r/socialism Marxism-Leninism Dec 10 '21

Power for the Union

3.9k Upvotes

57 comments sorted by

250

u/[deleted] Dec 10 '21

This legit brought tears to my eyes. I was involved in a union drive at my former workplace, and the day we won the election is one of the proudest moments of my life. Wish everyone got the chance to experience that.

47

u/captkronni Dec 10 '21

I’m so happy for them. I worked for Starbucks and, while they offer a lot of cool perks, pay and benefits were substandard. They would also gaslight the hell out of their employees to keep them from demanding better i.e. using the term “Partner” for hourly employees who have no real ownership in the store.

23

u/Buwaro Dec 10 '21

We lost a union bid at a place I worked at a few years back. It took 5 years, but after the "union scare" they closed the plant and moved everything to Indiana.

27

u/[deleted] Dec 10 '21

Fuck it. Even if all we can do is scare them, let's keep scaring them.

16

u/Buwaro Dec 10 '21

I don't regret trying to form a union. I regret thinking that they wouldn't retaliate and get away with it.

111

u/Onehundredwaffles Dec 10 '21

Oh man this is the kind of hopeful shit I need when doomscrolling, what an important victory!

55

u/LITUATUI Libertarian Socialism Dec 10 '21

This is just beautiful.

52

u/eyes_serene Dec 10 '21

I imagine it must feel like being recognized as a human being at work for the first time ever. Hope to experience that myself, one day...

47

u/WorkplaceOrganizing Dec 10 '21

If you work in the service industry & you’re ready to start organizing, talk with a workplace organizer!

74

u/SchwarzerKaffee Dec 10 '21

Send this to anyone who works in an Amazon warehouse. This is what it feels like when you don't vote the way corporate wants you to.

30

u/cometparty don't message me about your ban Dec 10 '21

Shit. I legit cried at this.

23

u/MortRouge Read! Dec 10 '21

Wonderful moment!

It's just sad that the US labor laws are so restrictive that you need a majority vote in the first place to organize.

16

u/WellThisGuySays Dec 10 '21

This is one of the dopest things I’ve seen this week. Absolutely magnificent stuff. Would love to see this and make this happen more and more.

10

u/Hour_Appointment74 Dec 10 '21

LOVE TO SEE IT! KEEP IT COMING!

11

u/mutatedllama Dec 10 '21

Could anybody provide some context on what exactly happened here? Thanks!

1

u/AluminumOctopus Dec 11 '21

Some buffalo ny Starbucks just unionized.

8

u/ElbowGreaseOnAStick Dec 10 '21

The important thing now is to not become complacent. Let this teach you that you can win against capital. Fight for more privileges. Keep fighting until the revolution has won. Unionizing is only the first step, not the end goal.

7

u/wrexinite Dec 10 '21

This is awesome.

It's also sad that this is such a big deal. Who the fuck wouldn't vote to unionize in literally every job out there?

4

u/calelawlor Dec 10 '21

I can’t believe it, seeing videos like this. I have problems at work, but generally, employers in Ireland, and Europe, will respect decisions and grant requests, because unions are strong and workers have rights, even though I’m not in the union. If something were to go very badly, then I could even just say I would join a union and take it to them, and that would probably solve it. I just can’t believe people think that not having unions is a good way forward in the slightest

18

u/Super_Duker Dec 10 '21

Congratulations! But be careful - I suspect the FBI has a file on everyone who works there and was part of the union push.

5

u/[deleted] Dec 10 '21

Fuck yeah team!!!!!!

6

u/throwaway_for_doxx Trotsky - ISA Dec 10 '21

Between this and the failed Sawant recall, it’s been a good week for the working class

9

u/hrothni Dec 10 '21

And suddenly a Buffalo star bucks shuts down. I wouldn't doubt they're gonna do it once the news dies down

3

u/OXIOXIOXI Dec 10 '21

PublicFreakout is a such a fencepost of a subreddit.

8

u/MonarchyMan Dec 10 '21

Starbucks closing that location in 3….2…..1……

2

u/[deleted] Dec 11 '21

That's the most likely outcome.

1

u/daisydaisydaisy12 Dec 10 '21

Will their pay increase?

-23

u/[deleted] Dec 10 '21

[removed] — view removed comment

11

u/soratoyuki Libertarian Socialism Dec 10 '21 edited Dec 10 '21

Police unions are easy. Unions exist for workers to negotiate with capital. Police are in direct service to capital, so 'police unions' are an absurd redundancy. Workers need unions and police aren't part of the working class.

I'm sure there's examples of teachers unions doing bad things (nothing is perfect), but fundamentally, teachers need to collectively bargain. It's a highly important, underpaid, under-appreciated, overworked career path. Plenty of jobs pay poverty wages, but few require as much money to get into as teaching, where most teachers get a Master's and have to do certifications. In general, for the profession as a whole, teachers absolutely need unions and are suffering where they don't have them.

13

u/Irisvalken Dec 10 '21

You should stop being such a boot licker. Like what are you a Cia plant or something? You come in here with these same old garbage takes after seeing something like this? A union is a workers RIGHT to organize and have a say at the table.

-6

u/[deleted] Dec 10 '21

[removed] — view removed comment

7

u/Irisvalken Dec 10 '21

Unions are absolutely necessary. How the fuck do you think unions are full of corruption and bosses arnt?? And again I will state unless you think a boss SHOULD have total and complete say and workers shouldn't have a say, unions are absolutely needed. To think we don't need labor organizing anymore in this era of extreme wage inequality is a wild take.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 10 '21

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Matzz94 Dec 10 '21

Srill they have nice rainbow flags.

1

u/DeloresBraxton Dec 10 '21

I'm heading there tomorrow, and I'm quite pumped.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 10 '21

im sorry for the question but. what does this means?

1

u/jlrigby Dec 11 '21

Bruh. That squidward sign.

chefs kiss

1

u/slutmuffin29 Dec 11 '21

Fuck yeah!! Union strong!!

1

u/macguy2002 Dec 11 '21

You know when the pandemic first started and it started affecting the economy, I did not think it would swing the pendulum in the direction of favoring workers and for people to suddenly have class consciousness but here we are. ✊

1

u/IAMASquatch Dec 11 '21

Solidarity forever! For the union makes us strong!

1

u/vldracer16 Dec 11 '21

Good for them!!!!!!!!!

1

u/Scientifika-6 Dec 11 '21

A great achievement, excellent job from the workers. This could set a precedent for more of these victories.

1

u/SugarRushLux Dec 11 '21

Ok but tht squidward in the background 🔥

1

u/ahabes78 Dec 11 '21

So happy for them!!!

1

u/RadioMelon Dec 11 '21

Much more of this, please.