Skip to main content

Starbucks & Amazon Workers Avoid Craft Union Contracts

When Starbucks and Amazon go union they should have no crafts, the union contract should be one union for all Starbucks shops. But, if there are crafts, their contracts should end on the same date or there will be no power for them to weld and there will be no power for sympathy strikes. A crucial elements since Starbucks and Amazon have so many stores or warehouses throughout the United States, it is imperative that the different entities stay in contact with each other. The employees from both these businesses work hard, and they deserve the security of a union. The other way is to not have contracts, just sign a truce for a period of time. This could remedy some of mistakes in past years, such as the meat packing plants, which had 56 different craft union contracts. So, when the craft contracts expired at different times leaving the different crafts with no power and no help from the other unions within the same business. The same thing happened to the street car workers. First they went on a strike with all workers and they won their fight. Then they got the bright idea to split up the employees by craft, such as the oilers, drivers, electric workers, etc., and have each craft organize their own contracts expiring at different times. When it came time to negotiate a new contract, they had no power or strength and got their butts kicked and endured a humiliating defeat. Don’t let Starbucks or Amazon chop up the union contracts by job descriptions, which can lead to division and workers pitted against each other with the only winner being the corporate owners. If done right, and with a strike imminent, all the workers can just put their hands in their pockets, stopping work, or they can start by slowing down the work pace little by little, and it won’t take long for the bosses to get the message. But all workers must be involved so no one person can be fired. This is from the history of the old International Workers of the World, one of the most feared organizations of labor and they are still here, operating around the world on behalf of workers. They fought local, state and federal governments and also the old Pinkertons detective agency and all the strike busters with the help of the National Guard. So, it is not easy, but it can be done and a union is the only way to a better life for the worker and their family. Unions take care of the workers and by extension their families with pensions, healthcare, good wages and safe working environments.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Now is the Time to Prepare

I hope that I am wrong, but what I see at this time is our unions are going to be in the fight of their existence. This is the most perilous time of our life. The life we had is threatened like never before. Unions are the largest organized group of people who can save our country if things keep going the way they are heading at this time. We need to all stand together for power, but we each must prepare and plan to take care of ourselves and our families. We can fight the big fight and not be distracted by worry about things that can and should already be taken care of. For instance, stashing at least one month’s pay and at least a month or even a year’s worth of food, whether the food is staples (pasta, rice, canned goods) and meat or chicken in the freezer. Keep your vehicles' tanks full and if possible a gas can full. It’s in your best interest to also save money for house or rent payments plus extra. This is not new thinking for us old trade workers who had to prepare when...

They'll Be Coming For All Of Us

Yes, they are coming for us. Workers need to have one another’s backs because no one else will. Neither the broader labor movement nor the Democratic party are prepared to meet the urgency of this moment. So it’s going to fall upon the rest of us to mount a real resistance against Trump’s authoritarian takeover. We’re going to have to get our hands dirty. I don’t care if you have a good, well-paying union job and you are in the middle class now—if you see a worker being dragged out of his workplace regardless of how skilled the job and potentially taken to another country, you should be ready to be there for that worker. When I.C.E. shows up, gather around and shame them into leaving. It has worked in other places. America is sleep walking into authoritarianism, and if there’s anyone out there who is a member of a labor union that is safe—at this point— and doesn’t think this applies to them. Understand that they just haven’t gotten to you yet. They’re coming for all of us. There are ...

We Are the Power

Looks like there is hope for the union workers and our country for the union people who believed Trump’s lies, who now know that he was just full of bullshitting all of you. He said the he would bring more work to this country, but took away money from job projects, and the ones that were too late to stop, Trump put his name on it and is taking credit for the work done. Trump is not a union supporter and the people who work for him do not support unions either because they all get their money from big corporations, who are notoriously anti-union. The entire GOP is bought and paid for by large corporations, such as Home Depot, Walmart, Chamber of Commerce and many other nonunion selfish companies. We all have a chance to change things and take it all back if we dare by voting blue in the mid-term elections. If we vote for things that are what we really need like healthcare, good pensions, living wages, voting rights, more affordable housing, and rent control. In other words, let’s get a...