In some countries/industries you have to be a member of an union by the law. Just by working in industry, union is forced upon you by law, and you have to pay their fees. The only way out, is to form your own union, with all paperwork. It really sucks for self employed folks.
That doesn’t have any relevance for American unions, but people seems to think any issue they ever had with a union applies to every union.
I’d suggest you read up on “fake unions” it’s 1984 level double talk shit.
There are also fake unions in the United States in the cannabis industry. Pretty grim situation.
However those are paperwork exercises without any leverage that run into legal issues inside the US. “Anyone who signed a labor peace agreement with ProTech Local 33 has 90 days from the ruling to sign a new pact with a legitimate union or risk losing their license”
The Chinese version is stable as they are being actively propped up by the state.
The Lack of Genuine Worker Representation
The All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) is China's only legal trade union, and it is required by the Trade Union Law to "uphold the leadership of the Communist Party." Because one of the ACFTU's priorities is to organize and mobilize "vast numbers of workers to make contributions to the sound and rapid development of the economy," and to foster "harmony in labour relations" so that such development may take place, the vast majority of "trade unions" in enterprises effectively remain under the de facto control of management.
https://www.cecc.gov/publications/commission-analysis/recent...
The All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) is still the only legally recognized trade union.
That sounds like the Republican Party.
Screen Actors Guild
Writers Guild of America
Directors Guild of America
NFL Players Association
Now, I'll give you, SAG, WGA, and DGA don't control all film and television production and there are plenty of non-union jobs available. But most of the film and television you consume is union work.
Every player in the NFL is required to be a member of the NFLPA.
The others, though, yes.
There is a union for coaches and it's entirely voluntary. Which is why you won't see Belichick in most Madden games as his contract has to be negotiated separately.
The thing about the "hollywood" unions is that they are very supportive of the others. So when the recent writer's strike was taking place, the actors also supported them as well as the directors by not working without their writers.
If the auto union workers strike, the steel workers aren't stopping work in solidarity. If the stevedores go on strike, the truck drivers don't go on strike in solidarity.
American labor law was written when unions were much stronger. It assumes strong unions and strong employers in conflict, with the NLRB as referee. That hasn't been true in the US for decades now.
No they're not. It's optional.
Because of this, there's free management training, free skilled training, and holiday and pay minimums. Plus, free advice and legal support for workers.
- Closed shop - must be member of union to be hired.
- Union shop - must join union when hired.
- Agency shop - don't have to join union, but have to pay a fee to it.
- Open shop - don't have to join union, but can.
- Yellow-dog contract - not allowed to join union.[1]
The two extremes are mostly illegal in the US.
Closed shops and union shops just seem like an arrangement between employers and unions, not something forced upon you "by law"?
So if your shop is more efficient than the union shop, you don't get to compete on that price savings. It tilts the market towards the unions.
The first statement is true in a few industries, but the second statements are false in any industry in which the first statement applies. If union membership is mandated, you don't get a choice in the union you join.
And for the last bit about self-employed folks: the only industries which mandate union membership in which it is also possible to be self-employed are the Hollywood guilds, which set compensation minimums. Hollywood union members are free to negotiate higher compensation, and many do.
The worst thing about all the anti-union FUD that gets spread on HN is that they assume that tech workers would be in the same kind of union as janitors, when the most similar structure would be the Hollywood guilds.