im running so late to this but holy fucking shit this is historic
last thing - while unions are obviously a collaborative effort and this incredible victory is the result of the hard work and sacrifices of many different people i think it’s absolutely essential to highlight the role of ALU’s founder chris smalls rn
chris was fired by amazon in 2020 for organizing a walk-out in the wake of their absolutely criminal handling of covid protocols in staten island. in a meeting with bezos amazon execs were later caught bragging that he wasnt “smart” or “articulate” enough to organize against them…now he’s helped facilitate the first successful union vote in amazon’s history - eat shit!
[ID: 1st image is a screenshot that reads:
“With 2,654 votes in favor and 2,131 votes against, the overwhelming victory will allow more than 8,000 workers at the facility to team up with the Amazon Labor Union. The ALU was formed last year by Chris Smalls, a process assistant at the warehouse who was fired in March 2020 for organizing protests over Amazon’s COVID-19 protocols.”
2nd image is a tweet from Amazon Labor Union @ amazonlabor from 1 April 2022 that reads:
“It’s official !! Amazon Labor Union is the first Amazon union in US HISTORY !! POWER TO THE PEOPLE! #UnionStrong #ALUforthewin”
The 3rd and 4th images are photos of Chris Smalls, a Black man with a beard and sunglasses wearing red. In the 3rd photo, he speaks into a microphone in front of a demonstration. In the 4th, he faces the camera, holding a piece of an Amazon box, which has been lit on fire. /id]
This guy at my office is talking about how some ~20 unionized workers that operate bridges shut down a huge chunk of the city by lifting the bridges then leaving on a boat until their demands were met and I forgot I was supposed to say “oh that’s fucked up” because I was immediately like sick that’s dope as hell lmao
Think about how much power labor has. These guys working in big positions talking about the kind of damage some “high school dropouts who ganged up” can do with an edge of fear in their voice
Like sorry you got punked out by these guys you think are below you bitchboy you dont sound very in charge lmao
We’re so lucky they filmed Lord of the Rings when they did. Twenty years later, they would’ve had Viggo Mortensen riding a green bike that they CGI into a horse because that’s better for some reason.
This simple feeling… is beyond Disney’s comprehension.
I fully believe Viggo Mortensen would’ve brought his own damn horse before riding on a green abomination
This isn’t because Burger King is nicer in Denmark. It’s the law, and the US is actually the only so-called “developed” country that doesn’t mandate jobs provide a minimum amount of paid vacation, sick leave, or both.
kinda debunks that claim that they can’t afford to pay their workers those sort of wages and still make a profit
Its corporate greed, plain and simple.
It is the same in Sweden. It is so funny every time an american company opens up offices here and then tries to do it the american way and all the unions go “I don’t think so”.
They refused to sign on to the union deals that govern such things as pay/pension and vacation in Sweden. Most of our rights are not mandated by law (we don’t have a minimum wage for example) but are made in voluntary agreements between the unions and the companies.
But they refused, saying that they had never negotiated with any unions anywhere else in the world and weren’t planning to do it in Sweden either.
Of course a lot of people thought it was useless fighting against an international giant, but Handels (the store worker’s union) said that they could not budge, because that might mean that the whole Swedish model might crumble. So they went on strike in the three stores that the company had opened so far.
Cue a shitstorm from the press, and from right wing politicians. But the members were all for it, and other unions started doing sympathy actions. The teamsters refused to deliver goods to their stores, the financial unions blockaded all economical transactions regarding Toys ‘r Us and the strike got strong international support as well, especially in the US.
In the end, Toys ‘r Us caved in, signed the union deal, and thus their employees got the same treatment as Swedish store workers everywhere.
The right to be treated as bloody human beings and not disposable cogs in a machine.
and that story right there? is exactly why Republicans in the US work so hard to bust unions. it’s because unionizing WORKS and they’re terrified of workers actually having some power.
unions aren’t evil. Don’t believe people when they say it. And be VERY suspicious of any employer that says you can’t work for them and be in a union at the same time.
If you wanna fix America you gotta get priests to support unions I’m dead serious.
The smartest thing the right ever did was convince a large portion of American Christians that wealthy capitalists are so successful because they were blessed by god
Wealthy capitalists in the early 20th century spent an incredible amount of money and time trying to associate capitalism with God and communism with immorality and godless atheism specifically because a significant amount of American preachers saw socialism as a christlike economic policy.
Calling all artists! We’re looking for shareable art like the image below, which was created for striking Black Friday Walmart workers last year, to support the OUR Walmart members and associates out on strike and on the Ride for Respect caravans.
Today in labor history, May 30, 1937: In what would become known as the Memorial Day Massacre, police open fire on striking steelworkers, their families, and supporters who were marching to the Republic Steel plant in South Chicago to set up a picket line. The police killed ten people and pursued those fleeing the attack, wounding many more; no one was ever prosecuted.
Did you know lunch ladies not only serve food, but they also serve up some superhero powers? It’s true! Every lunch lady in every school is a superhero! Join us in saying happy School Lunch Superhero Day!
Did you know that today is national School Lunch Superhero Day? That’s right! Cafeteria workers serve up lunches to nourish minds and bodies of students in schools across the country. Join us in saying thank you to the workers and learn more about their fight to serve REAL food that is healthy and delicious for students at http://realfoodrealjobs.org
Today in labor history, April 29, 1943: The special representative to the National War Labor Board issues a report, “Retroactive Date for Women’s Pay Adjustments,” setting forth provisions respecting wage rates for women working in war industries who were asking for equal pay. A directive issued by the board in September 1942 stated that “rates for women shall be set in accordance with the principle of equal pay for comparable quantity and quality of work on comparable operations.”
