TBH, I’m not surprised. Linus stance on unions is really weird… My interest in LTTs videos has anyway declined in the last time, maybe I’ll take a break and hope they really change some things.
Been a union member at my workplace for 20years, they only give a shit about pay increases for the workers and Linus pays his workers above minimum wage which is what the union would ask for.
In this economic climate no one will strike for just one person when it’s those members that are part of the problem.
Unions aren’t what they used to be and shouldn’t be treated as such.
Your union sucks then. Unions have done all sorts of things besides get more pay. They fight for benefits like vacation and sick time, make sure you can’t be fired without cause, ensure good work/life balance, make your job physically safe, and help bad management be held accountable.
Striking isn’t the only tool in a union’s répertoire. They’ll also do things like help pay for lawyers to fund legal action (hard to do as an individual) and negotiate on your behalf. Most people don’t want to be negotiators (especially the most vulnerable)
The union does that undesirable work for you and can often hire experts to do it.
Work to rule is an alternative to striking that is similar but keeps you working. That’s doing exactly what your contract says and nothing more (eg, bus drivers have done it by not collecting fares, but still driving their routes; teachers have done it by only teachong their classes without doing any extra coaching or supervision on the side). And since your comment suggests that people won’t strike because they can’t go without pay, they can also pay you for the duration of a strike.
It also depends on the country they’re in, union culture is still stronger in Canada vs the USA… Heck, labor laws exist everywhere in Canada, just that is a step ahead of the US…
TBH, I’m not surprised. Linus stance on unions is really weird… My interest in LTTs videos has anyway declined in the last time, maybe I’ll take a break and hope they really change some things.
Props to Madison for speaking out about this!
Been a union member at my workplace for 20years, they only give a shit about pay increases for the workers and Linus pays his workers above minimum wage which is what the union would ask for.
In this economic climate no one will strike for just one person when it’s those members that are part of the problem.
Unions aren’t what they used to be and shouldn’t be treated as such.
Your union sucks then. Unions have done all sorts of things besides get more pay. They fight for benefits like vacation and sick time, make sure you can’t be fired without cause, ensure good work/life balance, make your job physically safe, and help bad management be held accountable.
Striking isn’t the only tool in a union’s répertoire. They’ll also do things like help pay for lawyers to fund legal action (hard to do as an individual) and negotiate on your behalf. Most people don’t want to be negotiators (especially the most vulnerable) The union does that undesirable work for you and can often hire experts to do it.
Work to rule is an alternative to striking that is similar but keeps you working. That’s doing exactly what your contract says and nothing more (eg, bus drivers have done it by not collecting fares, but still driving their routes; teachers have done it by only teachong their classes without doing any extra coaching or supervision on the side). And since your comment suggests that people won’t strike because they can’t go without pay, they can also pay you for the duration of a strike.
Unions have been stripped of power repeatedly and told to fuck off by governments repeatedly.
But I also think it depends on your union, right?
Still better a weak union than no union at all
It also depends on the country they’re in, union culture is still stronger in Canada vs the USA… Heck, labor laws exist everywhere in Canada, just that is a step ahead of the US…
Unions still have a lot more upside than downside and should be treated as such.
You’re the union, it’s not separate from the workers, it is the workers. Not happy with what the union is doing? Get involved.