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Unions are having a bit of a moment right now - countless stores under brands like Amazon, Chipotle, REI, Starbucks, and many more are winning victories left and right, and corporate America is pulling out all the stops to crush them. Why is the US so antagonistic towards unions, and what can you expect to face when you try to unionize your workplace?
Why Corporate America Hates Unions – Second Thought
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Citations:
IWW resources
https://www.iww.org
https://www.iww.org/resources/pamphlets/
Union approval at a57-year high/10% union coverage today/20% union coverage in the 80s
https://www.npr.org/2022/08/31/1120111276/labor-union-support-in-us
Union workers make 13% more
https://www.epi.org/publication/unlawful-employer-opposition-to-union-election-campaigns/
Union workers make an extra $1.3M dollars
https://www.businessinsider.com/being-in-union-make-1-million-dollars-more-over-lifetime-2022-10?r=US&IR=T
https://doi.org/10.1177/00197939221129261
Other unionization benefits
https://www.epi.org/publication/unlawful-employer-opposition-to-union-election-campaigns/
Unionized workplaces are safer and have fewer fatalities
https://illinoisepi.files.wordpress.com/2021/11/ilepi-pmcr-unions-and-construction-health-and-safety-final.pdf https://www.forumat.net.br/at/sites/default/files/arq-paginas/does_right_to_work_imperil_right_to_health_ll.pdf
The union threat effect pulls wages up for everyone
https://www.epi.org/publication/briefingpapers_bp143/
Amazon puts workers in danger’s way
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/dec/16/tornado-amazon-kentucky-candle-factory-workers-died
https://twitter.com/MorePerfectUS/status/1470513075489054720?s=20&t=_W3ie7fDZO4a2fzOufIoAg
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/04/business/amazon-warehouse-suspended-workers.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/12/technology/amazon-tornado-edwardsville.html
Union busting is on the rise
https://www.nlrb.gov/news-outreach/news-story/election-petitions-up-53-board-continues-to-reduce-case-processing-time-in
Employers spend $340M/y on union avoidance advisors, paid $350/h or $2.5k/d
https://www.epi.org/publication/unlawful-employer-opposition-to-union-election-campaigns/
Starbucks fires workers for organizing
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/aug/25/starbucks-union-employees-fired
https://sbworkersunited.org/press/starbucks-fires-over-15-union-leaders-in-buffalo-and-forces-out-countless-more
https://youtu.be/AKnI_iMhjx8?t=178
Starbucks shuts down unionizing locations
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/11/22/business/starbucks-closure-union/ https://sbworkersunited.org/press/starbucks-closes-first-union-store-in-seattle-in-blatant-retaliation
Violating the NLRA only costs employers backpay, no punitive damages or civil penalties
https://www.epi.org/publication/unlawful-employer-opposition-to-union-election-campaigns/
Employers break the law in 41.5% of all union election campaigns, illegally fire workers in ⅕
https://www.epi.org/publication/unlawful-employer-opposition-to-union-election-campaigns/
Starbucks withholds pay, benefits, perks from unionizing workers
https://www.axios.com/2022/08/26/starbucks-accused-withholding-benefits-union
https://triblive.com/local/regional/nlrb-issues-complaint-of-starbucks-intimidating-workers-who-unionized/
Employers spy on their workers, use heatmaps to stop unionizing
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/labor-board-official-takes-aim-at-workplace-spying/
https://www.newsweek.com/they-were-spying-us-amazon-walmart-use-surveillance-technology-bust-unions-1658603
Captive audience meetings
https://cwad1.org/banning-captive-audience-meetings
Constant anti-union propaganda at Boeing
https://inthesetimes.com/article/boeing-workers-face-constant-barrage-of-misinformation-ahead-of-union-vote
Common anti-union rhetoric
https://unionbustingplaybook.com/#common-bluffs
Union dues discouragement at Delta and Boeing (and amazon)
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D6KE3PBW0AA9Qhp?format=jpg&name=small
https://twitter.com/chactivist/status/829877199419428864?s=20&t=pdXUY9PtdEUWQ-FYK3a4Eg
Even more legal union busting strategies
https://www.epi.org/publication/unlawful-employer-opposition-to-union-election-campaigns/#:~:text=Deficiency%20in%20current%20labor%20law
Strikebreaking origins of the American police
https://jacobin.com/2020/06/police-united-states-strikebreaking-class-war
Companies stall signing union contracts to get them decertified
https://time.com/6221176/worker-strikes-employers-unions/
Presidential strike-breaking
https://jacobin.com/2022/12/joe-biden-democrats-railway-strike-breaking-blame