5 ms·
> This in turn means that the pay that people recieve is worth whatever the working conditions are, and people can quit and go find easier job at any time. Sou
by gjulianm 6y ago
> This in turn means that the pay that people recieve is worth whatever the working conditions are, and people can quit and go find easier job at any time.
Sounds easy but I assume it isn't so much. Applying regular market rules to the job market is misguided. First, people need a job to live. If all available offers are starvation wages, people can't just say "well I won't work for this". Second, changing job is a big risk regarding healthcare and job security. Some people might prefer lower pay but higher stability rather than slightly higher pay but with a high risk of being fired. Third, different people have different jobs available. For unskilled labor there will always be more people than jobs, and there will always be people that need a job now doing whatever so they don't lose their home. That will push wages down even in an environment of low unemployment.
> Secondly, the number of reports of poor working conditions are far and few in between.
There are quite a lot of reports in multiple countries and outlets. Taking into account that it's not easy for workers to put their story out there and that they take a risk by doing so, I wouldn't dismiss the evidence so quickly.
> When workers realize they can take it easy and keep their jobs, productivity will go down.
Or go up. Evidence is mixed and depends on the setting. It's not "undoubtely".
> While its true that worker conditions will improve, the problem is along will come Walmart thats not as much in the spotlight, and offer better service and shipping while having shit working conditions,
Walmart employees could make an union too.
> Unionization is messing with the free market, which never leads to good outcomes historically.
Things unions have historically done (some of them haven't reached yet the US precisely because of the lack of unionization):
- Limit weekly working hours.
- Weekends
- Paid vacations.
- Protect workers in bad situations (pregnancy, disability, injuries).
That's just in general. Go into actual unions and see what things they do.
Also, they're not messing with the free market. The job market is not a free market, there's an extreme asymmetry of power and information between a worker and a company. Most workers can't afford to lose their jobs, most companies can afford to lose a worker. By splitting workers they can apply individual pressure to gain an advantage that they couldn't get if workers actually coordinated. Unions restore the power balance and give workers the power to negotiate the conditions in an equal setting.