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PaperclipPerfector  7mo ago (text post)   28031 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of September 11, 2023

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The United Auto Workers have gone on strike: https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/us-auto-union-strike-three-detroit-three-factories-2023-09-15/

What happens if Ford and GM simply say: "okay, you're fired"? This seems to have quite a few benefits, mostly that they can get rid of union workers and remove the threat of another strike.

I'll admit that unions sortof confuse me. I didn't grow up around them and have always wondered the mechanism by which everybody gets to quit their job but then demand extra money to come back. Are the people running factory machines inside of Ford and GM (or starbucks, or a hollywood writers room) really that highly skilled?

It should be noted that Tesla is not unionized, and will not be a part of this strike. Do you guys think there is a chance that the government tries to force Tesla to stop making cars during the strike to make things more fair?

I'll be honest about my feelings towards unions: I don't get it at all, and I think I'm missing something. I do think that workers should have an adversarial relationship with their employer, but it seems to me like unions have all but destroyed the american auto industry. I think you'd be insane to not just fire anybody who joins a union on the spot. I don't get how places can "vote to unionize". Why does the employer not simply fire the people doing the organizing? Sure you can all vote to make a starbucks union, but...I just won't hire anybody in your union.

I personally agree with Richard Hanania. I think unions are just another form of cartel that we tolerate because their average member is poorer than the average CEO. But much like rent control, allowing unions is a policy that has greater costs than benefits.

There have absolutely been times and places where unionization was necessary, unless one has basically zero consideration for human misery and abuse. Martyrmade has an excellent piece on the topic, "Whose America? (Part One)". But yes, like any other institution they can go rotten, and clearly have in many cases.

EDIT: Here's the link. https://martyrmade.com/22-whose-america-ep-1-rough-extraction/

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