this post was submitted on 08 Oct 2023
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Mildly Infuriating
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Legit had someone from my last job start going on a break room tirade about how "those damn unions just want your money" but strangely had no rebuttal when asked why giving them 2% of your paycheck is a bad thing when they negotiated your RAISE to be 15% and your health benefits add up to an additional savings of around 20%.
I'm SO SORRY you're getting extra money and healthcare rather than the NOTHING you had before.
Nowadays I like to print up cards with unionizing information on them, facts vs myths, links to read up more, anti-union tactics, links to join unions, links to find HELP setting up a union, and basically anything I could cram into a business card. Now I leave about 10 of them any time I go into a non union store.
Given how previous management has reacted to "someone" leaving these in the break room, I'm sure I've caused a few sleepless nights.
For union dues, I'll sometimes bring up strikes. People know that when unions strike, they aren't working, and when they aren't working, they aren't getting paid. What they don't realize is that most unions pay the employees during strikes, and that money has to come from somewhere.
You're literally partially making sure you still get PAID when shit happens.
Very good point, and I honestly wonder how common that knowledge even is.
Then again, almost all anti-union propaganda hinges on people not knowing enough about the subject to call it out. As with most propaganda.
Nevermind! I see what was said was that the unions can pay striking workers but it wont be the standard rate. So striking could cause lost wages.
Hmm. It's been a thing for every union I've been a part of, but it makes sense it wouldn't be ALL of them that do it. I'm sure some just simply aren't large enough to do it like that.
I would be worried the Union management isn't corrupt though.
That's something to worry about in every arena that involves money, not just unions. It's just a fact of life that there are crooks and liars in the world.
I honestly did not know that. I’ve been wondering how, for example, UAW workers can afford to strike for weeks.
The downside is that you won't get paid as much as you would working. My union pays $200 a day to anyone on a picket line, but as a strike goes on, the money starts to run out.
Fortunately it hasn't come to that for us.
Better than getting nothing during that time! $200/day for me would be a lot of money.
My local went on strike once in 2019, it lasted one day and everyone who picketed got $200.
Last year we threatened to strike, had an authorization vote, but our signatory contractors association wanted nothing to do with it and we basically got everything we asked for with no work stoppage.
The deal in my part of the country is that what with the CHIPS Act, there's literally billions of dollars on the table and our signatory contractors can't afford to get bogged down in labor disputes.
The upshot is that it leaves the unions sitting pretty since they can't access these incredibly lucrative contracts without using highly-trained union labor.
There's more to do with EMRs and the like, but I won't bore you with the details.
I know this might not apply elsewhere as I'm in Australia, but I always bring up that your union fees are totally tax deductible so you get it all back at tax time.
It’s the same people that don’t get socialised healthcare. Union fees are like a tax that’s used to pay people to do work for you, in the case of worker unions, people that negotiate working conditions, benefits, and wages, in addition to lawyers that can both offer legal advice and representation should you be in need of it.
Here in Sweden we have lots of different unions. We have a tenants union that negotiate rent increases, ensure that landlords do their end of the contract, and will help you with legal proceedings should it be required.
There are also various “customer owned” institutions, like my bank, insurance company, and the grocery store I get most of my groceries from. The goal isn’t necessarily massive profits, but enough to sustain and develop the services, with surplus going back to the owners, that is the customers.
It just makes sense. We all make use of schools as children, so funding that with taxes makes sense. It ensures everyone gets a good education, and at least one good meal per day. Same thing applies to healthcare.
My mother WORKS IN HEALTHCARE as the intermediary for the hospital network and the insurance companies.
She literally sees the Financials of people every fucking day.
And still she thinks socialized Healthcare would tank the entire US. I've shown charts, studies, anecdotal evidence out the wazoo (which is where anecdotal evidence usually comes from) But no, I can't possibly be right about this, it would mean someone who got stabbed will have to wait on 600 people with the sniffles to be seen by a doctor in 6 months. Because I guess in socialized medicine, triage doesn't exist? You can't logic someone out of a position they didn't logic themselves into.
It's always hard to get someone to realize a fact that would damage their paycheck.
I've actually talked to some health insurance drones that told me they'd gladly be out of a job due to universal healthcare.
Sure. People need to earn a living, after all. I'm talking more about general tendencies (unless you want to be extremely literal about that "always") in how people take in new information. Messing with ego, preconceptions, tribal status or money are great ways to make that really difficult.
I don't think the system would change that much, save for insurance companies not having a say in the healthcare a patient receives. It's ridiculous that insurance companies come before the health of the patient.
Here in Sweden, if you have the sniffles, you don't see a doctor. There's nothing a doctor can do for you. If you get really ill, you go to the ER. Assuming you're not actively dying, someone who gets stabbed will absolutely go before you. The ER doesn't operate on a first-come-first-serve basis. If you come to the ER with the sniffles you'll get to wait for a long-ass time, and at most they'll send you home with some antipyretics and a suggestion to book a time at a clinic if your problems persist.
There are obviously issues. Gods do we have issues. In general though, the quality of care here in Sweden is ranked higher than that of the U.S.
Honestly I don't see how it could be LOWER. I have a very dim view of the US Healthcare system, particularly where insurance companies are concerned.
Why do the surgery that only has a 93% chance of success that will give the person use of their legs, that costs $250,000 when a $300 wheelchair will get them from A to B.
Given that I have had to wait MONTHS for an appointment before, and my primary care Dr I have to schedule 2 months in advance, when people complain that they'll have to wait longer than a week to see a doctor I wonder who they fucked over to get Healthcare that quickly.
Wait times differ greatly depending on where you are and what kind of care you're seeking. I moved a couple of weeks ago, and decided to try and deal with my hot-flashes issue. Last Tuesday I opened an issue with my clinic, and I got an appointment for Thursday that week. In my old town I had a previously recurrent health issue that had me waiting for four months to see someone.
Sadly politics plays a part too. In the U.K. for example, if you're a trans person and you're seeking medical care your case will bounce around endlessly, and you might not ever see the care you need. Same procedures for cis-people can be organised really fast though. Philosophy tube made a really good video on the issue.
It's also not uncommon for clinics to be understaffed, and the workers to be overworked. This obviously can also lead to issues. I've a friend whose cousin died because they didn't recognise his type of cancer quick enough, despite him seeking help for it frequently. They honestly didn't really look for it until they faked him passing out, prompting them to take him seriously.
My problem with paying more taxes so everyone gets healthcare is that I put in the work, so that I get to see premium doctors. The socialized system lowers the incentive for there to be a spectrum of quality care. Instead you get the government standard, which is going to be like the DMV of healthcare. You are getting as good as can be what is offered to all, which is the antithesis of a capitalist system where your benefit from the fruits of your labor with a variety of options. The person on welfare with ten kids and no job shouldn’t get access to the same doctors as me, a working professional who knows not to have kids until I can afford them.
Gross.
What a long winded way to say "I am a piece of shit who likes to see others suffer, because feel I am superior."
Either you stand to unfairly gain from the current system, or you're an idiot who not only listens to companies like Walmart tell you about "welfare queens" but buys it hook line and sinker.
Or you're a troll, I guess.
Because if you think what you pay in premiums is less than what you'd pay with properly managed universal healthcare, you're simply stupid. Not ignorant, stupid. Unable or unwilling to learn.
The U.S. spends the most on healthcare in the world, yet doesn't have as good quality of healthcare as most countries with socialised healthcare. I get what you're saying, and even ignoring the obvious social issues it raises, the system you're defending just doesn't work unless you're obscenely rich.
If you're on Lemmy I don't think you're obscenely rich.
why do you hate poor people
Because they have kids when they can’t afford them and I don’t do that. They are a burden on society by making bad decisions. I don’t hate them, but feel that they shouldn’t get handouts for being failures.
Why do you hate rich people?
gestures wildly at the world ARE YOU FUCKING BLIND?
Pretend I am. Articulate an argument and help me see.
Because they're miserable egocentrics who would rather accrue wealth than help their fellow man.
Now, what have poor people done to deserve to suffer?
You seem to be arguing that rich people are bad people and poor people are good people, categorically.
Did I summarize that right?
i have answered your question, stop deflecting and answer mine if you want to be taken seriously.
Everyone else is (rightly) shooting on you for hating poor people. And there is some validity to what you're saying about some portion of the poor adults you're talking about. So the question you should be looking at is, "How do I get there to be less poor people?" Sure you could suggest a modest proposal, or you could promote ideas to minimize those poor children growing up to be poor adults. So what things make poor kids grow up to be poor adults? Well, the three biggest you're going to see are lack of education, poor health and nutrition, and poor housing security. If you look at the numbers for anywhere else in the world, you'll see that unless you're fabulously wealthy you will generally see better health outcomes from universal healthcare, and it will probably cost you less, too. Properly funding public education is another key factor in making sure those poor kids have every chance to not be poor adults. Whiles you're at it, keep funding those school lunch programs. Don't worry, for every dollar spent on those, the economy sees multiple dollars of improvement. Housing can get a bit expensive, and even if you just did those other two, you would be doing a lot to reduce the number of poor kids who grow up to be poor adults. Now, if you were so outrageous as to propose police reforms to the point where the kids are less afraid of the cops than they are of the local gangs, that might be a benefit, too. Granted, none of this is quick or easy.
When it comes down to it, poor people are always going to cost something to deal with. You can worry about health, education, housing and social assistance, or you can worry about policing, jail, and supports and corrections for children. Neither option is free.
I will gladly pay a union.
Always worth it. Workers unite! ✊️
And if the US educational system continues the way its going then you all are going to get more people who turn their noses up at unions because they lack the intellectual capacity to release that the short term loss in revenue will lead to long term benefits.
I've had to explain how tax brackets work to my parents multiple times. And my mother was a math substitute teacher for over a decade before quitting because educational work isn't worth the bullshit for little pay.
I will always vote for increased education budgets.
Pretty sure it's been in that territory for a dozen years or two already. 😞
Did your union negotiate you a 15% raise?
Did my union I joined when I got the job get me 15% more than the others already working there?
No.
Did I immediately get a little over 15% compared to similar job listing's in the area, AND more than 18% more than my previous job?
Yes.
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