JudyLaughsMar 3, 2023
Robert Reich

Starbucks fired 150 pro-union baristas and closed a dozen unionized shops.

Chipotle shuttered a store in Maine when workers petitioned for a union.

Amazon spent millions to beat back union organizing campaigns at its warehouses.

Common theme: they're terrified of worker power.

Mar 2, 2023 at 11:06pmWeb
Show threadRobert ReichMar 2, 2023
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/26/amazon-trader-joes-starbucks-anti-union-measures
‘Old-school union busting’: how US corporations are quashing the new wave of organizing

Victories at several companies energized organizers, but hostile corporations – and an impotent labor board – stymie negotiations

The Guardian
Show threadsukima Mar 2, 2023
@rbreich Here's a crazy idea: corporations could treat people like humans instead of disposable toilet bricks, then no one would need to unionize. They did it to themselves!
Show threadDanMar 3, 2023

@sukima @rbreich but think of the shareholders

(for the avoidance of doubt, this is sarcasm/facetiousness)

Show threadMoffin'toshMar 3, 2023
@sukima @rbreich They can't in the long run.
See the falling rate of profit
Show threadWanda NelsonMar 3, 2023
@rbreich What a shock, Republicans did not support the Pro Act.
Show threadLL af R Mar 2, 2023
@rbreich which is partially why they’re demonizing tiktok and an oligarch took over twitter
Show threadOzzyMar 2, 2023
@rbreich In Australia the same businesses that attempt to break union power are posting enormous profits during cost of living pressures.
Show threadUnprecedented 2023Mar 2, 2023
@rbreich Terrified of stock holders.
Show threadJulia in Fin(n)land 🟨⬜🟪⬛Mar 3, 2023

@rbreich Meanwhile, in Finland: Bus drivers in the greater Helsinki region have been on strike since Mar 1, possibly continuing until Mar 10. People grumble, then organize carpools (or WFH if their type of job allows it). You can apply for a refund of already pre-bought (e.g. monthly) tickets once the strike is over (once they know for how many days they're supposed to refund).

The bus companies' umbrella organization is pretty matter-of-fact about all this. https://www.hsl.fi/en/hsl/news/news/2023/02/strike

Bus services affected by strike from 1 March

HSL.fi
Show threadJulia in Fin(n)land 🟨⬜🟪⬛Mar 3, 2023
@rbreich ... then again, this is a country where (depending on whom you ask/whose statistic you use) between 60% and 70% of workers belong to a union. 2/2
Show threadHoang ThuanMar 3, 2023
@rbreich bávavac
Show threadDoreen32128 ready to rumble!Mar 3, 2023
@rbreich The power they hold!
Show threadNorm Hamilton - 8th DecadeMar 3, 2023
@rbreich I believe Starbucks was chastised by a judge for their actions. .
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-64819774
Starbucks illegally fired US workers over union, judge rules

The coffee chain was ordered to rehire the ex-workers and compensate others who were affected.

BBC News
Show threadFoxBossMar 3, 2023
@rbreich honest question, how is this legal? I get that they are a powerful corporation with top lawyers. But I thought Union suppression was against the law. Can they not even be taken to court and sued for violations like this?
Show threadAbazigalMar 3, 2023
@foxexecutive A law is only as effective as it is enforced. I imagine Amazon has the resources to drag any potential lawsuit out in the courts for as long as it likes and not everyone has the money to play along with them.
Show threadstoicmikeMar 3, 2023
@rbreich Amazon is essential, but I can't think of a reason to patronize the other two.
Show threadBuy nothing newMar 3, 2023
@rbreich Nah. Just don't want to pay properly or provide decent working conditions
Show threadex or current IDF unwelcomeMar 3, 2023
@rbreich Carnegie used thugs
Show threadgavinisdie Mar 3, 2023
@rbreich Companies when they see a Union (slightly less money gets in thier pockets): This is an Avengers Level Threat
Show threadKlaus SteinMar 3, 2023
@rbreich
So if you want to have your own nice local coffee shop and want to get rid of the competing local Starbucks you just tell the baristas you give them a job if they unionize and get the Starbucks to shut down by this?
Show threadSteve CenterMar 3, 2023
@rbreich Any chance you run for President in 2028? You have my vote!
Show threadEarthlingMar 4, 2023

@rbreich

Prof. Reich, you have still connections to the Democrats:
Tell your observations to the self-declared "Union President" Joe Biden! And remind him to raise the minimum wage.

Worker's unions are a longstanding tradition in Europe. Union representatives have even seats on the company's board. In this regard, the US are stuck in the 19. century.