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No, that's not the only alternative. Where did you come by this defeatist perspective? Another alternative is union representation to confront the firing before

by rexpop 3y ago

No, that's not the only alternative. Where did you come by this defeatist perspective? Another alternative is union representation to confront the firing before it happens.

greedo 3y ago
I agree with unionization, but I was discussing the current status quo for the majority of workers in the US. Hopefully unions will both grow in number and be strengthened.
- rexpop 3y ago
  Oh, I see. I misunderstood. Perhaps the fault lies with my ideological bent, or with the English language. When you said "The alternative is to just say 'too bad' and let companies get away with this shit" there were no pronouns or whatever indicating the subject of the verbs "say" and "let". I assumed the subject of the sentence was a broad "we, as a society, over the next several decades", whereas I'm now realizing you meant "one, as an individual caught in this particularly tragic moment." Thank you for clarifying.
buffington 3y ago
Sure, unions are another solution, but let's be clear: A union only works if you were part of the union before you were fired unjustly. Without that, "too bad" is indeed often the best you can do. I was once in the hospital with acute pancreatitis. It was unplanned, and would have killed me had I not made it to the ER. The company I was working for at the time "let me go" because I'd gone two days without showing up to work. Given that during those two days I was unconscious and nearly dead, that would have been impossible to do. When I spoke to a lawyer, they were very clear that the company had broken the law (FMLA protects people in situations like mine), but that fighting it would cost me a lot of money, and that there was no guarantee I'd win. I fought them anyways. I spent months fighting them, and spent thousands of dollars. The company ended up receiving a fine for less that what I paid in lawyer fees, and that's it. No payout for me, no resolution. The state felt the case was at least strong enough to justify the fine, but not strong enough to justify anything else. So, yeah, sometimes "too bad" is about all we get.
- rexpop 3y ago
  Yeah, seems like you could've benefitted from a union, back then. They would've at least negotiated severence while you were unconscious. > A union only works if you were part of the union Likewise, shoes only fit if you wear them, medicine only works if you take it, and wings only provide lift if you push air over them.

by rexpop 3y ago

No, that's not the only alternative. Where did you come by this defeatist perspective? Another alternative is union representation to confront the firing before it happens.

greedo 3y ago

I agree with unionization, but I was discussing the current status quo for the majority of workers in the US. Hopefully unions will both grow in number and be strengthened.

rexpop 3y ago
Oh, I see. I misunderstood. Perhaps the fault lies with my ideological bent, or with the English language. When you said "The alternative is to just say 'too bad' and let companies get away with this shit" there were no pronouns or whatever indicating the subject of the verbs "say" and "let". I assumed the subject of the sentence was a broad "we, as a society, over the next several decades", whereas I'm now realizing you meant "one, as an individual caught in this particularly tragic moment." Thank you for clarifying.

buffington 3y ago

Sure, unions are another solution, but let's be clear: A union only works if you were part of the union before you were fired unjustly. Without that, "too bad" is indeed often the best you can do. I was once in the hospital with acute pancreatitis. It was unplanned, and would have killed me had I not made it to the ER. The company I was working for at the time "let me go" because I'd gone two days without showing up to work. Given that during those two days I was unconscious and nearly dead, that would have been impossible to do. When I spoke to a lawyer, they were very clear that the company had broken the law (FMLA protects people in situations like mine), but that fighting it would cost me a lot of money, and that there was no guarantee I'd win. I fought them anyways. I spent months fighting them, and spent thousands of dollars. The company ended up receiving a fine for less that what I paid in lawyer fees, and that's it. No payout for me, no resolution. The state felt the case was at least strong enough to justify the fine, but not strong enough to justify anything else. So, yeah, sometimes "too bad" is about all we get.

rexpop 3y ago
Yeah, seems like you could've benefitted from a union, back then. They would've at least negotiated severence while you were unconscious. > A union only works if you were part of the union Likewise, shoes only fit if you wear them, medicine only works if you take it, and wings only provide lift if you push air over them.