
How the American Worker Got Fleeced - mesofile
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2020-the-fleecing-of-the-american-worker/
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neilwilson
The case for a Job Guarantee [1] argues that the way to deal with this is to
ensure everybody always has an alternative living wage job to go to.

Then competition for scare labour does the rest.

[1]
[https://www.amazon.com/dp/1509542108/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_...](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1509542108/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_T-
AaFb1PG8F2X)

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batmaniam
Absolutely terrible. Corporate abuse doesn't just stop at lower-tiered jobs,
it affects all levels of industry, including knowledge workers, like the
article explains. I had no idea that workers at MS had unionized, only to be
stomped out like they were nothing. I feel all those efforts described in the
article are too localized, I wish there was a way to build a union of
different professions that can back each other up.

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MuffinFlavored
I know very little about unions but I feel like it is a dirty word. A very "us
versus them" type of idea.

Companies don't start out wanting to mistreat people. Companies grow in the
market they are in, and the conditions are set by their competitors.

Standing up for "I want to work less, make more, get better benefits" just
isn't competitive if your competitor isn't doing it.

Strong-arming your employer almost never seems like a good idea.

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jjj123
You say “us vs them” like it’s at all inaccurate. Owners have every incentive
to make their employees work more for less. Unions just balance that power
dynamic.

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em-bee
it is very unfortunate that owners have such an incentive. they shoudn't. in
germany for example, much of what the unions have fought for eventually became
law, giving the same benefits to everyone, and not just union members, making
the unions less important.

the problem really is the adverserial nature of the relationship. a
cooperative relationship between employees (with or without unions) and
employers would be beneficial to every one.

