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> Is there any legal precedent for what governments would do? There is a long history of the government using the military to break strikes and fill the labor

> Is there any legal precedent for what governments would do? There is a long history of the government using the military to break strikes and fill the labor gap for things deemed necessary for national security. I'm not sure Amazon warehouses are in the same class as coal mines though...

leetcrew 7y ago
not quite, but delivery services are extremely important to the vulnerable population right now. many of these people are old and, as we all know, these are the people that vote most consistently. no sitting politician wants to be the one who sat on their hands while a strike prevented the elderly from receiving their hand sanitizer order.
- srtjstjsj 7y ago
  People shut in at home don't need hand sanitizer.
  - leetcrew 7y ago
    I mean that's sort of beside the point; it only matters whether they think they do. the older people I know are aggressively sanitizing stuff whenever they have anything delivered.
caymanjim 7y ago
The government would absolutely step in and stop a strike at Amazon right now, or just about any other business. Anyone trying to strike right now would be run out of town by citizens with torches as well. It might sound like a good idea in the abstract, but if you factor in the emotional state of the country, people would be up in arms and those on strike would get zero sympathy.
- dillonmckay 7y ago
  I would be sympathetic.
- reedwolf 7y ago
  What would the Government do? Force people to go back to work at gunpoint? I'd love to see them try.
  - xxpor 7y ago
    The state of education in this country about the history of the labor movement is seriously depressing. I'm sure that's intentional though.
    - kortilla 7y ago
      No, it’s covered. You might just be shocked to learn that children don’t really care about collective bargaining history anymore than the dates of important battles in WW2.
      - xxpor 7y ago
        We covered the Triangle Shirtwaist fire, the muckrakers, and Roosevelt's war against trusts, but I don't ever recall hearing the name Eugene Debs, or say the Haymarket massacre.
        tomcatfish 7y ago
        > but I don't ever recall hearing the name Eugene Debs, or say the Haymarket massacre. These are both covered in the popular APUSH American History courses.
        xxpor 7y ago
        I'd believe that. How many people end up taking APUSH though?
  - grogenaut 7y ago
    With the coal strikes they threatened to draft every coal miner and nationalize the mines. That would likely be the same methodology used now. But I think we're a bunch of disassociated internet people talking about how a bunch of people who just got double time should be unhappy.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- avip 7y ago
  Torches are 25$ apiece now and you can only get them at Amazon.
TeMPOraL 7y ago
> I'm not sure Amazon warehouses are in the same class as coal mines though... Essential for food security and biosafety? I'd say the same class.
- dahfizz 7y ago
  That's quite a stretch. Amazon is not the sole seller of any of it's goods, and calling hand sanitizer essential for national security would not go over well...
  - TeMPOraL 7y ago
    Ask yourself again in two weeks whether it's a stretch.
srtjstjsj 7y ago
> There is a long history of the government using the military to break strikes and fill the labor gap for things deemed necessary yes > for national security not so much. More for capitalist profit. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_union_busting_in_the_United_States#Union_busting_with_police_and_military_force https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_union_busting_in_th...
- dahfizz 7y ago
  It's very easy to look back 100 years and say "the governments actions helped rich people! Capitalism!!!!" But it's really not so simple. If you had a angry man blocking your driveway and refusing to leave, you would call the police. If there were hundreds, you would like to be able to call the military. I'm no lover of government, and certainly it was fumbling and violent when performing it's duty (as always). That said, the purpose of breaking a strike is to allow people who want to work (strike breakers) to do business with people who want to employ them. A core function of government is to facilitate mutual transactions. There's nothing inherently immoral about that.

leetcrew 7y ago

not quite, but delivery services are extremely important to the vulnerable population right now. many of these people are old and, as we all know, these are the people that vote most consistently. no sitting politician wants to be the one who sat on their hands while a strike prevented the elderly from receiving their hand sanitizer order.

srtjstjsj 7y ago
People shut in at home don't need hand sanitizer.
- leetcrew 7y ago
  I mean that's sort of beside the point; it only matters whether they think they do. the older people I know are aggressively sanitizing stuff whenever they have anything delivered.

caymanjim 7y ago

The government would absolutely step in and stop a strike at Amazon right now, or just about any other business. Anyone trying to strike right now would be run out of town by citizens with torches as well. It might sound like a good idea in the abstract, but if you factor in the emotional state of the country, people would be up in arms and those on strike would get zero sympathy.

dillonmckay 7y ago
I would be sympathetic.
reedwolf 7y ago
What would the Government do? Force people to go back to work at gunpoint? I'd love to see them try.
- xxpor 7y ago
  The state of education in this country about the history of the labor movement is seriously depressing. I'm sure that's intentional though.
  - kortilla 7y ago
    No, it’s covered. You might just be shocked to learn that children don’t really care about collective bargaining history anymore than the dates of important battles in WW2.
    - xxpor 7y ago
      We covered the Triangle Shirtwaist fire, the muckrakers, and Roosevelt's war against trusts, but I don't ever recall hearing the name Eugene Debs, or say the Haymarket massacre.
      - tomcatfish 7y ago
        > but I don't ever recall hearing the name Eugene Debs, or say the Haymarket massacre. These are both covered in the popular APUSH American History courses.
        xxpor 7y ago
        I'd believe that. How many people end up taking APUSH though?
- grogenaut 7y ago
  With the coal strikes they threatened to draft every coal miner and nationalize the mines. That would likely be the same methodology used now. But I think we're a bunch of disassociated internet people talking about how a bunch of people who just got double time should be unhappy.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
avip 7y ago
Torches are 25$ apiece now and you can only get them at Amazon.

TeMPOraL 7y ago

> I'm not sure Amazon warehouses are in the same class as coal mines though... Essential for food security and biosafety? I'd say the same class.

dahfizz 7y ago
That's quite a stretch. Amazon is not the sole seller of any of it's goods, and calling hand sanitizer essential for national security would not go over well...
- TeMPOraL 7y ago
  Ask yourself again in two weeks whether it's a stretch.

srtjstjsj 7y ago

> There is a long history of the government using the military to break strikes and fill the labor gap for things deemed necessary yes > for national security not so much. More for capitalist profit. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_union_busting_in_the_United_States#Union_busting_with_police_and_military_force https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_union_busting_in_th...

dahfizz 7y ago
It's very easy to look back 100 years and say "the governments actions helped rich people! Capitalism!!!!" But it's really not so simple. If you had a angry man blocking your driveway and refusing to leave, you would call the police. If there were hundreds, you would like to be able to call the military. I'm no lover of government, and certainly it was fumbling and violent when performing it's duty (as always). That said, the purpose of breaking a strike is to allow people who want to work (strike breakers) to do business with people who want to employ them. A core function of government is to facilitate mutual transactions. There's nothing inherently immoral about that.