Inside the union campaign that roiled left-wing network The Young Turks
The progressive company, which was a big booster of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign, ended up voluntarily recognizing the union. But that came only after a drive that included two separate complaints to the National Labor Relations Board, the company’s rejection of card check in favor of a secret ballot (a typical business practice that Sanders and other progressives have fought against), allegations of a political conspiracy to sink Uygur’s recent congressional campaign, and at least two 1,500-word-plus screeds that Uygur emailed to staff arguing against employees forming a union, which were obtained by POLITICO. One NLRB complaint, over the termination of a pro-union employee, is still pending.
“Before IATSE came in, I think we used to have a great relationship with everyone at the company. But maybe I am Michael Scott and I thought we were friends and family but you never saw it that way,” Uygur wrote in an email to employees last week, as negotiations between the union and the company continued. “I’m hoping that isn’t the case, that some folks got you to believe that being adversarial with ‘management’ is the right thing to do.”
The internal union battle is the latest high-profile instance of a liberal organization thrown into turmoil by the process of unionization as lower-level employees allege that managers’ progressive politics were more virtue-signaling than practiced.
Outwardly progressive companies, like Kickstarter, have found themselves on the defensive when employees began union organizing. Even Sanders’ presidential campaign was caught in an early, fractious fight with its union over some employee demands that they be paid the equivalent of the $15 minimum wage that Sanders was fighting for.
The fights have led to a smug chorus of “I told you so” from conservatives skeptical of both unions and pro-union rhetoric on the left. And they have been a source of embarrassment within the Democratic Party’s left wing, which just suffered defeat in the 2020 presidential primary.
“I’ve never said that a union is perfect under any circumstances and I’ve never said that a union is bad under all circumstances. I think they’re very very good under most circumstances,” Uygur said in an interview Friday morning. “And if the right wing or even now some of the left wing can’t do nuance and they think, ‘No, the world is black and white and a union is either perfect in every circumstance or a disaster in every circumstance,’ then honestly, they’re idiots and totally wrong, and that should be obvious [to] any rational human being.”
In another email Uygur sent to staffers before their vote began earlier this week, he again urged his employees to vote “no” — using arguments that several staffers characterized as typical anti-union talking points often deployed by Republicans.
“[T]here is no magic that creates more money by having a union, especially at a company that does not yet make a profit,” Uygur wrote. “One of the top concerns I have is that having a union will cost us too much money — and that will not only endanger the company but also leave less for all of us,” he wrote.
"In terms of the letters that I wrote, I meant every word of it. I don't mind it being public," Uygur said in the interview.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/10/union-campaign-that-roiled-the-young-turks-178996
= new reply since forum marked as read
