4 ms·
> If the company's in a competitive market This typically translates to "the company's successfully lobbied for trade agreements that allow us to force our dom
by mullingitover 5y ago
> If the company's in a competitive market
This typically translates to "the company's successfully lobbied for trade agreements that allow us to force our domestic labor to compete against impoverished foreign workers in a developing nation with nonexistent environmental and safety standards," which is a race to the bottom for everyone but aristocrats.
I think the problem in the US is that the country is deeply right-wing when it comes to labor policy. The union/management relationship in the US is designed to be adversarial. In Germany, it's legally mandated for unions to be represented at the board level, and that kind of cooperative relationship's results speak for themselves. Here, that idea would be considered tantamount to bolshevism.
- CountSessine 5y agoI wonder what most labour activists in the US would think of German worker councils, though? Works councils are basically company unions (which are loathed in US labour for some good reasons), but they are strengthened and protected through legislation. It doesn't stop at representation at the board level either - union busting is illegal and worker council reps enjoy job protection. But the flip side of this is that the union can't engineer a labour monopoly the way the UAW did in the 60's - the union and its employees are incentivized to keep the company healthy and competitive rather than just screwing over consumers by raising prices across the industry and lobbying for trade barriers.