It's almost as if workers are recalling some sort of long-forgotten yesteryear when they were called "essential" and saved the economy, with little to no help from the overcompensated bosses now clamping down on their "unreasonable requests" for things like water and fair pay. Funny, the entire globe was witness to the true might of workers united, but monopolistic power, regulatory capture and a compliant media have quickly worked to squash our belief in that briefly undeniable truth.
Thank God! I was stressing out, as a disabled man with no car, I get nearly 100% of all goods from our heroic drivers! It is high time we as Americans UNIONIZE AGAIN.
(My sister and her husband work in theater tech, recently touring in "Mama Mia!" as high-ranking design and tech wokers respectively. They vowed to NEVER work in non-union jobs where it is HELL.)
If American voters have the sense to re-elect Biden and give him a Congress that isn't controlled by right-wing nut-cases, the pendulum will begin to swing back. But, as you've argued convincingly elsewhere, there are so many fronts demanding recalibration in favour of the middle- and working-class.
Stands to damn reason! Unions were strong until I reached working age, then crapped out. Now that I'm about a quarter-to-dead, they appear to be making a comeback! Damn!
I hope the labor movement has a huge revival. It’s telling when the nurses at the huge HCA hospital here in the south no less, voted to unionize because HCA was not doing what it needed to do during Covid to protect anyone working in that facility but it was the nurses that got things done. The Guilded Age can’t hold a candle to these rapacious CEOs and their boards who think nothing of voting for all top tier pay hikes.
It started with Reagan and the air traffic controllers and has continued nearly unabated since then. I worked with a lot of union electricians in my career, and their relatively high wages and great benefits and retirement packages did not slow the construction business down one bit. All trade unions are still strong and that gives the lie to the idea that unions suppress demand and therefore economic growth.
Congratulations UPS workers for bringing your fat cat management screaming and kicking from the ugly world of Charles Dickens into the 21st century !! SOLIDARITY works !! You kept up the good fight and you won. BRAVO !!
Currently on strike myself, with the WGA (and our sister Guild, SAG/AFTRA joining the lines!). Maybe the AMPTP (i.e., the greedy MoFos who control the multibillion dollar cartel/monopoly of studios and networks/streamers) will see the handwriting on the wall.
Just wait until stockholders realize that CEO's do not do anything (except talk and go to retreats). They will discover CEO's can be replaced by relatively primitive AI applications and company profits will skyrocket as a result.
Amen to that. This column is spot on right and so true. The Right wing in this country funded by fascist billionaires- think Koch, Crowe, Murdoch, Devoss, etc.-- supported by extremist think tanks like the Club For Growth and the Heritage Foundation, and incited by the right wing propaganda and plain outright lies broadcast on Fox News, Newsmax, and One America have wreaked havoc on the economic and social underpinnings of US democracy. The old Republican Party, now better called the NAF (Nationalist Authoritarian Fascist) Party that started with Goldwater and gained ballast with Reagan has plunged this country into an economically immoral and patently unfair hopeless societal abyss with a few privileged rich at the top and countless disgruntled, bitter, ignorant, and impoverished Americans at the bottom who swallow the lies and embrace a fascist, racist and psychopathic authoritarian leader.
Unions hit the wealthy in the only place they care about... their pocket. Labor will be the savior of America and the world in fact.
It's almost as if workers are recalling some sort of long-forgotten yesteryear when they were called "essential" and saved the economy, with little to no help from the overcompensated bosses now clamping down on their "unreasonable requests" for things like water and fair pay. Funny, the entire globe was witness to the true might of workers united, but monopolistic power, regulatory capture and a compliant media have quickly worked to squash our belief in that briefly undeniable truth.
Thank God! I was stressing out, as a disabled man with no car, I get nearly 100% of all goods from our heroic drivers! It is high time we as Americans UNIONIZE AGAIN.
(My sister and her husband work in theater tech, recently touring in "Mama Mia!" as high-ranking design and tech wokers respectively. They vowed to NEVER work in non-union jobs where it is HELL.)
This is sensational news. I don’t know if we will ever repair the damage done by Reagan and his cohorts, but we must never stop trying.
If American voters have the sense to re-elect Biden and give him a Congress that isn't controlled by right-wing nut-cases, the pendulum will begin to swing back. But, as you've argued convincingly elsewhere, there are so many fronts demanding recalibration in favour of the middle- and working-class.
This is a wonderful post and a counterpoint to the struggles of Starbucks workers' attempts to negotiate their labor contracts. They need our solidarity, our support. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/21/opinion/starbucks-union-strikes-labor-movement.html
Thank you, Secretary Reich, for all you have done and continue to do to promote a more equitable society.
When we fight we win! Union strong!
Stands to damn reason! Unions were strong until I reached working age, then crapped out. Now that I'm about a quarter-to-dead, they appear to be making a comeback! Damn!
LOL! 👍👍👍👍👍
I hope the labor movement has a huge revival. It’s telling when the nurses at the huge HCA hospital here in the south no less, voted to unionize because HCA was not doing what it needed to do during Covid to protect anyone working in that facility but it was the nurses that got things done. The Guilded Age can’t hold a candle to these rapacious CEOs and their boards who think nothing of voting for all top tier pay hikes.
It started with Reagan and the air traffic controllers and has continued nearly unabated since then. I worked with a lot of union electricians in my career, and their relatively high wages and great benefits and retirement packages did not slow the construction business down one bit. All trade unions are still strong and that gives the lie to the idea that unions suppress demand and therefore economic growth.
Congratulations UPS workers for bringing your fat cat management screaming and kicking from the ugly world of Charles Dickens into the 21st century !! SOLIDARITY works !! You kept up the good fight and you won. BRAVO !!
UNION? YES! When the power players like Trump and Musk call us "Thugs", You know we are making a difference in this Tik Tok world.
Currently on strike myself, with the WGA (and our sister Guild, SAG/AFTRA joining the lines!). Maybe the AMPTP (i.e., the greedy MoFos who control the multibillion dollar cartel/monopoly of studios and networks/streamers) will see the handwriting on the wall.
Never forget that the civil war was fought because slaves were "essential" to the southern plantation economy.
Essential is tantamount to captive.
Nobody has ever referred to hedge funds or traders as essential.
Just wait until stockholders realize that CEO's do not do anything (except talk and go to retreats). They will discover CEO's can be replaced by relatively primitive AI applications and company profits will skyrocket as a result.
Amen to that. This column is spot on right and so true. The Right wing in this country funded by fascist billionaires- think Koch, Crowe, Murdoch, Devoss, etc.-- supported by extremist think tanks like the Club For Growth and the Heritage Foundation, and incited by the right wing propaganda and plain outright lies broadcast on Fox News, Newsmax, and One America have wreaked havoc on the economic and social underpinnings of US democracy. The old Republican Party, now better called the NAF (Nationalist Authoritarian Fascist) Party that started with Goldwater and gained ballast with Reagan has plunged this country into an economically immoral and patently unfair hopeless societal abyss with a few privileged rich at the top and countless disgruntled, bitter, ignorant, and impoverished Americans at the bottom who swallow the lies and embrace a fascist, racist and psychopathic authoritarian leader.