn't happen in Ottawa.
How is it outrageous that workers are expected at their desks 3 days out of 5? How have we reached the point where now working at home has affected so many other workers because cities like Ottawa are becoming ghost towns?
"There is no such thing as permanent labor peace. Companies are tigers in cages. You can lock them in there and pet them and feed them for years, but let them out for one minute and they will eat you. That’s it." Well said!
As a variation on the theme of the workers have the power, the workers also have the power to make the bosses redundant. Have you read Nick Romeo’s book The Alternative? It’s almost as good as The Hammer 😎. I try to see the two movements as one but the rules are different and the legal infrastructure is less developed.
I have not read “The Alternative”, but I’m curious as to what you’re referring in this comment.
(I hesitate to guess, but as a fan of worker cooperatives I’m hoping this is how to make bosses redundant. Or at least one way…)
Yes, exactly. I’m really referring to all forms of moving away from authoritarian structures towards more democratic and cooperative structures. The Alternative is a fabulous book. It is sort of a world wide survey of implemented alternatives to Thatcher’s dictum that there is no alternative to the neoliberal world order. Very inspiring.
you know what has the power to make the bosses redundant?
AI
I’d say that there’s AI (actual intelligence) as represented by the workers, AI (artificial intelligence) a loaded gun whose benefits or horrors will be determined by who manages to gain control of it from the barroom floor and II (illusory intelligence) as represented by the bosses. Now to be fair to the bosses, it’s not that they are actually stupid but they are conducting their activities under the influence of a misguided view of the world. The goal is not to for ever and always produce more but to produce communities that are sustainable and representative of our better natures.
"It may sound weird to say, but I find the plainness of this dynamic comforting."
Exactly. The plainness of the dynamic is its power. It prevents the opposition from being able to muddy the waters with convoluted doublespeak. In fact if there was ONE concept I could sell to labor, it would BE that plainness. In that way you can ignore ANYTHING that goes off script
"But, but, but, wait......what about the beneficent, Solomon-like wisdom of our highest court, which, after all, ensures the American people the promise of equal justice under law and is the veritable guardian and interpreter of the Constitution?" haw haw haw. weep.
Words of Wisdom.
Clear, concise and to the point! Must keep organizing to protect and defend what workers have now and keep fighting for more!
Unions work great until the owners shut branches or locations down. Also, I have seen in Montreal where unions have their members strike themselves right out of jobs such as what happened at The Montreal Star in the 1970's. The strike went on so long that the newspaper went under.
Currently the union for the Canadian Public service are saying it is an outrage to have to go back to the office 3 days per week (instead of 2 days) while other Canadians are having trouble feeding themselves. This union has no idea of what an outrage is and they are getting very little sympathy from the general public. All this to say that I believe unions can be helpful, but they also game the system and in many ways crooked companies and crooked unions deserve each other!
It is illegall in America for a company to close down a branch in retaliation for union activity.
It probably is in Canada as well, but it does happen because they use an excuse such as the store is doing poorly. In Quebec we have had American stores shutter their businesses and move out of the province or back to the states.
I'd wager that they were shuttering those stores to send a message to potential strikers...Just because an American franchise Isn't doing as well in another country as it is in America doesn't mean that it isn't profitable. any American business that does business in another country factors that difference into their bottom line. And blaming poor performance of a business on employee wages is the oldest trick in the book, and complete bullshit. And a lot of times these Americans companies aren't there to make a profit so much as to be a presence in that country. A Kind of advertising.
Unions definitely have their place in society but they are not free of corruption. People often say that unions are good for society as a whole because even non unionized workers benefit from their gains. I believe this is only partially true because unions especially in the government are as out of touch as the politicians, they are in their own bubble and they do not reflect the problems of the common worker. People in the private sector nowadays barely get raises never mind cost of living increases. Paid vacations are a luxury many common people cannot enjoy. The public service union in Canada is moaning and groaning about having to put in another day at the office while working from home has put many businesses in jeopardy in Ottawa because restaurants rely on workers coming into the city. These may be unintended consequences but they are consequences of unions.
There’s no reason to spite public workers because they have it better than private workers. They put in the work to get organized. Being unionized is not easy, as this article points out. And working from home is not only more efficient for workflow but better for quality of life, family life, and the environment.
The public service under Trudeau has grown an extra 40 percent. During this time we have also seen the government farming out work to contractors this has resulted in an arrive can app causing 80 billion dollars and it doesn't work. The phoenix pay system designed by some of the civil servants that cost Canadian millions has never worked. And this is just two examples of the failures of Ottawa and the civil service. In the private sector many people would be fired because of incompetence this doesn't happen in Ottawa.
How is it outrageous that workers are expected at their desks 3 days out of 5? How have we reached the point where now working at home has affected so many other workers because cities like Ottawa are becoming ghost towns?