SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
The International Socialist Organization reports
The Burgerville Workers Union (BVWU) in Portland, Oregon, has become the first federally recognized fast-food workers union in the U.S.
With a vote of 18-4 in a National Labor Relations Board election, workers at Store #41 notched an important victory in the drive to organize the 1,500 workers at all 42 Burgerville sites located in Oregon and southwest Washington. BVWU spokesperson Emmett Schlenz says that six of the company's locations now have publicly active unions. Workers at another store have already filed for an NLRB election.
[...] The union has been pressing for a $5 an hour raise, stable scheduling, affordable health care, paid maternity/paternity leave, free childcare and transportation, and an end to the employer's use of e-verify to exclude undocumented immigrant workers.
Using direct action tactics, including mass picketing with community allies, occupations and a three-day strike at four restaurants, the all-volunteer BVWU has drawn the support of dozens of local unions, many community and faith-based organizations, and some elected officials.
The union called a boycott of Burgerville after a number of union activists were fired.
[...] The union's announcement of its victory stated:
In this moment of victory, we want to celebrate, yes, but we also want to turn our attention to the 4.5 million other fast-food workers in the United States. We want to speak to everyone else who works for poverty wages, who are constantly disrespected on the job, who are told they aren't educated enough, aren't experienced enough, aren't good enough for a decent life. To all of those workers, to everyone like us who works rough jobs for terrible pay, we say this:
Don't listen to that bullshit. Burgerville workers didn't, and look at us now.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 03 2018, @02:53PM (7 children)
It's a fast food job. Let me repeat, it's a very low skill fast food job. Entry level for almost all other jobs. If you expect to make a living on the compensation from a fast food job, you need to be in their management training program, or you need to re-evaluate your situation and expectations.
(Score: 1) by Sulla on Thursday May 03 2018, @03:03PM (6 children)
I think what frusterated me with this whole fast food career movement is that increasing fast food jobs from 10/hr to 15/hr will have a market adjustment on prices, but the more skilled labor making between 15-20 wont see their wage adjustment until even later to that. Semi-skilled labor will be punished to help unskilled labor. Why bother going to trade school if I can make the same amount, have stable hours, and do easier work?
But thats marxism for you, the Kulaks are evil and must be gotten rid of because their ability to work hard ruins the ability of the lowest abled workers to feel equal. Skilled factory workers need to be put in line too because they value ability over equity.
From each according to their ability and too each according to their need. You need to work harder because i'm lazy and dumb and unable to do so. Then we can all be equal as we all starve to death.
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 03 2018, @05:15PM (3 children)
You make a good point about the wages across all professions and the impact it would have.
However, these would not be such big issues if people such as yourself would stop blocking universal healthcare and other societal support programs. Across the board all societal benefits have been slashed for decades and the one attempt at universal healthcare was really a giveaway to insurance companies! No one is advocating for pure equality, NO ONE except maybe the crazies no one pays attention to.
Maybe stop with the 100% meritocracy bullcrap which anyone who has worked for a while realizes is untrue once they encounter their first pointy haired boss. Start realizing that labor regulations were created for a very real reason, wage slavery. If it were true that anyone could just go out and get a better job then you wouldn't have tons of skilled people working shit jobs that have no prospects.
The US has a real problem with individualism to the point that it is detrimental. Social conscience is gone, beaten out of people by the cold hard economic realities foisted upon us by the ever growing corporate behemoths. The efficiency of scale means it is no longer feasible to compete, thus all the local bookstores went out of business and a ton of other local businesses have continued to go under. Stop buying the illusion that anyone can "make it" with some hard work. Yes some people can, but there is a very limited number of small businesses that will be viable.
Also, no job should be only for "idiot highschool kids" as our resident genius puts it. I've seen too many old people working as walmart greeters or cashiers with shitty schedules and no benefits. Either such people as the aforementioned "genius" need to admit they're sociopaths who don't value community or they need to shut up and help even out our economic imbalance.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 03 2018, @06:31PM (2 children)
I would have liked universal health care, until I lived under it for a while.
Universal health care means that a bunch of people get to make decisions about my health care that are not linked to medical efficacy, on the logic that they're paying for it.
So I get to pay more in taxes to have less choice and worse care.
Call me an evil worker-oppressing hyper-individualist exploitative monster if you like, but I did not consider this to be a good outcome.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 03 2018, @07:13PM
That is in no way different from the US unless you're quite rich and can afford to pay 10k+ for small stuff. Primarily people go without the medical care they should get due to the high deductibles and max price coverage. It has been repeatedly demonstrated that the "not getting proper care" is a total red herring, and if you're rich enough to afford US healthcare then just fly over.
The data speaks much more clearly than your anecdotal complaints, maybe you're just an entitled boomer? ;)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 03 2018, @07:16PM
Where did you live that banned private healthcare?
I've always had socialised healthcare, and never lived in such a place.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 03 2018, @09:41PM (1 child)
So, then, you're saying that Ronnie Raygun's[1] "A rising tide lifts all boats" was a lie??
Neoliberalism is a sham??
...or are you saying that The Fiscal Multiplier Effect only works when you give more money to folks who already have giant piles of it[2]?
[1] ... and Jack Kennedy before him.
[2] We have 4 decades of empirical data which shows that trickle-down doesn't.
For a change, let's try making sure that people who actually WORK have money that they will actually go out and SPEND into the actual economy buying ACTUAL STUFF (which requires another worker to PRODUCE another widget to fill the empty spot on the shelf left by the worker/consumer).
...rather than increasing rich folks' ability to speculate, overpay for someone's stock certificates, and inflate the stock market^W^W speculators' market.
...and, of course, their ability to buy even more politicians.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Thursday May 03 2018, @10:09PM
Trickle down worked for Bill Clinton, until that blue dress got in the way.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---