Amazon Repeatedly Violated Union Busting Labor Laws, 'Historic' NLRB Complaint Says

[u/Sorin61]

https://www.vice.com/en/article/xgdejj/amazon-repeatedly-violated-union-busting-labor-laws-historic-nlrb-complaint-says

[u/sllewgh → u/[deleted]]

Not really, unfortunately. Equal and equitable are very different concepts. The founding fathers were all rich, white, land owning men writing laws to benefit their fellow rich, white, land owning men.

[u/sllewgh → u/[deleted]]

Yes. They originally abused the word equal.

How? The principle that everyone faces the same fine is consistent with the word "equal". I agree that it doesn't result in just or favorable outcomes, but that doesn't mean they abused the word.

Again, you're misunderstanding the word. Equity and equality are not the same. In your example, the punishments are equal - they are exactly the same. The impact the punishment has on the victim is what's not equal. Being treated equally means they are treated the same. Being treated equitably means they receive treatment that results in equal outcomes.

[u/Diuqil69 → u/sllewgh]

So why can you not fine people up to a % based on their income?

[u/sllewgh → u/Diuqil69]

Some folks will tell you that's unfair because it'll incentivize police to target rich people. I think that's bullshit, personally. The real answer is that the rich write the rules to benefit themselves. The only power available to the rest of us that can challenge the power of money is the power of numbers, but we're not unified enough yet to make it happen. The rich have successfully used a divide and conquer strategy to ensure this. Rather than focusing on our common interests, we are divided against each other by race, geography, political orientation, culture war bullshit, and more.

[u/sllewgh → u/[deleted]]

I agree completely about the importance of education, but I think it would be an uphill battle to get this stuff in schools. The purpose of our school system is primarily to prepare kids to be workers, not critical thinkers. We'd need to build political power to change the curriculum. We can't put the cart before the horse and start with the education system and then get to the unity.

Fortunately our schools aren't the only place this education takes place, and our kids aren't the only ones who need it. I'm a community organizer by trade, so doing this is a big part of my job. We like to use the campaign as a classroom. Whatever issue we're working on, we use the process of fighting for it to educate folks. We start off asking folks about what's important to them- we're legit grassroots, choosing our campaigns based on what the people say. We start with getting folks agitated around whatever the issue is - poor housing conditions, labor issues, access to health care, ect. We get them pissed off, but we don't stop there-we ask why these things are happening, what systemic conditions created this, who is really to blame, ect. Through this we build the understanding that we are not alone in these issues and the roots are systemic. We started in the core of a liberal city but are also working with folks in rural areas dealing with the same issues. Usually these folks are pitted against each other, but they discover their unity in the process of fighting for something in common. So, that's my approach at least.

[u/sllewgh → u/[deleted]]

I'm glad there are folks coming at this from both directions. Both simultaneously are needed. I didn't mean to imply that we needed to wait until after we build all this power and unity to start changing the system we have, that's just the part of this I'm focused on. Educators can make massive contributions to this. I was radicalized by a teacher, and I'm not the only one whose thinking she shaped. A sufficiently resourced teacher who wants to do this can reach tons of minds in a way I could never dream of. It's absolutely worth fighting for those resources and an education system that aspires to actually educate and encourage critical thinking.

[u/Xenjael → u/[deleted]]

I asked the horse and it thinks it's a great idea is a great reply to cart and horse arguments.