A Republican National Labor Relations Board under Trump
Marvin Kaplan has been selected to hold a seat on the National Labor Relations Board, making him the second Republican on-board along with the Chairman. Another vacant seat is expected to be filled by a Republican of Trump's choosing.
Some topics the board are looking to review are timing of union elections, appropriate bargaining unit sizes, and whether grad students can form unions.
- What do you think will happen to unions in the next few years?
- Are you someone who thinks unions are a nuisance and if you are, why?
- Do you think the Republican-led board will be able to pull off any major changes and what would you like to see change?
What are your thoughts on this event?
Its hard to say for sure. If automation increases unemployment than I wouldn't be surprised by a surge in union membership. Despite this I think it may be safe to say that unions may end up being a relic of the past given that we have complex supply chains and if automation doesn't drive jobs away, firms will find other developing countries to manufacture from.
Yes Unions are a pain in the ass. Yes I acknowledge that they enabled the US worker to have the ability to work in safe environments we have now but they have long since served their purpose. They turned into quasi-politically motivated groups hell bent on milking corporations for as much $$$$ as possible which benefited the upper echelon of a Union rather than the Average Joe.
I have so many examples of ridiculous behavior by Union members I could write and publish a book. I'll share a particular story when I have more time.
Assuming they don't trip over themselves and shift to infighting a la Democrats, I do believe they can overhaul current regulations and strip away unnecessary, burdensome requirements.
I don't know much about the guy Trump nominated so I can't comment.
Automation negating the purpose of unions totally didn't occur to me, thanks for pointing that one out!
And to your comment on unions, do you think there are certain union groups who have actually legitimate reasons to unionize? I think a grad student union is interesting depending on what benefits the union demands... from what I understand, a lot of researchers don't have a lot of leeway in making choices towards their careers if their advisers are really driven to keep them.
I have also never completed a PhD program so take this with a grain of salt (I am assuming the unionization was towards grad students pursuing their PhD's rather than people getting a more advanced degree).
Appley I'm not familiar with grad student unions but I can see why they would want to unionize because academics tends to be a dog-eat-dog world where you have tenured professors and the upper echelon of the university that dictate policies and have a huge influence on everyone at the bottom.
My distaste for unions goes further back but take for example the 2008 Financial Crisis and how bondholders (correct me if I'm wrong) were screwed over because Obama wanted to pander to the UAW. In addition there was This American Life episode on auto union and their experiences working in Japan and the differences in culture (HIGHLY recommended). Point with this is that unions are no longer focused on what they once were and just another pesky group of entitled people who bitch about things that don't make sense half the time.
In short the American autoworkers who were unionized were lazy and entitled piece of shits who bitched about not being paid well but refused to do anything beyond the absolute bare minimum.
In short, take a look at France and the absolute IMO shitshow their economy is because unions are quasi-political parties. Hell they had a Presidential candidate (albeit very minor) who wanted to enact a law banning companies from laying people off! I don't want America to become another France and if unions become to powerful than it may take us in that path.
In terms of who has legitimate reasons to unionize I would say in matters where safety is a concern (but you have OSHA for this) would be one plausible reason to unionize.
Unionizing as student athletes because you want to be paid as an athlete.? Get the fuck outta here! You ARE being paid in the form of a scholarship to get an education!
lol yeah I remember the first time hearing about unionizing student athletes and I thought it was a really odd idea that didn't seem to make sense to me, so I paid no mind to it haha...
...until I started hearing people get up in arms defending the idea.
Appley the scary part of all of this is the "Me, Me, Me" attitude that is becoming prevalent. We joke about First World Problems via memes but apparently some people see this as legitimate.
Student athletes want to get paid?
Milk, cookies, petting dogs, and safe spaces because Trump became President?
Trans-gendered people wanting to use bathrooms of the opposite sex than whats designated on various government forms?
Don't take this as me hating on the LGBTQ community but society as a whole among the younger folks (my generation included) is turning into a bunch of pussys.
God forbid if there is a major war and we need people to serve in the defense of our country. These pusscakes are more likely to cry in the foxhole than take charge.
Sorry for the rant...having a bad day lol
Appley I was rambling in my previous reply to you but I think you get the gist of what I'm saying. I do have a question for you and something I've been thinking about:
Shareholders sometimes wield considerable power over CEOs and boards. As such what if employees were to form a collective (aka union) and focused on pooling money to buy shares in the company and then bringing about change this way?
Do you think something like this could be feasible? I understand that its easier said than done but I think about employee-owned companies such as Jacobs and wonder if this could apply to other areas.
Imagine an Analyst Union at GS? LOL
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