5 ms·

I don't see a solution that puts a swift end to this. The power asymmetry between employers and workers is so vast that situations like these are inevitable. W

I don't see a solution that puts a swift end to this. The power asymmetry between employers and workers is so vast that situations like these are inevitable. We can't continue to live in this fantasy where companies have so much power over workers and their futures. But changing this involves organizing labor, which is deeply stigmatized in the US.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
throwawaylalala 7y ago
They can call in sick.
- amarshall 7y ago
  Calling in sick in medicine typically gets one of your peers called in instead, putting them at-risk instead of you for that shift.
  - joshstrange 7y ago
    And this is the shitty part, nurses have to choose between their own safety and that of their coworkers/patients. I am extremely worried for some close friends of mine who are nurses and have either preexisting conditions or are older. Those administrators can either get on the floor with the same lack of PPE or STFU in my opinion, it's downright criminal what they are saying and I hope when this is over they will be held to account.
lonelappde 7y ago
Doctors are the strongest guild in USA. They have the legal power to enforce a chronic shortage of doctors. That's why why PAs were invented.
- save_ferris 7y ago
  You're proving my point. If one of the most powerful labor groups in the economy is being subjected to ruthless firing for speaking out on critical health issues during a national crisis, then what does that say about the state of labor in the US in general?
  - deskamess 7y ago
    Are they (Doctors) misunderstanding the environment? Surely in this particular case, firing the Doctor looks bad on the hospital. Leverage/PR is with the Doctor. Perhaps I am reading it wrong.
    - save_ferris 7y ago
      Negative PR is a poor tool to bring about meaningful change as it works very inconsistently. Zoom, Facebook, Equifax, etc. have all experienced sustained negative PR with little effect to their bottom line or operational structure. PR is also purchased, and companies spend heavily to rehab their image online. Hospitals also are fairly well insulated from negative PR as well since they don't operate in a free market, which prevents patients from being able to choose to go elsewhere.
  - Bombthecat 7y ago
    That the lack of ppe can't be that bad. A cynical would say.
- checktheama 7y ago
  I think you're probably right about the guild part. The chronic shortage of doctors? Well, that's because they're perhaps the strongest guild. The AMA puts a cap on the supply of doctors (via # of residency slots they allow). The PAs were invented so that another class of workers could do the work of doctors without jeopardizing the doctors' pay or status.
  - MiroF 7y ago
    It appears that you are stating the exact same as the above comment, no?
predictmktegirl 7y ago
We have a unionist running for president but the electorate doesn't seem to want that at the moment. I think we're witnessing another symptom of growing inequality. Several billionaires such as Ray Dalio have rightly remarked that this is a dangerous and potentially destabilizing development in our society. What is most troubling to me is that it appears we would rather blame others instead of trying to solve the underlying issues.
- save_ferris 7y ago
  > We have a unionist running for president but the electorate doesn’t seem to want that at the moment. I’d argue that Sanders’ lack of success in the polls is due more to voters’ perceived safety in choosing a moderate to beat Trump rather than disapproval of Sanders’ policies. Everyone has become a pundit and believes that the electorate will only tolerate a moderate while many of those same voters voice approval of progressive agenda items like Medicare For All. Americans are seeing now more than ever just how much they’re valued when our system fails. Unfortunately, it’s going to result in hundreds of thousands and deaths and ruined futures for so many more.
  - gitrog 7y ago
    If you're going to downvote save_ferris, at least have the decency to give a rebuttal?
bilbo0s 7y ago
The masks thing is not about a power asymmetry, it's about extended use protocols. There is a critical shortage of equipment, and the hospital has to make it last. Now why hospitals are demanding that doctors keep quiet about the consequences of emergency operations under extended use protocols? That's an entirely separate issue. Those hospitals should be named and shamed. But I completely understand restricting PPE to needed areas. The solution to that is to manufacture more PPE. But if we're not going to do that then extended use protocols are just military sense.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

throwawaylalala 7y ago

They can call in sick.

amarshall 7y ago
Calling in sick in medicine typically gets one of your peers called in instead, putting them at-risk instead of you for that shift.
- joshstrange 7y ago
  And this is the shitty part, nurses have to choose between their own safety and that of their coworkers/patients. I am extremely worried for some close friends of mine who are nurses and have either preexisting conditions or are older. Those administrators can either get on the floor with the same lack of PPE or STFU in my opinion, it's downright criminal what they are saying and I hope when this is over they will be held to account.

lonelappde 7y ago

Doctors are the strongest guild in USA. They have the legal power to enforce a chronic shortage of doctors. That's why why PAs were invented.

save_ferris 7y ago
You're proving my point. If one of the most powerful labor groups in the economy is being subjected to ruthless firing for speaking out on critical health issues during a national crisis, then what does that say about the state of labor in the US in general?
- deskamess 7y ago
  Are they (Doctors) misunderstanding the environment? Surely in this particular case, firing the Doctor looks bad on the hospital. Leverage/PR is with the Doctor. Perhaps I am reading it wrong.
  - save_ferris 7y ago
    Negative PR is a poor tool to bring about meaningful change as it works very inconsistently. Zoom, Facebook, Equifax, etc. have all experienced sustained negative PR with little effect to their bottom line or operational structure. PR is also purchased, and companies spend heavily to rehab their image online. Hospitals also are fairly well insulated from negative PR as well since they don't operate in a free market, which prevents patients from being able to choose to go elsewhere.
- Bombthecat 7y ago
  That the lack of ppe can't be that bad. A cynical would say.
checktheama 7y ago
I think you're probably right about the guild part. The chronic shortage of doctors? Well, that's because they're perhaps the strongest guild. The AMA puts a cap on the supply of doctors (via # of residency slots they allow). The PAs were invented so that another class of workers could do the work of doctors without jeopardizing the doctors' pay or status.
- MiroF 7y ago
  It appears that you are stating the exact same as the above comment, no?

predictmktegirl 7y ago

We have a unionist running for president but the electorate doesn't seem to want that at the moment. I think we're witnessing another symptom of growing inequality. Several billionaires such as Ray Dalio have rightly remarked that this is a dangerous and potentially destabilizing development in our society. What is most troubling to me is that it appears we would rather blame others instead of trying to solve the underlying issues.

save_ferris 7y ago
> We have a unionist running for president but the electorate doesn’t seem to want that at the moment. I’d argue that Sanders’ lack of success in the polls is due more to voters’ perceived safety in choosing a moderate to beat Trump rather than disapproval of Sanders’ policies. Everyone has become a pundit and believes that the electorate will only tolerate a moderate while many of those same voters voice approval of progressive agenda items like Medicare For All. Americans are seeing now more than ever just how much they’re valued when our system fails. Unfortunately, it’s going to result in hundreds of thousands and deaths and ruined futures for so many more.
- gitrog 7y ago
  If you're going to downvote save_ferris, at least have the decency to give a rebuttal?

bilbo0s 7y ago

The masks thing is not about a power asymmetry, it's about extended use protocols. There is a critical shortage of equipment, and the hospital has to make it last. Now why hospitals are demanding that doctors keep quiet about the consequences of emergency operations under extended use protocols? That's an entirely separate issue. Those hospitals should be named and shamed. But I completely understand restricting PPE to needed areas. The solution to that is to manufacture more PPE. But if we're not going to do that then extended use protocols are just military sense.