• JeSuisUnHombre@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    5
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    11 months ago

    Is it good to have 1 union?

    (Unions in general are definitely good and obviously it makes more impact with more workers at once. I just had the thought of ’monopolies == bad’ and wondered how/if that applies to unions)

    • ImplyingImplications@lemmy.ca
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      13
      ·
      11 months ago

      Unions are a form of government. Their leadership is voted in by its members. It’d be weird to say governments are monopolies. Yes there’s only one government, but the representatives are democratically elected. Individuals still have a voice.

      • banneryear1868@lemmy.worldOP
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        3
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        11 months ago

        A great way I’ve seen this summarized is that a union is not made of people you have to agree with or share beliefs or even ideology with, they’re people who you have a shared economic interest as part of a single labor body.

    • banneryear1868@lemmy.worldOP
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      11 months ago

      I think the more pro-capitalist view of unions would say that “one big union” is definitely a bad idea. The socialist or anarcho-syndicalist would likely see the one big union as a way to collectively fight the bosses, specifically in the context of class struggle. The communist or Marxist-Leninist would maybe say the union is a barrier to revolution by sustaining the class structure.

      The biggest “one big union” org was/is the IWW or “wobblies” as they were known and it was their primary mission to unionize all workers under the IWW banner.

    • x4740N@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      4
      arrow-down
      3
      ·
      11 months ago

      You do have a good point there and I agree with you

      Workers should have the choice of what union they want to join and not he forced into the choice of join this one union in the automotive industry or not being in a union

      • cheese_greater@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        10
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        edit-2
        11 months ago

        Nah, union involvement in certain if not all sectors should absolutely not be discretionary, particularly in safety-sensitive industries although this really shouldn’t be limited to individual industries.

        Otherwise you get idiots bitching its “safe enuff for muh” and get others or themselves hurt. Nope, sorry, they can be fishermen or forage in the woods if they want thuh freedom

      • AdamEatsAss@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        4
        ·
        11 months ago

        There needs to be one unified union or else their bargaining power is greatly reduced. The cooperations will only hire from the union that benefits them most. Remember a union is not a private corporation. A union is a representative negotiating body. Every member of a union votes on and has a say in how the union acts.

      • banneryear1868@lemmy.worldOP
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        3
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        11 months ago

        The employer would just hire scabs in that arrangement like the main idea of a union is to have that single collective power.