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I don’t quite understand the general anti big-tech-co/pro union sentiment on HN. Like somehow prioritizing engagement makes a group unforgivably evil, but liter
by harles 5y ago
I don’t quite understand the general anti big-tech-co/pro union sentiment on HN. Like somehow prioritizing engagement makes a group unforgivably evil, but literally hiring hit men to take out your rivals is no biggie.
- m_ke 5y agoWhich hit men are you speaking of? The only person that I recall hiring hit men recently was a prince who has also pumped billions of dollars into Silicon Valley "unicorns".
- harles 5y agoJock Yablonski + his family and Jimmy Hoffa (who likely did the same himself). They’ve gotten significantly less violent in recent decades but I really doubt they have knocked off the organized crime.
- kelseyfrog 5y agoOne way to understand this would be to ask people in the form of a question. Dear HN people who form this category, why do you demonize big tech while supporting unions who have killed rivals?
- harles 5y agoFair point. So HN folks who support unions who have previously engaged in hired killings but are against big tech which (to my knowledge) have not done so, why do you support one but not the other?
- claudiulodro 5y ago> literally hiring hit men to take out your rivals is no biggie. Like the Pinkertons?
- harles 5y agoI’m not aware of the Pinkertons ever hiring or acting as hitmen. Is there a citation for this?
- Frondo 5y agoFrom https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_union_busting_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_union_busting_in_th... -- "Pinkertons and militia at Homestead, 1892 - One of the first union busting agencies was the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, which came to public attention as the result of a shooting war that broke out between strikers and three hundred Pinkerton agents during the Homestead Strike of 1892." Maybe not "hitmen" as such, but certainly the violent enforcer arm of capital hired to attack striking workers.
- harles 5y agoI’m not sure how these situations are comparable. Balancing property rights with use of force vs actively hiring hitmen. The former led to new laws and the latter seems to somehow still be celebrated.
- erik_seaberg 5y agoIt was terrorism, not a contract dispute. They invaded the factory and threatened deadly force against not only their employer’s reps but also police.