Unions are good. In many lines of work, if you as one of many employees don’t want to be bent over by your employer who proceeds to have its way with you, a union gives you some control over your professional life. It gives you the power of the group versus the individual against the corporation And it offers job protections so you can’t arbitrarily be fired in a dispute, Union naysayers will counter with “you can always quit! “ which is true, but when you have a job that is valuable, and may include a pension, it is worth fighting for, For most cases a union is the only mechanism that gives workers any power and protection.
My first significant job was the US Military, no unions there, but this was a situation where pay and many work provisions were determined by Congress, and yes, the needs of the military took precedence over your life. I stayed for 9 years, it involved long periods of family separation, but I was lucky enough to be in during the Cold War, without an active war. After separating from the USN, I was hired as an airline pilot and was introduced to the union, in my case ALPA, Airline Pilots Association.
Not all unions are good unions, they are only as good as their leadership, which is no different on the employer side of the equation. Some unions have made unrealistic demands and actually harmed their jobs, some walk off professional cliffs when they're all fired. I was lucky enough to be in one of the best unions comprised of highly skilled professional people who were not easy to replace, because too much training involved, and experience is required. That is a huge factor in the equation. But any large group has an advantage. They won’t always prevail, but for them even to exist, the backing of the Federal Government is vital. When considering worker’s rights, the right to unionize is a must
Take a look at the Writer’s strike, and now rhe looming Screen Actors Guild Strike. One of the items on the agenda is job protection from Artificial Intelligence. The Corporate Capitalists have been destroying domestic jobs for 5 decades as millions of jobs have been shipped out of the Country for shareholder profit at the expense of the former employee,it can be argued at the expense of the Nation. Look at the industrial robots where hundreds of thousands found employment, now lost. Do you think that AI will be any different?? NOPE.
In the USA, the 20th Century’s New Deal was just a temporary reprieve from life at the hands of the Robber Barrons. And WWII were the US got a huge economic boost by virtue of being the major country left economically intact. This is why I continue to argue that Capitalism will eventually fail, when it no longer servers the majority. In fact it can be argued that it’s not served the majority for decades as our domestic Middle Class evaporates. Under Capitolidm, AI will just be another tool to disenfranchise workers, even as the domestic buying power is canabalized so a smaller and smaller group of people can live comfortabley, and even less become filthy rich.
This is not an argument against technological advancement which is inevitable. It is an argument against Capitalism, at least not regulated enough Capitalism, and for something that will carry most, if not all of us, forward economically. Highly regulated Capitalism with wealth caps might do it, or possibly socialism. But for Socialism to work requires an attitude adjustment by the majority, And no matter what we choose corruption is unacceptable, it destroys any economic system. Corruption is the reason why Communism has been so bad.
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My first significant job was the US Military, no unions there, but this was a situation where pay and many work provisions were determined by Congress, and yes, the needs of the military took precedence over your life. I stayed for 9 years, it involved long periods of family separation, but I was lucky enough to be in during the Cold War, without an active war. After separating from the USN, I was hired as an airline pilot and was introduced to the union, in my case ALPA, Airline Pilots Association.
Not all unions are good unions, they are only as good as their leadership, which is no different on the employer side of the equation. Some unions have made unrealistic demands and actually harmed their jobs, some walk off professional cliffs when they're all fired. I was lucky enough to be in one of the best unions comprised of highly skilled professional people who were not easy to replace, because too much training involved, and experience is required. That is a huge factor in the equation. But any large group has an advantage. They won’t always prevail, but for them even to exist, the backing of the Federal Government is vital. When considering worker’s rights, the right to unionize is a must
Take a look at the Writer’s strike, and now rhe looming Screen Actors Guild Strike. One of the items on the agenda is job protection from Artificial Intelligence. The Corporate Capitalists have been destroying domestic jobs for 5 decades as millions of jobs have been shipped out of the Country for shareholder profit at the expense of the former employee,it can be argued at the expense of the Nation. Look at the industrial robots where hundreds of thousands found employment, now lost. Do you think that AI will be any different?? NOPE.
In the USA, the 20th Century’s New Deal was just a temporary reprieve from life at the hands of the Robber Barrons. And WWII were the US got a huge economic boost by virtue of being the major country left economically intact. This is why I continue to argue that Capitalism will eventually fail, when it no longer servers the majority. In fact it can be argued that it’s not served the majority for decades as our domestic Middle Class evaporates. Under Capitolidm, AI will just be another tool to disenfranchise workers, even as the domestic buying power is canabalized so a smaller and smaller group of people can live comfortabley, and even less become filthy rich.
This is not an argument against technological advancement which is inevitable. It is an argument against Capitalism, at least not regulated enough Capitalism, and for something that will carry most, if not all of us, forward economically. Highly regulated Capitalism with wealth caps might do it, or possibly socialism. But for Socialism to work requires an attitude adjustment by the majority, And no matter what we choose corruption is unacceptable, it destroys any economic system. Corruption is the reason why Communism has been so bad.
Hollywood writers and studios have struck a tentative deal. Is the strike ending?
Though studios and screenwriters reached an agreement, several steps still need to be taken before the strike is concluded.
www.today.comHollywood SAG actors union votes to authorize a strike
The strike authorization was approved by an overwhelming margin — nearly 98% of the 65,000 SAG-AFTRA members who cast votes.
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