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Labour unions are backed by force of law, and campaigned primarily to get their members more money or benefits, not stop "unethical" behaviour (they invariably
by zigzigzag 10y ago
Labour unions are backed by force of law, and campaigned primarily to get their members more money or benefits, not stop "unethical" behaviour (they invariably claim they're motivated by safety or conditions or whatever, but in practice it almost never is).
- WickyNilliams 10y agoYou could regard underpaying employees as unethical behaviour in itself. Not entirely unrelated
- rmc 10y agoCounter-example: In the 1980s, Irish workers in a large supermarket refused to handle South African goods because of apartheid https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/africa/how-11-striking-irish-workers-helped-to-fight-apartheid-1.1618635 https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/africa/how-11-striking...
- tptacek 10y agoYou mean besides Polish Solidarity?
- zigzigzag 10y agoSolidarity was by no means a normal trade union comparable to those in the west. It was directly supported by the US Government, not confined to any particular industry, was illegal rather than supported by pro-union laws (as is often the case in the west) and existed in an oppressive dictatorship not a democracy.
- tptacek 10y agoYes: things were much harder for Solidarity, and it not only prevailed but helped break the Iron Curtain.