cross-posted from: https://lemmit.online/post/1011094
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The original was posted on /r/aboringdystopia by /u/bisexualbestfriend on 2023-10-04 15:06:06.
this post was submitted on 06 Oct 2023
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Isn’t this illegal?
Corporations do it, so yes but functionally hell no.
It's only illegal if you don't have enough money to influence the labor board. :P
It's only illegal for them to lie. This fits in the very narrow gray area of what they're allowed to say because technically it's not untrue. No contract in the world guarantees anything will or will not happen. A contract gives you the ammunition to sue the person you entered into the agreement with, if that person (or corporation) violates the agreed upon terms. So a union contract still gives you leverage and power over a corporation, but technically it doesn't guarantee the terms of the contract will happen.
Edit to clarify: I'm not suggesting the anti-union propaganda has any validity. Just that they get away with this because technically it's not lying.
Since non-union workers already don't have any pay guarantee, the only difference would be you have someone who is literally paid to act in your interest that you get to talk to instead of your corporate overlords. And all your fellow workers will stop production to guarantee that Amazon doesn't get any work done until they agree to raise wages.
So basically they're saying, "why would you join a union because even if you manage to negotiate good terms, you can't trust that we will keep our word"?
THIS IS THE ACTUAL TAKEAWAY
No, you missed it. If there was a strike or an agreement couldn't be reached, in that way, you are not paid by the company & there are no guarantees the union has the money, means to pay you in full or at all. In this (rare) instance, they are technically correct & not lying.
Yeah, I thought it was wildly illegal for a company to try and directly influence union action?
No, they are free to speak & have policies & put up little posters. At WalMart ~15 yrs ago we were made to watch an anti-union video & it basically amounted to assurances that we can trust MGMT with anything; they will be fair & do the right thing. Lol
Now I don't know when it came about, think it's relatively new, but if there's a union trying to form & the company goes out of their way to "bust" it, the union is supposed to be automatically recognized. IIRC.
these kinds of posters are only illegal in the state of Minnesota, and even in MN that law was just passed this year
It’s not the posters alone, it’s that they’re located with a voting machine
Secret ballot elections are never held at the employer's place of work, they are mailed to employees and then tallied at the NLRB office. That machine is something else entirely
Except in one of Amazon’s cases they absolutely did, complete with Amazon security guard. It’s like they don’t give 2 shits about the law
It's not illegal; it's free speech. In their own business. It is incorrect, it is false propaganda, but it's free speech.
That said, Amazon especially has engaged in enough illegal or at very least highly highly questionable practices in attempts to avoided workers unionizing. Such as: they had an agreement with the city to speed up a stop light, so organizers working in the parking lot didn't have free time to effectively talk to workers leaving.
You can get in serious trouble, fired, for talking about unionizing at work in their workplace. Their rules. But the parking lot is fair game. So...they tilted the board to favor them, even there.