5 ms·

I think "Scab" in this context refers to non union workers employers would bring in to end a strike or bust up a union.

winter_blue 11y ago
How on earth does the context imply "non union workers employers would bring in to end a strike"? The context does not say anything of the sort. FYI: I believe employers are supposed to attest that there is no strike going on at their workplace, and the H-1 or H-2 visa holders are not being hired to end a strike. I remember reading this regulation somewhere. That being said, I've never heard of strikes occurring in STEM fields.
- dalke 11y ago
  You understood neither the original term "scab", as short for "scab worker", which is a derogatory term for strikebreaker, nor the use in this context as a metaphor, in this case likely meaning for people willing to work at cut-rate wage to replace a worker who thinks those wages are unjust. For example, originally "carpetbagger" was used specifically for a Northern who went the South after the US Civil war, and were seen as doing so to advance personal power or profits. It's since acquired a much broader, though still pejorative, meaning. Since you don't have much experience with the term, you might need to research more about how it's used in the broader context. Some strikes in STEM fields include the Boeing machinists strike of 2008 by the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, the 2007 United Space Alliance strike by members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, and the 2015 WCAU Photographers and Camera Operators Strike by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Probably the most famous STEM strike in the US is the air traffic controller strike by PATCO in 1981. For smaller examples just from 2015, here's a partial strike by medical physicists in Australia - http://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/un-doctored/2015/june-2015/02/Medical-physicists-intensify-strike-action.aspx http://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/un-doctored/2015/june-2015/02/Medi... . Here's a strike by medical doctors at University of California campuses in Southern California - http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-doctors-strike-uc-20150411-story.html http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-doctors-strike-u... . Here's a programmer strike in India - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kozhikode/Computer-programmers-strike-hits-CU-admissions/articleshow/47476998.cms http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kozhikode/Computer-p... .
hitekker 11y ago
That is both the context connotation and also the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strikebreaker https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strikebreaker wikipedia definition. The parent comment is seeking out a way to be offended, and perhaps more importantly, to denigrate a person whose opinion the parent disagrees with.

How on earth does the context imply "non union workers employers would bring in to end a strike"? The context does not say anything of the sort. FYI: I believe employers are supposed to attest that there is no strike going on at their workplace, and the H-1 or H-2 visa holders are not being hired to end a strike. I remember reading this regulation somewhere. That being said, I've never heard of strikes occurring in STEM fields.

dalke 11y ago
You understood neither the original term "scab", as short for "scab worker", which is a derogatory term for strikebreaker, nor the use in this context as a metaphor, in this case likely meaning for people willing to work at cut-rate wage to replace a worker who thinks those wages are unjust. For example, originally "carpetbagger" was used specifically for a Northern who went the South after the US Civil war, and were seen as doing so to advance personal power or profits. It's since acquired a much broader, though still pejorative, meaning. Since you don't have much experience with the term, you might need to research more about how it's used in the broader context. Some strikes in STEM fields include the Boeing machinists strike of 2008 by the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, the 2007 United Space Alliance strike by members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, and the 2015 WCAU Photographers and Camera Operators Strike by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Probably the most famous STEM strike in the US is the air traffic controller strike by PATCO in 1981. For smaller examples just from 2015, here's a partial strike by medical physicists in Australia - http://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/un-doctored/2015/june-2015/02/Medical-physicists-intensify-strike-action.aspx http://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/un-doctored/2015/june-2015/02/Medi... . Here's a strike by medical doctors at University of California campuses in Southern California - http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-doctors-strike-uc-20150411-story.html http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-doctors-strike-u... . Here's a programmer strike in India - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kozhikode/Computer-programmers-strike-hits-CU-admissions/articleshow/47476998.cms http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kozhikode/Computer-p... .

hitekker 11y ago

That is both the context connotation and also the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strikebreaker https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strikebreaker wikipedia definition. The parent comment is seeking out a way to be offended, and perhaps more importantly, to denigrate a person whose opinion the parent disagrees with.