Unions:

[leftofthedial]

Poll question: Unions:

[tekisui]

1. Workers Unite!

Collective bargaining is essential to our survival.

[baldguy]

2. We have nothing to lose but our chains.

[leftofthedial]

3. I am TIRED of the MAN

keeping us DOWN!

[mitchtv]

4. only one scab so far

I use scab 'cause this one voter is the type to cross' (unless they're scared shitless)

[annabanana]

5. Three cheers for the folks that brought us the Weekend!

And lunch breaks. And bathroom breaks. And no 7 year olds in factories.

[Mendocino]

6. Where is Joe Hill buried?

If you don't know...

[leftofthedial]

10. I don't know.

[Mendocino]

19. Everywhere

Joe Hill was an Swedish immigrant and a member of the IWW (Wobblies). He was framed because in a murder case because of his union affiliation, convicted, executed and cremated. It is said that some of his ashes were sent to every union in the country. So He is buried everywhere.

[leftofthedial]

20. rockin

I know who Joe Hill was. Didn't know about the ashes.

[dysfunctional press]

7. like everything else- some are good, and some are bad.

but they're mostly A LOT better than not having one.

[madokie]

8. Theres two votes here that really worries me

[sandyd921]

9. Without a major revival of the labor movement

in this country, the middle class is genuinely screwed. And don't kid yourself, union busting is now and has always been a major goal of the right for a long, long time.

[Hippo_Tron]

11. They are an essential counterbalance to corporate power

And like corporations they should be and are subject to government regulation.

[leftofthedial]

12. what do you think is the current state of "balance"

between corporations and unions?

[Hippo_Tron]

13. Far too skewed to the corporate side in almost every instance (at least in this country)

[leftofthedial]

14. how do unions possibly balance the corrosive influences of money and corporate personhood

in a capitalist economy?

[Hippo_Tron]

16. Well it would help if there were fewer right to work states and more unionized industries

[leftofthedial]

18. I think that some sort of regulation giving unions greater rights in workplaces

AND eliminating the ridiculous "right-to-work" laws in some states are needed.

Unions had power when a huge number of workers were in unions. Now that they've been shrunk and marginalized, unions are a pretty sad joke.

[mwooldri]

15. Unions need some major reform...

... they need to get more representation in workplaces.

Walmart may be very anti-union in the US but in the UK they've not much choice. Asda employees can be represented by GMB or USDAW, depending on where they are.

We can start off with Union-Lite.

That means to me:

1) Companies over 50 employees have to at least have relations with one union.
2) Employees have to have the right to join that union from Day 1 but must not be forced into joining it as a condition of employment.
3) In cases of Industrial Action, companies must protect their unionized workers jobs whilst they conduct a lawful strike (voted on by 50%+1 of union members at that company) but likewise union members who do not want to strike must have the ability to work.
4) Management must have the right to join the union too.

I'm sure there's problems with #3, mainly because I never came from a union background (though my dad was a union member at one point - and it saved his job) and I've never been driven to strike.

Over here, it seems like people are fixated on the 50% rule - got to have so many people want and sign up and vote to join and then actually join the union before a company would recognize the union. Unions can be effective in the workplace with much less representation than that, though obviously more workers that are union members the better. With Union representation you get skilled negotiators who can work with employers to get fair compensation for the workers. You get some form of job protection: I was reading about the story of a Asda worker who was initially fired for having £3.00 of change on her whilst on the shop floor, with access to the cash registers. She got reinstated through help of the union. I bet that same Wal-Mart worker in the USA would be out of their job, no-one to back up their case that they just forgot to put their lunch money away in their locker. However unions can save companies money - if they work together and communicate effectively.

Let's get the unions in the door - initially just acting as that advocate between the employee and the employer. 5% participation should do it...

Mark.

[leftofthedial]

17. can you imagine the reaction of corporate CEOs and the right wing

if any of the above were actually proposed in the US?

It would incite violence.

I agree that's what we need here though.