8 ms·

Scabs are workers who cross the picket line, not customers. If you think boycotts are a good idea, ask the auto unions how well customers not buying cars worked

by Wohlf 7y ago

Scabs are workers who cross the picket line, not customers. If you think boycotts are a good idea, ask the auto unions how well customers not buying cars worked out for their members.

fucking_tragedy 7y ago
Customers boycotted Stop & Shop when workers went on strike earlier this year, and it worked out pretty well for the workers[1]. [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/22/us/stop-shop-strike.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/22/us/stop-shop-strike.html
- thecount122195 7y ago
  Not the first time New Englanders have boycotted a supermarket chain either. When Market Basket ousted their president and voted to give the shareholders dividends rather than reinvesting in the company[1]. Though these workers wern't on strike they were protesting what they felt like was the first step of the company getting gutted and sold. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_Basket_protests https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_Basket_protests
astura 7y ago
>Scabs are workers who cross the picket line, not customers. That's not the way unions themselves use the word. https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/24904995/boston-union-calls-yankees-scabs-crossing-hotel-picket-line https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/24904995/boston-union-ca... "Boston union calls Yankees 'scabs' for crossing hotel picket line"
- mc32 7y ago
  Only because it's a way to use and coöpt language for your cause, not because it's the way the public understands it. It's like AOC insunuating Pelosi racist. It's used for effect. Or, imagine a nurses' strike, but I as a patient don't honor their strike, am I a scab?
  - SauciestGNU 7y ago
    If you're a patient for something elective that could be delayed until after the conclusion of the labor action then yes, you're a scab. For emergency care? Probably not.
    - filoleg 7y ago
      A strikebreaker (sometimes derogatorily called a scab, blackleg, or knobstick) is a person who works despite an ongoing strike. [Scabs] are usually individuals who were not employed by the company prior to the trade union dispute, but rather hired after or during the strike to keep the organization running.[0] The parent comment was absolutely correct in saying that you are trying to co-opt the actual definition to serve your goals, as the word has nothing to do with being a customer. 0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strikebreaker https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strikebreaker
zaksoup 7y ago
Are you implying that the unions asked Americans to boycott cars that weren't foreign-assembled crossovers? Your comment seems to not really make much sense since UAW and other unions are currently involved in calling for boycotts of Mexico-assembled GM vehicles.
anarchodev 7y ago
While you're correct about the meaning of the word scab, there doesn't yet exist a word with appropriately caustic undertones to describe the customer who continues to patronize a service whose workers are striking -- and so we typically use that word for both situations. Welcome to the party.

by Wohlf 7y ago

Scabs are workers who cross the picket line, not customers. If you think boycotts are a good idea, ask the auto unions how well customers not buying cars worked out for their members.

fucking_tragedy 7y ago

Customers boycotted Stop & Shop when workers went on strike earlier this year, and it worked out pretty well for the workers[1]. [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/22/us/stop-shop-strike.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/22/us/stop-shop-strike.html

thecount122195 7y ago
Not the first time New Englanders have boycotted a supermarket chain either. When Market Basket ousted their president and voted to give the shareholders dividends rather than reinvesting in the company[1]. Though these workers wern't on strike they were protesting what they felt like was the first step of the company getting gutted and sold. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_Basket_protests https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_Basket_protests

astura 7y ago

>Scabs are workers who cross the picket line, not customers. That's not the way unions themselves use the word. https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/24904995/boston-union-calls-yankees-scabs-crossing-hotel-picket-line https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/24904995/boston-union-ca... "Boston union calls Yankees 'scabs' for crossing hotel picket line"

mc32 7y ago
Only because it's a way to use and coöpt language for your cause, not because it's the way the public understands it. It's like AOC insunuating Pelosi racist. It's used for effect. Or, imagine a nurses' strike, but I as a patient don't honor their strike, am I a scab?
- SauciestGNU 7y ago
  If you're a patient for something elective that could be delayed until after the conclusion of the labor action then yes, you're a scab. For emergency care? Probably not.
  - filoleg 7y ago
    A strikebreaker (sometimes derogatorily called a scab, blackleg, or knobstick) is a person who works despite an ongoing strike. [Scabs] are usually individuals who were not employed by the company prior to the trade union dispute, but rather hired after or during the strike to keep the organization running.[0] The parent comment was absolutely correct in saying that you are trying to co-opt the actual definition to serve your goals, as the word has nothing to do with being a customer. 0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strikebreaker https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strikebreaker

zaksoup 7y ago

Are you implying that the unions asked Americans to boycott cars that weren't foreign-assembled crossovers? Your comment seems to not really make much sense since UAW and other unions are currently involved in calling for boycotts of Mexico-assembled GM vehicles.

anarchodev 7y ago

While you're correct about the meaning of the word scab, there doesn't yet exist a word with appropriately caustic undertones to describe the customer who continues to patronize a service whose workers are striking -- and so we typically use that word for both situations. Welcome to the party.