Trump and his MAGA movement are conspiring with oligarchs to turn the U.S. into a rightwing authoritarian state. The labor movement can play a key role in fighting back.
  • alvvayson@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    7·
    14 days ago

    I fully agree.

    Also, one thing that Unions always have trouble with is that there is no individual benefit to joining a union, only a cost, so you get a prisoners dilemma type situation.

    Even in Scandinavian countries, union membership is on the decline.

    Personally, I think the solution should be that union dues are paid by a small tax, making it ‘free’ to join a union. And the unions can provide free benefits to their members, such as legal advice and representation. This will make it attractive to join a union.

    • agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works
      3·
      14 days ago

      A nice idea, but kinda putting the cart before the horse when talking about unions as a safeguard against the fascist government which presently levies taxes.

      • alvvayson@lemmy.dbzer0.com
        1·
        14 days ago

        Nothing in this world is free. The US tax rate isn’t high. The issue is, you don’t get a good value back.

        You can’t have strong unions without money for unions.

        Organizing people costs money.

        Union dues tend to be in the $10-50 per month range, while unions easily increase wages by hundreds a month through collective bargaining.

        Most of the unions costs are fixed, so if everyone is a member the average due can easily be on the lower end ($10-20).

        If you have a problem with that, then that’s exactly why you don’t have strong unions.

        • agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works
          1·
          14 days ago

          I think we might be talking past each other here. I support unions, and obviously unions need money to support members during strikes, among other things. I just don’t know how taxes factor into it when fighting an administration which is definitely not going to sponsor government funded unions. I’m not really quite sure of your point.

          • alvvayson@lemmy.dbzer0.com
            1·
            13 days ago

            I’m talking about long-term non-US centric policy.

            I don’t mean to imply that this is a priority for the short term in the US.