581
"I negotiate my own wages" (files.catbox.moe)
submitted 5 months ago by to c/anarchychess@sopuli.xyz
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[–] 5 points 5 months ago (5 children)

Keep in mind this is anecdotal but at the same time I don't think it's unique.

I understand the value of unions and I think the world is better off with them than without them.

But

Having worked in them as a teen I will say the union leadership is to not be trusted as much as the business owners. Birds of a feather. The problem is power and hierarchies.

What I also did not appreciate as a union member was being told by people who have been there longer "stop working so hard the quotas will go up and we will be expected to make more" like wtf?

I love unions in theory. In practice they're just as corrupt because they don't address the underlying problem if anything they put lipstick on the underlying problem.

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  • [–] 8 points 5 months ago (2 children)

    "stop working so hard the quotas will go up and we will be expected to make more"

    They were right.

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  • [–] 2 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    The problem is that the workers have allowed themselves to be attached to the labor, and be responsible for the output, without having any connection to the benefit of the additional output. If the labor force creates more product, and the company earns more as a result, the workers should also earn more as a result, but they don't. They just work harder for the same pay, so those at the top benefit by their increased labor.

    Management should incentivize increased output. Otherwise, why bother?

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  • [–] 2 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

    That's not how output is increased in a substantial manner though. Incentives can marginally increase productivity but that's a one-time boost. Sustained substantial productivity growth is achieved via technology. E.g. calculate using computers instead of by hand. Use power tools instead of manual tools. That's the kind of changes that have increased labour productivity in the US by over 400% since the 50s. The capitalist system never pays workers what they poduce. Anyone is only ever hired if they'll produce more than they receive in wage.

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  • [–] 4 points 5 months ago*

    They are corrupt and don't address the problem because much of the union leadership are reactionaries opposed to people having real power. Unions used to literally fight the police and national guard, radical unions have been dismantled and co-opted continually for the last century. It's not just about holding power, it's about the underlying worldview of the groups in power as well, and any unions that meaningfully challenged the normal capitalist status quo have been crushed by the US security apparatus.

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