I don’t suppose there is a labor union resource database available for folks wanting to start or find a union
The IWW offers resources for people interested in forming their own independent union.
IWW organizer training is really good. I took OT101 in Seattle and part of that included actually roleplaying a group of employees walking into a manager’s office and presenting demands. Pretty cool, very informative, totally worthwhile even if I have never really had a chance to exercise what I learned
I feel very conflicted about unions every time they come up, because it seems they should be dead-simply beneficial to workers. To me, that is the sole reason for their existence. But when I talk to people in unions in person and when I hear so many interviews, it doesn’t seem to be so.
With the end of the recent JBS strike, I’ve seen a number of outlets talk about how the union itself brought in scabs. The deal they struck doesn’t sound any better than the one they had that led to them striking.
How do unions end up so conflicted? Doesn’t their funding come from membership? I’ve never had a union job, and being in a place where you can get fired for any reason, such as organizing, it seems to make it a very risk thing with a less than certain payoff. Can anyone with better insight share their experience?
That’s because the labor movement in the US has been systematically suppressed for decades. Most surviving unions are what could be called “business unions” or class-collaborationist unions. They are corrupt and have leadership that cut deals with the employers, and union elections are intentionally manipulated to depress turnout, usually by keeping the rank and file in the dark about the schedule.
I produce better quality work in less time for slightly less money. And a whole lot less bitching. Go back to your knitting circles, men are creating money. You are doing the opposite.
