Union smarts

Good chance they’re breaking a law

USA! USA! USA!

People act like jobs don't ask illegal questions but in different ways with zero retaliation. The smaller the company, the less they gaf

Yeah, why not straight up ask, if you'd like to work for them under shitty conditions with abysmal pay?

That's good because then they can't fire you for lying about it in the interview.

But good luck telling them they can't ask that.

Later: "You weren't a good fit"

I can only speak for the UK, but it is absolutely illegal here for an employer to bring up unionism during a job interview.

I've just this year changed jobs after decades in the same job. I wanted to ask in the interview if they have a Unionised shop floor but the company was American owned (in the UK) so I thought it best to just wonder instead of asking.

Now I'm contracted to the Company instead of an Agency and know there is actually a Union and it's the same one I'm a member of, which is nice. So i had a word with the Rep and got them to tell the Union I'm working there.

Then this week I was in my first Union meeting at this company and was a little confused why the manager that interviewed me AND HIS MANAGER were in the meeting. I thought perhaps they were just there talking to the Union to see what they thought on a subject.

Nope, they're members! I thought they were really nice and understanding Managers before but now I know why.

If they do, lie

Ironically I know a lot of German employees who range from sceptical to outright anti-union. They are mostly East-Germans, and my attempt of an explanation is that for them, unions used to belong to the founding and ruling East German Socialist Party SED and thus they connect it with oppression and patronisation from the elite ruling class. They don't have any arguments either, when you ask them what they have against it and whether they know that we have weekends and maximum working hours and paid sick leave due to unions they go yea of course of course, but... idk man... I don't see how I would profit from it... and all the strikes man, it only hurts the economy man... It's a bit like yeah but apart from sanitisation, wine, the aqueducts, schools, democracy, what have the Romans done for us?!

And then of course some are thoroughly brainwashed an-caps who think people must be stinking rich or stinking of the excrements in the street they live in, no in-between, and hate unions for fighting just that.

Because America basically has no labour rights and they're the ones that need unions the most

I doubt it's a uniquely American thing, but yeah, there's a lot of anti-union sentiment in America for good but mostly bad reasons.

Some modern unions have overstepped their reach (IMO) at the expense of the people their members are supposed to serve.

Mostly, it's propoganda. Or whatever you call the process that makes people accept tax cuts on billion dollar companies (already at the lowest rate America has ever seen) or a predatory healthcare system.

I wanna live in a world where this is always true

(Great quote though, I might steal it)

"So are you pro-union?"

"Not since Kruschev was removed."

"What?"

"What?"

That's what's known as 'at will employment' in the U.S. A lot of states have it. They can fire you for anything that doesn't violate civil rights and it's pretty easy to fire someone because of their race and claim it was for another reason.

Changing opinions is illegal?

How is joining a union illegal in the US?

Until this very moment I always assumed the job had to be affiliated with a union for me to even join... I had been a refrigeration tech for some time and never in the union when apparently I could have been?

Now I'm just a shitty factory worker so I doubt there's a union for what I'm doing, but to know I could have had union backing and I didn't go for it is frustrating. :/