That's the problem is there's anger at employers but no organization. People are quitting instead of unionizing because they still think in terms of "rugged individualism" and "job market." They think if they go to the "job market" and find a "better job" they won't be exploited. But they'll always be exploited because that's the mode of production. The mode of production is that the boss has to pay you less than your work is worth so they can profit, reinvest that profit in growth, giving shareholders dividends, and absorbing/destroying competitors. If they don't do that, they get absorbed/destroyed by someone who will. So there's no fair workplace. And if there is, then it's not profitable and will be destroyed soon. People should be unionizing not quitting. And not just unionizing their lone isolated workplace, but unionizing across the whole industry, across multiple industries, across national borders. But that takes a lot of work and people are isolated, alienated, deprived of class consciousness and education. They're radicalized but they don't know where to put their energy. So they quit hoping to find a mythical job that doesn't exploit them.
right, but still, most jobs are going to be shitty, so just throwing yourself back out there on the "job market" (a euphemism for putting your labor power up on the auction block) is a huge risk because your bills are gonna rack up, your savings are gonna run out, your unemployment will run out assuming you can even get it, and then you're stuck right back at square zero looking for someone who will buy your labor power for less than it is worth. Me personally, I'd rather stick with a shitty job until I find another slightly less then shitty job than quit, because if I quit too early my situation is gonna deteriorate and the likelihood of me getting lucky enough to find something better is low.
Definitely. From experience though, there's two types of jobs that organize:
--Jobs with high concentrations of socialists like social work, non-profit, politics
And
--unspeakably terrible jobs, like, abusive bosses, random insufficient hours, that kind of thing.
The first type of job is rare, and the second kind makes people quit. If everyone organized, everyone would win, but the reality is that the kind of conditions that make people organize also make people quit.
That's the problem is there's anger at employers but no organization. People are quitting instead of unionizing because they still think in terms of "rugged individualism" and "job market." They think if they go to the "job market" and find a "better job" they won't be exploited. But they'll always be exploited because that's the mode of production. The mode of production is that the boss has to pay you less than your work is worth so they can profit, reinvest that profit in growth, giving shareholders dividends, and absorbing/destroying competitors. If they don't do that, they get absorbed/destroyed by someone who will. So there's no fair workplace. And if there is, then it's not profitable and will be destroyed soon. People should be unionizing not quitting. And not just unionizing their lone isolated workplace, but unionizing across the whole industry, across multiple industries, across national borders. But that takes a lot of work and people are isolated, alienated, deprived of class consciousness and education. They're radicalized but they don't know where to put their energy. So they quit hoping to find a mythical job that doesn't exploit them.
Also because unionizing takes years and no one wants to be stuck in a shitty job for years.
right, but still, most jobs are going to be shitty, so just throwing yourself back out there on the "job market" (a euphemism for putting your labor power up on the auction block) is a huge risk because your bills are gonna rack up, your savings are gonna run out, your unemployment will run out assuming you can even get it, and then you're stuck right back at square zero looking for someone who will buy your labor power for less than it is worth. Me personally, I'd rather stick with a shitty job until I find another slightly less then shitty job than quit, because if I quit too early my situation is gonna deteriorate and the likelihood of me getting lucky enough to find something better is low.
Definitely. From experience though, there's two types of jobs that organize:
--Jobs with high concentrations of socialists like social work, non-profit, politics
And
--unspeakably terrible jobs, like, abusive bosses, random insufficient hours, that kind of thing.
The first type of job is rare, and the second kind makes people quit. If everyone organized, everyone would win, but the reality is that the kind of conditions that make people organize also make people quit.
there we go. that really sums it up