"Hard work never killed anybody." They used to tell that damn lie a lot when I was a kid. It sure as hell does. I don't believe they tell kids that bullshit anymore.
@@Triaxx2not to companies and corporations, they’re not. Hell, most companies will put in lines in your contract that basically state that, along with whatever duties you’re assigned, you may be assigned additional tasks by your supervisor “as needed”. This is also known as “we’ll give you as much work as we like, whether you like it or not, and regardless of whether or not you’ve got the capacity to do it.”
I remember one comment I read years ago that stuck with me: "Ah, the Middle Class: Always three bad months away from poverty, never three good months away from escaping the grind". As a worker, no matter where you are on the ladder, you have infinitely more in common with the destitute, homeless man on the corner than you do the billionaires.
Kind of reminds me of this other comment I read a while back: "Ah, the Middle Class: Often viewed through the lens of its struggling 10%, rarely celebrated for the 90% that prospers." Most people that are unhappy about where they're at on the ladder adapt and jump to a new one. While living in a cozy/warm Midwest McMansion, while doing something you love for a living, might be considerably more modest than a Billionaire's lavish lifestyle, it's still not even close to living under a bridge while coping with mental illness. 🤦
@micahriley9730 I think you're missing OPs point. The point isn't that being middle class isn't good enough or isn't a good life, it's that a billion dollars is such a big number, it's so astronomically big, that if you are pulling 6 figures, you are still economically much closer to the income of $0 than the income of a billionaire. If you make half a million, your income is rounding error to a billionaire. Counting to a million a second at a time takes 11 days. Counting to a billion a second at a time takes over 30 years. It just isn't comparable at all.
@@cbpd89 I believe you might be overlooking my core argument: the sheer incomparability of these economic classes. A middle-class individual might fly coach or first class, while a billionaire has the luxury of private jets. In stark contrast, the homeless might be found pushing shopping carts and collecting discarded items. There's a diminishing return on the tangible improvements to quality of life as wealth increases.
@@Bea-a-deer Tell me you don't know how to use a simple colloquial expression without directly telling me.😆🤣 It's like you have a limited set of "phrases" to detract from actual discourse, desperately fitting a square peg in a round hole. 😆🤣😂🤦
In 1999 I was working non union for $14.00, I paid for my health care, and a couple of hundred in a 401k. I went three miles away to a union job doing basically the same job. The wage was $22.23, with 1,000 hours of work my health insurance was paid for the next year, $120 per month pension for every year of 1,000 hours, and $3.00 per hour of work in an annuity account. All this for $10.00 per month and 1.5% of my gross earnings. It was the best thing that I have ever done for my career.
This makes sense for 1999, although this foreshadows why most domestic production operations dipped while still lowering costs with the consumer end. Today, the average increase is 10% (not including the new fees). There's also a much greater threat to a majority of these jobs from impending automation and AI. I'm honestly rooting for the unionization of everything so the private sector starts pouring even more money into my industry, which will soon start ironing out solutions that replace these workers. 🤑
big vulture vibes. which is why unions.need to happen. With enough leverage (or.force) the fruits of new tech could be shared, not hoarded. If workers are more productive (which we are, even without further innovation, worker productivity has.skyrocketed through the years, largely bc of emerging tech) they what we need is claw out is the same pay for less work. The UAW has the right idea that being said as someone who works in a sector that vc bros love to think they can automate where it's painfully obvious they don't know how anything works (healthcare) I don't know I'm that worried personally
@@Omnip073n77 From all the drivel you've been spewing, it's clear you're literally incapable of understanding this issue. You can only manage one perspective. And speaking as a programmer, if that's the level of attention to detail you put into your work, in a field where every angle must be considered *thoroughly,* the unions are gonna be just fine. (I am too, incidentally; lousy competition has made me highly valued among my clients. So, thanks for keeping that bar nice and low.)
@@Omnip073n77bad argument. They also shifted production overseas so thry can use child labour and skip environmental and safety regulation. That doesnt mean our child labour laws caused it. It means we need stricter laws around offshoring.
I worked at Amazon for a month, and I cant tell you that it is hell. I was on a lift and had to stock items on second shift, bathroom breaks were frowned upon and even got me in trouble, the manager for my department asked "what was this 3 minute break from scanning" I told him, "I had to use the bathroom", to which he said "try to go during break time". Pissing in bottles is real, I have seen it first hand. You can never work fast enough. I was told to pick up the pace as I wasnt making quota, when I explained that my lift was speed locked at the lowest setting (not out of training) they still chastized me. You had to also exit an aisle if a "Prime" picker needed into it. An aisle was only one lift wide and had magnetic tracks, so you either had to back out, or speed out and go back in later. The best part was when we had a bomb threat, and no worker knew about it until after the fact. We knew that something was wrong when they denied people going on their scheduled break time twice, and when we asked, were told to "just keep working, we are figuring something out". Cops started to surround the building, and coming in, but all the doors were locked so no one could leave, this lasted about an hour or so. After it was all said and done, word spread quickly that there was a bomb threat, and that they were searching lockers and the break room. They told us during the event to keep working and not to go on break. The next day before our shift started, they confirmed it was a bomb threat, and we were pissed. They addressed it as if it was no big deal, and said "If anyone wants to talk about it, meet us over by the cooler, which I, and some others did. The manager acted like it was nothing and basically said "get over it" in a nicer way. I, and other employees didn't tolerate that our lives were put at risk for profit, and that there was no steps taken to secure any employees wellbeing. Keep in mind, I was driving my lift, right beside the locker room and break rooms putting items away, needles to say, I quit that day and never looked back. Edit: Grammar corrections.
@@Snail_Nailz please try to bring facts as opposed to rhetoric - - - US Department of Labor finds Amazon exposed workers to unsafe conditions, ergonomic hazards at three more warehouses in Colorado, Idaho, New York OSHA cites global e-commerce company for similar safety failures at six locations WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that its Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued citations at three more Amazon warehouses - in Aurora, Colorado; Nampa, Idaho; and Castleton, New York - for failing to keep workers safe and delivered hazard alert letters for exposing workers to ergonomic hazards. OSHA cited the multinational e-commerce company for not providing safe workplaces in violation of the OSH Act's general duty clause. The inspections follow referrals from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York that led the agency to open inspections and find similar violations at other Amazon warehouse facilities in Florida, Illinois and New York in July 2022. OSHA later opened inspections in Aurora, Nampa and Castleton on Aug. 1, 2022. At all six locations, OSHA investigators found Amazon exposed warehouse workers to a high risk of low back injuries and other musculoskeletal disorders. The risks they faced are related to the following: High frequency with which employees must lift packages and other items. Heavy weight of the items handled by workers. Employees awkwardly twisting, bending and extending themselves to lift items. Long hours required to complete assigned tasks. OSHA reviewed on-site injury logs required by federal law and discovered that, in fact, Amazon warehouse workers experienced high rates of musculoskeletal disorders. OSHA proposed $46,875 in penalties for the violations at the Aurora, Nampa and Castleton facilities. "Amazon's operating methods are creating hazardous work conditions and processes, leading to serious worker injuries," explained Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker. "They need to take these injuries seriously and implement a company-wide strategy to protect their employees from these well-known and preventable hazards." On Jan. 30, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington extended the OSH Act's six-month limitations period related to the investigations at these three facilities while Amazon complied with outstanding subpoenas and, accordingly, OSHA's investigation continues. In December 2022, OSHA cited Amazon for 14 recordkeeping violations as part of the same investigation. Amazon has 15 business days from receipt of the current citations and proposed penalty to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director, or contest the findings before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. - - - OSHA National News
The average mega-corporations run a profit margin of about 5%. You are worth pretty much exactly what you are paid, and your worth can be measured objectively by how much revenue you bring into the company. A worker paid $10 an hour brings maybe $12 an hour in additiona revenues. A worker paid $100 an hour brings in about $120. So no, the more you are paid, the more you are worth.
@@heribertosarmiento1265 That doesn't even make sense, it's always your choice whether to raise your pay or not. If they didn't want to pay you more, they just wouldn't.
Bullsh*t. The more companies are forced to pay their people for low skill labor, the more products cost, the more they have to charge for them, the more they will explore more efficiency (automation), the more they will move factories, etc. Getting paid $75k a year to screw a wheel to a chassis might be great if you get that job but that job will soon be done by million dollar robots who don't get sick, don't extort for more money, and who don't hold companies hostage for another paid day off.
@@joecoolioness6399 agreed. If Workers become completly redundant then we can get some real Cyberpunk Nightmare Stuff. Imagine Billionares but they run entire states and command entire Continents worth of Resources and automated Labor. From Military to even Education. They will have total controll and if you stand up you get offed by private military or a secret agency that seaks and destroys the oposition. Lets hope they can´t Lobby that hard and that anti trust kicks in at some point.
A lot of people think laws banning kids from working in mines are good. I'm not sure though. For nearly a century 10 year old boys have dreamed of black lung and dying at 35. Yet we selfishly deprive them of that utopian dream. The kids yearn for the mines. We should help them realize their potential as disposable labor.
Lmao, I love "The kids yearn for the mines" jokes but honestly, I'm expecting US Republicans to start taking it up as an actual political stance any day now.
@@TheAwesomes2104 No joke, they actually have. Many red states have recently clawed back child labour laws. Including Meatball Ron's state, ya know, the guy that is so concerned about "Protecting children."
We have over 90% union membership and they just got us the highest raise in the industry this year. Nobody is going to convince me my life would be better without my union.
@@bobbobbington3615 and if you look around everything got more expensive. With or without unions. Almost as if coporations try to sell everything at the maximum possible price, even if they dont give out raises. Dont act like a company that makes millions in profit cares about keeping the price down for you.
@@bobbobbington3615 dont act like big companies care about keeping the price down for you. They will sell it for as much as they can get away with and if we dont get raises the investors will pocket the extra profits.
I always thought that min wage was bad. 1 it does drive prices up. But also lets companies claim just what you said. Where as if we didnt have a min wage. They could offer a job at what ever the going rate was. If it was too low people wont apply. So they would have 2 choices negotiate wage individually or offer it competitively, or close thier doors. Either way workers stand to win, unless you go in to work for peanuts. 90% of people dont even try to negotiate.
@@87swoo44This is basically what’s happening with the restaurant business. Businesses either pay up or don’t get workers. Just paying minimum wage doesn’t cut it anymore
Grew up in a union household. My parents raised 7 children on one union job. Bought a house, had two cars (dad's work car and mom's limousine aka the station wagon) and we all went on the big vacation once a year. We had music lessons, dance lessons (me) and participated in team sports (my brothers). A union job not only supported my family, it supported all the services my family needed: Grocery stores, hardware stores, shoe stores, clothing stores, sporting goods stores, music stores, fabric stores (after I learned to sew), restaurants, dentists, doctors, movie theaters and the big auditorium where my parents would go for classical music concerts or take me to see The Nutcracker ballet every Christmas. That one union job supported a lot of other businesses throughout the year. That's how you build, grow and maintain a strong economy and have a middle class; with good paying union jobs.
Union job or not in that era, you made a lot more vs the cost of living. These days you don't. But also, unions are monopolies for workers. Sure, if you have a union job, you're golden. But the fact that the union exists shrinks the job market in the space the union operates and makes it substantially harder for some people to get these unionized jobs. People who have union jobs are basically benefiting at the expense of other workers in the market, usually the less skilled. Minimum wage also does this where its sometimes (but not always) better for the people that keep their job, but for the people whose work isn't worth minimum wage, the law basically outlaws hiring them.
@@billyte1265Is this what you’re bosses told you at the pizza party that happened on the same night as the union meeting or are you the boss who feeds people these talking points?
@@billyte1265 So you are saying unskilled workers can't unionize? This is why unity and "not crossing the picket line" is important. If everyone is on board and move in unison, there is no one left to exploit! Is that so hard to understand? And if nonunion people have a hard time getting a job, that is incentive to join a union. But that doesn't really happen now does it? Because corporations WANT TO HIRE nonunion members. SO unless you have some very specific examples, your argument is full of holes.
This right here. This is exactly what I define as 'woke.' Recognizing a fundamental problem in society for what it is and incentivizing people to come together and act on it. And I f*cking LOVE IT. Thank you for what you do. Keep on preaching. Everybody needs to hear this.
Wrong that's defined as teamwork not woke. Woke is basically socialism. A dead system no country actually follows anymore. Instead following there own versions of capitalism itself.
If you don't pay your electric bill, you lose electricity If you don't put gas in your car it won't go So if you don't pay your workers, how do you expect them to work?
With gen z, I don’t think that’s going to work anymore. If companies start firing people who aren’t completely loyal to them in the next couple of years, they gonna end up firing their entire workforce.
As someone who works in a corporate office environment, hard work is rewarded with More Work. Quiet Quitting is just doing your own job and not everyone else's.
Loyalty is bullshit, your boss steals your credit. There's always intrigue. Its in the public sector too, but private sector the whole point is make $ and move up by fucking others.
Corporations have no loyalty to anything. You reward for loyalty will be a sudden unwarned termination of your job because the guy in charge of the money and financial decisions of the company fucked up and now they're $900 million in the hole. He gets to keep his job, in fact by terminating entire departments, he might even be rewarded for saving the company money. This just happened this week at Epic Games were Tim Sweeny learned the hard way that running a store that gives things away doesn't make money and so 900 employees had to go for his managerial incompetence. Tim's not going to be punished or risk termination, he owns 50% of Epic Games stock. And even if he manages to pile drive the company completely into the dirt, he's famous and connected enough in the games industry to get a seat on the board of directors of EA or Activision. Loyalty to the company gets you no where and dumbass CEOs just fail upwards.
@@OsirisLord Yes, this happened to me so much in the banking sector. It doesn't matter how many hours I put in or how great my reviews were. I was just a number. But I'm part of a union now. Imagine having a stable job, which gives you raises fairly every 6-12 months. Where promotions are fair, and people can often move up just working their straight eight-hour day and putting in a quality day. Where you can have a stable pension and a 401K for retirement, plus your benefits. If you're not working in a union job now, it's worth considering to form one or if you're not ready for that, look for a union job. Many government or healthcare positions will have them. I work for the county and we are part of the SEIU, which is one of the largest unions in the country with multiple branches.
Yup I agree... I was once pulled aside for a conversation... Told that I was one of the most productive employees. Then my manager wanted to brain storm with me for how I could become more productive I told them pay me more to compensate for the fact that I get paid the same wage as others who do far less work. They couldn't give me a raise so I told them to talk to the other employees and not me.
every time someone tells me "if they raise wages they will move the business" or "make it automated" or "shut down the business" i unironically tell them "go for it". businesses need people to spend money to make money, if we have no money to spend they have no money to make. let the rich shut down or automate all their work, lets see how long they stay "rich"
Unironically, it's not even that hard. The biggest fear of every single CEO isn't that they'll go broke, it's that they won't meet projected growth. All you need to do is go on strike long enough and hard enough for the business to realize they're going to underperform for the financial quarter. That thought TERIFIES these people! Because it means they're fucking up, which shows in the stocks, which fucks with the bank evaluations, which gets investors and other higher-ups mad at eachother, etc. These businesses might look all powerful, but they're way more fragile than you'd expect.
The key is class solidarity. As long as we take care of each other better than the .1% takes care of each other, we’ll make it. That means making material sacrifices to ensure that no one goes hungry when striking for adequate compensation for their record productivity.
Automation! Ha. Ask yourself how many self-driving cars you have seen today, or how many robots are picking fruit in the orchards of Washington. Automation is an empty threat!
@@kingthe13Just like how Tesla was going to use basically all robots right? Then realized they’re far more of a liability outside their specific niche of capability.
Being on a negotiating committee is so radicalizing. I work for a union that represents caregivers (like people who work in nursing homes) and at one of the early negotiating meetings with our biggest employer, somebody from management LITERALLY FELL ASLEEP AT THE TABLE. Being told about how people were sleeping in their cars and taking second jobs and all that wasn't gripping enough for him, I guess!
Id make a show get real loud point him out chastise him then turn to your people "monkey see monkey do team this is how they work up top take a note on how to represent" But really stay strong keep up the good work and take no shit
Yes, getting promoted to unemployed is a real thing. It's where you get pay raises and promotions over the years, and one day they fire you because they can hire a fresh-out-of-school kid for minimum wage to replace you. Sure, he/she won't be as good as you, but it's an acceptable short term loss to the company.
@@TonyPombo This happened to my dad. Then 6 months later the company had to hire him back at a higher pay as a "consultant" because he was the only person who knew how the company intranet and most of the associated other softwares worked. Any larger business is filled to the gills with sycophants and nincompoops when it comes to management and executive level. They don't know the business they're in, nor how their company actually operates. All that knowledge is in the worker class. Corporations will literally shoot themselves in both feet to make the line go up for 3 months
@@mundanepants Ya this happens a lot, especially in technical fields where the skillset is more specialized and management doesn't really understand the importance of the person they are firing, They just think "Bill is an IT guy making $110k, I can replace him with a younger IT guy for $40k"
That's just simple accounting. And by the same token, if they have to pay you more, they can do some combination of three basic things: 1. reduce expenses (that could be labor expenses like laying people off or reducing hours, but could be finding ways to cut costs elsewhere) 2. increase revenue (usually posed as raising prices, but could be better marketing or higher productivity) 3. Take less profit. Companies never like option 3, but if they can't cut enough costs, or raise prices without losing market share, 3 may be their only option. The other objection that often comes up is "they'll go out of business." A business model that only works because of exploitation of workers should go by the wayside. It's a bad business model.
@@TonyPombo yeah its been happening at the place I work, a bunch of people who'd been there for a long time just so happened to 'leave the company' within a week of each other right after training me and a wave of newcomers for about a month and a half
Seeing all these Unions getting formed, and these strikes winning the fight is genuinely the first thing in a long time that has brought me any kind of hope for the future.
People are quickly realizing what we need to do. However, unions can't be the end of it. If we take only concessions, things will go back to the way they are for the next generation.
Wow! You Da Hammer, dude, you hit that one RIGHT ON THE THUMB! The Chamber of _-Horrors-__ Commerce!_ Where the bullshit meets the road. The ONLY ding CoC EVER issues is when yer LATE WITH YER DUES! Anything else, you're a "respected member of the org."
They promote and protect the interests of businesses in the community as they should. Members or not. The dues gets you an informal setting for members to schmooze with government officials and speak directly to them about their interests. Labor should have reps that can do that on their behalf.@@thesoundsmith
I wish so badly my industry had a union. Death care workers work insane hours, doing things that are often dangerous and we have to look white collar while we do it. But so much of us are paid so little it’s horrible. And considering how much our corporate overlords charge a family for a funeral it’s downright criminal how little we’re paid.
Haha im just going to in the ground in my back yard and if not that a viking funeral in a river lmao. Formaldehyde is a crime against nature so dont you dare touch me with that unholy abomination
Yeah, I laugh-cried my ass off when I started seeing the term pop up. When I told my friends about it, "hey did you know americans are calling doing the work you were hired to do for the amount of hours you're paid to do it 'quiet quitting'?", the reactions were always pretty much a confused "how else are you supposed to work?".
@@MrMarinus18 Quiet and loud quitting places the negative connotation on you the worker instead of the employer who is trying to squeeze more labor out of you for free.
One of the most important things Adam taught me was "information asymmetry". I work for a Kroger company, a company so flush with cash that they're trying to buy Albertsons by selling nearly 2 billion in stores to clear antitrust laws...and they hide our vacation pay and lied (or management was too incompetent) to accurately tell me how much bereavement time I had when a family member died.
I absolutely despise Kroger. I'm done instacart for a while and Kroger is one of the main stores that we go to. Every single employee I talked to cannot stand working there and they're always short-staffed. I remember during the pandemic they were trying to hire the people that pick the groceries for the pick up customers. They wanted to pay $10 an hour and I laughed and told them they were going to have to raise her wages if they wanted anyone. Of course they did. Just enough..
The hustle clowns simping for corporations because they suffer from “one day I will be a billionaire “ usually will down vote your post because what you said is all true
This is your best UA-cam monologue so far. The video script fits pretty well for several other countries, especially being aware of the SAG-AFTRA strike, which is easy because, you know, the USA's soft power. Cheers from Brazil.
I keep telling my co-workers “Why should I work harder than you? Why should you work harder than me? At the end of the day, we’re getting paid the same amount to do the same job. If you set the standard you work at at a high level, the bosses will expect you to continue working at that pace even if you feel like garbage and the only one who profits is the company.”
We had a boss who literally told us if we deserved a raise they would give us one, according to him that’s how he got every raise and promotion. Always hit our goals for bonuses and things but a raise and overtime to keep up with the work? Lmao, no, work for free. So we stopped. My co-worker quit. And now alone I was eventually let go
My exact thoughts. I feel like my boss keeps comparing me to a coworker; we do essentially the same job, but he's able to do everything super-duper quickly and precisely. good for him. but the problem is that 1) i'm not him, and 2) i don't see any personal benefit outside of not having more to do later in the shift, so why bother
@@Nevertoleave Such a common story. One of the most disgusting things about the way the system is set up: They are motivated to run understaffed, for maximum profits. You where never going to get that raise.
I literally ran the front end of a 378 apartment complex (200 per leasing agent is average) by myself for 6 months. When I asked for a raise, the GM said that we were all getting raises at the end of the year so I didn't need one now... Like seriously...
I work at Vanguard, where they have a thing called "calibration." From what I can tell it's like grading on a curve. They decide who did a better job and who did worse, and then they scale your bonus according to that. When I first heard about it I was disgusted. How can anyone think that's ok? They are literally paying us to compete with each other, all the while telling us how important it is for us to trust each other and work together. But I can't imagine my office unionizing. According to marketrealist, Vanguard CEO Mortimer Buckley makes around 700K - about 7 times what I make as a developer in the "Data & Analytics" department. listofceo estimates his net worth around 60-75 million. I don't need to make more money - and I like the work I do - but my job satisfaction is tanking for two reasons: 1. I'm constantly pressured to produce more "value," and 2. I am fueling the engine that drives climate catastrophe, mass incarceration, imperialism, and globalization. In fact, I think that's what they mean by "value!" I know many of my co-workers feel the same way but how many are willing to put their jobs on the line to stop it? What do I do?
@@Dennis-nc3vw Educate yourself: ua-cam.com/video/z7NUb5Wx5Pc/v-deo.html It's an older doc, but the info is still very relevant. Why do you think PA's are unionizing?
@@robertxyz5255Bad take. There is always a next contract. That's how union contracts work. Union contracts are a temporary peace agreement between labor and capital. Also AI is a scam.
what success their fked, this deal is temporary and their getting rid of all these cringe writers forcing diversity till their shows and movies died, most of what this dude said about AI in other videos was wrong and not its coming back to bite him in the ass.
I work in the public sector. Years ago, one division voted to unionize. There was some super sketchy behind the scenes maneuvering to try and derail the effort. When management failed to stop the union, they made a deliberate decision to ensure that union employees would be paid less. Disgusting.
I was punished at my job for discussing wages with my coworkers. I was told It could make people “uncomfortable”, when in reality it was making my bosses uncomfortable.
I'm pretty sure it's illegal to tell workers they can't discuss their wages, not sure what that knowledge does for you, or if it applies where you live. But I know there are protections like that in existence
When I got hired at my current job, I told my coworkers upfront what I got hired at. This made the bosses FURIOUS since apparently they then had to give raises to about half the staff who had been there longer and were being paid less. But the thing is, there's nothing they could do about it. They couldn't penalize me for disclosing my salary, and they could have been a lot of trouble when it was found that some of the women working there before me were being paid less than the man who just got hired. My coworkers loved me for it, it was just the bosses who threw a fit then did nothing about it.
@@BreakingStarGames No, capitalism does not specify things like that. The term "cronyism" is primarily used by capitalists who want people to ignore the fact that their lobbying of the government is an intrinsic part of an economy built on the interests of private ownership
@@-_-_-_-_...No they're being helpful into not letting capitalist bootlickers off the hook. Its time has passed, we got what we wanted from it. We need a new system
It is we who plowed the prairies; built the cities where they trade; Dug the mines and built the workshops, endless miles of railroad laid; We stand outcast and starving midst the wonders we have made; But the union makes us strong.
Is there aught we hold in common with the greedy parasite, Who would lash us into serfdom and would crush us with his might? Is there anything left for us to do but organize and fight? For the union makes us strong!
Hey Adam, I'm in the middle of a union drive at my own workplace. A very large company recently bought us out and has already cut benefits in half. Thank you for reminding me why I'm doing this. Things are hard.
I worked at Amazon for 3 months during the pandemic. All I got was barely enough to cover rent, one meal of ramen a day, and a crippling addiction to caffeine and Adderall. I lost about 50 lbs during that time from over exertion and starving myself. Then once I was injured while going too fast to keep up with the demands, they refused to pay for my physical therapy and I quit.
@@kenknife111 That's the plan! I'm currently working on starting my own small company. I'm tired of working under other folks whose income I make a fraction of.
@@robertxyz5255 Id say you were in the minority there. I barely made 2000 a month, most of which went to bills of one stripe or another. I did have benefits, but since they were through Amazon itself, not an outside insurance company, they couldn't cover an injury gained under their watch. So I had to apply for workers comp. They also denied me on workers comp, stating that an object of the size I was describing would not have been on the line I was working. They put me into a Catch 22 and I know I'm not the only one.
@@robertxyz5255 You likely live in a state where workers have better rights. Right to sack states tend to treat workers the worst they can get away with as long as it earns them a penny more.
@@andrewgreeb916 In what way? The teacher's union is quite powerful where I come from and while that creates its own problems, for the most part it's exactly what you want out of a union.
I am a proud Union member. I work a blue collar job and have a six figure income with no college degree. Our labor is worth it, don’t let them convince you otherwise.
My dad has been a Local 150 operator for over 30 years. When the housing market crashed in 2008 and he couldn't work, the union made sure his family still had healthcare. When his criminal employer was 2 months behind on paychecks, the union made sure he got all his backpay. And next year he'll be 55 years young and able to retire on a full union pension. Workers united! Apes, together, strong!
I am a Teamster. We get minimum wage, work in a dangerous environment, and will be fired if we do not work a minimum 10 hours a week overtime. Unions are a grift and a scam.
Adam is spot on. 38 years ago I graduated High school and bought into the capitalism facade. I entered the manual labor force eventually I started my own one man business. I work manual labor 40 - 60 hours a week. What do I have to show for it? Drowning in red ink, My wife and I are barely able to afford to pay the bills and afford to drive to work. I told both of my children NEVER HESITATE TO TAKE MONEY OUT OF YOUR EMPLOYERS POCKET.
The unions at my organization successfully got all employees a raise of at least 20% over the next couple of years. I am not a union member (at least not yet), but I am definitely grateful for the hard work they put in.
that raise gets turned into higher cost of product, making other kinds of business having to raise prices aswell resulting in inflation making this 20% raise worthless because prices increase by 20% if not even more because why not turn it up a lil while being at it? the only way to fight capitalism is politics and one of the worst offenders in capitalism and the ones to gain the most by it are politicians ... yeah we are screwed if we dont get the foot in the door now.
On behalft of the rest of the World : Thank you for trying to put a stop on ruining it for everyone else. As long as US companies are getting their way in their home country they try to push the same bull on other countries. I saw a lot of videos of US Citizens envying German public healthcare ( or public healthcare in general ) truth is the current System is clap. And the main reason is that politicians in the 90's allowed/enabled the health system should be profitable. Which opened the doors for Foreign Investors with "good" profitable Ideas. Just remember "Profit" and "Dividends" is nothing but taking money out of a company and giving it to people who never lifted a single digit for that money, instead of reinvesting it into the company or giving it to people who did the actual work.
Thank you for doing this video , Im an IBEW Jouneyman Wireman. I'm the recording secretary in the executive board and on our apprenticeship committee. I'm so happy to see the rise in union popularity in the general public and videos like this show people why and how important they are. Joining the IBEW was the best thing I've done for my life, anytime someone is talking about how they hate their job or how bad their working conditions are I just wanna grab people and say find a union!! Right-to-work states are the next problem on the list maybe?
UAW makes me proud to be from Michigan again 💪Union Strong! Let's see how much the capitalist class continues to ignore those who built their wealth FOR them!
i’ve watched my grandfather work tireless hours. deadass has worked second shift since i could remember and never left work for more than a week and he’s still working at that plant. and both him and my grandmother still make less than people who have worked less hours. it’s wrong in every way. we need unions everywhere. not just cole miners not just factory workers. we need them at restaurants at walmart. everywhere.
@@rimworld64 In no way is that socialism. I am a socialist, I believe the means of production should be owned by the people and not a specific person or set of people, but unions does not equal socialism. It's just better than what would exist WITHOUT unions.
Wow that's awesome! The thing is Adam ruins everything didn't come out until after I already finished high school so This just didn't happen. I mean I graduate high school in 2007 so UA-cam was still considered kind of new at the time.
But Adam is a product of an abundant culture and he is wrong! Therefore his "history" is wrong. Have you ever asked yourself why so much industry has left America? Why so many poor are unemployed? Why minimum wage NEVER increases anyone's wealth? Why small business suffers so much? It's because of YOUR policy ideas.
@TheAdamConover - possibly the best thing you've ever created. Should be required viewing in every High School, not only in the USA but also around the world. Solidarity. 😊😊🌈🌈☮☮
same as "you're made of stardust", worthless platitudes that sound deep on the surface, but are revealed to be a 2d visual illusion once you think about it from a different perspective. if you are willing to earn them more in exchange for a lower pay, they will fight each other to get you to work for them, more so the cheaper you are relative to others. in situations like that, you should let them bid for your attention, but the average uneducated laborer is not aware of anything but themself, which is what unions are made for. too bad modern unions are either controlled by the corporation, or the government, or else they might actually offer good policies that help everyone, and not policies that help a few unionized workers by creating artificial worker scarcity by forcing other workers into unemployment, coincidentally leading to a greater need to be part of a union to survive in the economy.
@@davidlewis6728 but isn't that the same thing? You said a worker should attempt to cause a bidding war over themselves by offering to work for less, so doesn't that imply that you are worth more to them if they get to pay you less? I'm a bit confused as to what your criticism of the original statement is
@@janitor1165 "we're made of stardust" is also true, but it's also a platitude. people who understand what the phrase means understands that it isn't as meaningful (doesn't "really hit" as hard) as what people who don't understand it will hear. yes, you are worth more to someone the less you cost to hire, but worth is decided by how much people are willing to pay to get something, so to rephrase it, people are willing to pay you more if you are willing to work for less (than market price) which is about as meaningful as "water is wet", but because of how he is framing it, it looks like it means something completely different. the way adam is portraying it almost makes it seem like the market doesn't value you, that you are not a person to them, just a resource, or that their ideal working condition would be you working for them for nothing. that's even less accurate than the pseudo-intellectual interpretation of the stardust quote, but it's great at convincing you to fear the market and underestimate your ability to influence anything without the help of the conmen, both in congress, and on the market that adam has clearly sided with.
Life shouldn't be about of extracting every last drop of efficiency, it should be about love and joy. Work should be aspect of that joy, not just as a means to an end, not a necessary evil for living life well. Adam taught me to be critical about the world as a child and to challenge the status quo as an adult!
you should be critical of adam. He gets a lot of things wrong and is often very biased for the sake of being edgy. So much missinformation shared by him
@@jonathandpg6115even if he is wrong or biased, the attitude he imparts is a very good one, because it's all about being critical even if it's not comfortable. That was the whole premise of his old show, "Adam RUINS everything", it was meant to make people critical of things they thought they liked, and not rest on their laurels
Wishing you and your wife the best of luck on this! My mom and I both used to work in preschool - it's grueling work, and for anyone reading this who's unaware, childcare workers (who often need degrees to get entry level jobs) have been systemically underpaid all across the US. I'm not in the industry anymore so there's not much I can offer you, except some moral support. Keep it up!
I did "the grind" for 20 years trying to save enough money to take my construction company from one-off contract jobs to landing consistent work at a decent profit. My entire waking life was spent trying to make it work... ...and it almost did until my wife had a stroke and needed me at home. 20 years of work went "poof" with one medical event. Now I'm in a state union CUTTING GRASS at a mental hospital and I make more and have 100% more benefits than I ever had before. I work 40 hours a week and my off time is EXACTLY THAT! Off time! I don't even think about work when I'm not there! EPIC WIN!!!
But you always had that option. The path you first chose wasn't exactly the wrong path, its just highly competitive and kinda higher risk for higher potential. Where as union jobs you know your not getting much farther but ur still content with where ur at.
@@Rock_Shady that’s technically true, he always did, but the ideas of being “self-made” and the “American Dream,” hustle culture, getting to the top, and working like he said at every waking moment, have been way oversold that a lot of ppl don’t end up looking into other options. It’s not impossible to be self-made, become a CEO at a company, or live the American dream, but a lot of ppl aren’t in the right place to make it feasible. Some don’t realize that until they try to make it happen, and they figure out what they’re rlly up against, or in OP’s case, when a life-altering event happens, like a stroke. And what could help you if ur livelihood starts going south? Social safety nets and things like labor unions. But capitalists try to convince the working class that they’re not worth it and they just take their hard-earned money, when it’s capital owners who have the most to gain from workers, esp when they’re not unionized. Maybe you weren’t being that deep but OP was likely unaware of how beneficial unions are and there’s career options while not exactly super impressive or flashy can provide good benefits w/ less stress and more security. His original goal is not impossible to achieve, but there’s nothing wrong w being content w just enough or having a regular job
@@Rock_Shadyabsolute W, happy for you dude. being a buisness owner isn't all it's cracked up to be, especially when competing with multi million dollar corporations.
With the Kaiser healthcare strike after the autoworkers and the WGA, we are experiencing an awakening. A change reminiscent of The Grapes of Wrath. The irony of the hollywood strikes is that they made a movie about jimmy hoffa’s assassination just a few years ago, a union boss..
@@thatwildginger5423Yep, gangs are an extremely common, while unfortunate, coping mechanism in response to inadequate housing, no good paying jobs, etc. When it becomes too hard to survive alone, it's natural and logical to gang up to survive together.
"The boss makes a dollar, I make a dime, This was a poem from a simpler time, Now the boss makes a million and I don't make jack, so now's when we STRIKE and take it all back."
A proud story to share: Our Education Union recently negotiated, for the first time, a completely collaborative bargaining agreement with our ESD. When you mention changing the world, there are unions out there that are changing the narrative and destroying that negative working relationship. Changing the way unions work with corporations. Progressing, changing the future. That, too, is the power of a union.
I remember being in 2nd grade history class when our teacher did an extremely short version of this and she ended it with "and every place got unionized and we all lived happily ever after, until some crazy person decided happily ever after for everyone was a dumb idea, and now we're going right back to heck" made me feel very safe living in the u.s. of a.
@@riuukover not every country is as "F the citizens" as we are here in the US... this includes the other "capitalist" countries, because despite what Fox News says, having free healthcare doesn't automatically make a country socialist.
@@erica.7231 you're using words that I don't think you know the meaning of lol. Also, unions HAVE to be created because capitalism creates such horrible conditions. Like your comment really doesn't make sense. If the entire system is set up to help workers, then unions aren't needed. Unions are only necessary because of the abuse capitalism is to workers. So your first sentence shows a severe misunderstanding of WHY that is. On top of that, capitalism does not want proper regulations, what does that even mean? And they sure as shit don't want "social policies". I feel like you didn't even watch 30 seconds of the video 😂
Im so glad that your channel has so many subscribers and so many views. We really do need channels like these to spread the truth about the systems we live in and how to improve them in order to have a good lfie with dignity
I've worked harder than most of my coworkers, I've been super dependable, showing up on time and only calling in sick when I was actually sick. I did a bunch of extra stuff nobody asked me to do, and I did it all with a good attitude. Despite all that, I've been passed by on promotions multiple times. Companies don't reward hard work with success. And heck, even if I got that promotion, I would only be making a few more cents than I do now.
Your value in your position was a big factor keeping you from getting promoted. This is the sad secret of hard workers - they can literally hustle themselves into a rut by being too valuable in their lower position.
I've had a similar story, I worked harder than my coworkers: so my co-workers got fired and their responsibilities were dumped onto me, with no pay raise. I quit the next week. All hard work rewards you with is more hard work.
Well of course not. You've shown that you're too dedicated to this position by doing it so well so giving you the promotion would be detrimental to productivity.
But Andrew Tate and them said you won't be a billionaire like them unless you do work hard and fight your urges to not do shit!! Hahaha Sarcasm man. I'm with you. After working with mental health patients on their behavior and helping direct care staff all day. When I get home, the last thing I want to do is study anything, read anything, and or go to another job to punch in a clock there. I just want to chill, rest. Get ready for the next day and not feel guilty.
@@Dr.Beetlejuice110 yeah and besides the people that do get "rich" from him are only mildly more successful than the average. they still could not buy a buggati even if they wanted to🤣 and those people work a lot and are very very lucky for even succeeding
@@Dr.Beetlejuice110 Why the hell would I want to be rich? To loose my touch with humanity and become some subhuman ghoul chasing the ephemeral key to immortality? Fuck that I am not a lich or a vampire, I am a god damned human and ape together strong. Rest long and good comrade, the parasites will bend the knee and WE will build the coalition to end capitalism, the contradictions are becoming ever more poignant.
You can still unionize in a "Right to work" state. It just means that people can opt out of paying dues while still getting all the benefits and protection of a union. It's bullshit, and those people are scabs, but you can still unionize. I did it once upon a time in Florida. Also thanks to the supreme Court all government work is "Right to Work" even in states that aren't right to work.
Similar to the triangle shirt factory, an amazon warhouse collapsed from a tornado a few years ago and workers were not allowed to clock out and seek proper shelter.
Here's a sign your company needs to Unionize. Most American's don't know that approximately 80% of the radio news and traffic reporters they listen to and some of the tv people too, even in the large markets, are working for $14 an hour (with no benefits) for a company called Total Traffic Network/ I Heart Music. That's why it seems like a high school talent show when you listen to the news. Polished, experienced broadcasters won't work for McDonalds money, so they get out of the business. All listeners get anymore is people who are desperate for ANY kind of job. That's how low things have sunk in broadcasting now that only 3 companies own just about all of the radio stations in the country. They know workers should unionize , so when they hire you they make you sign documentation that says you will not participate in efforts to unionize!
@@SeppelSquirrel yeah that's true but if it's illegal, it holds no actual power over the employee. It's a right. It's like them making you sign up a contract that says "I give up my right to freedom of speech"
If the capitalists were as smart as their paychecks, they wouldn't have screwed over the writers... You know, the people whose job it is to tell a story? Thanks for spreading the word, Adam!
I work in the 3d animation industry and while the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes are impacting us (many studios are on standby and in-between projects, many coworkers and I are currently out of job), I am 100% behind your fight and really hope the animation/VFX industry will unionize too! In the past years, I've seen companies do so many shady things to friends, many friends burning out because they're overworked, and sometimes they don't even make it to the credits, etc, it needs to stop! Without us, the billionaires can't do movies and shows. It's time they realize they need us more than we need them.
It’s awesome that you’re still standing in solidarity with the writers even though it’s negatively impacting your ability to make money. I really hope that your industry follows suit and that you guys are supported by the writers when y’all do. Working class solidarity.
I just found your UA-cam channel/videos this past week. Well done on your thoughtful/funny/accurate takes on various issues. You are up there with the John Stewart/John Oliver/Stephen Colbert, etc. Brilliant!
As someone who worked at Amazon, I actually know what orientation day is like. They spend a half-day giving you a tour of the prison death trap, then you go home feeling exhausted but just _walking_ around the warehouse. Then you realize tomorrow, you have to work for twice as long while _doing_ stuff. You will be _way_ more exhausted by tomorrow's end. There have been times when I was too tired to eat and kept falling asleep after each bite. As a bus driver that's in a union, yes, union jobs are way better than non-union jobs
The New Labor movement fills me with so much hope. All of us are badly exploited and exhausted but I've had more hope than I've had in a long time. We can beat the capitalists!
Here's me, a communist, waiting for the socdems to radicalise when the union movement starts to take off and is faced with the next generation Pinkertons
I have a marketable skill, if you have one of those you don't need a union. I get paid what I do because I provide value to the company. Not because a bunch of whiners had a tantrum and shut down a factory.
@@joecoolioness6399 Oooh woe is I! Haha you peasantry fools, relying on unions! WEAK! A NOBLE HOMO SAPIEN OBEYS HIS SUPERIORS FOR THEY ARE LIKE DEMIGODS WHO GRACE US WITH THEIR PRESENCE! A NOBLE HOMOSAPIEN PROVIDES AND DOES NOT ASK!! FOR WORK WILL SET YOU FREE!!!! IAM ZE UBERMENSCH ZIEGFART!!!!!
It's sad that the algorithm will probably push this video down to stop view counts from rising because of the topic, but people need to see this and we need more people willing to take the first steps towards re-unionizing America because if we don't it's only going to get worse for us and our kids.
Congratulations on helping lead history in the right direction, Adam. Fantastic work these past several months. You've been an imperative voice to the movement.
My husband is a SAG member. We both wanted so bad to go picket with you but I was in the hospital for so much of the strike. I’m happy you and our reps were there on behalf of us who couldn’t go.
My wife is also in SAG and couldn't walk with them - literally, because she was home recovering from ankle surgery. But SAG is still out on the lines; it was WGA who got a settlement. Hopefully, the studio bosses will realize that they need to come to fair terms with the actors as well.
When the Teachers in LA want a vote to unionize, the School District sent someone around to tell us that if we voted in the Union, we would lose our jobs, we voted for the Union, and the only one who lost his job was the guy who told us that! And after that our benefits, and salaries went up nicely!!!!!!!!!
As a teacher, I try and tell this to my students. This doesn't stop at workers rights it's racism, socio-economic discrepancy, violence, etc. We are all unique beings that deserve to be seen and heard but we all have to remember we are also the same in many ways and WE are the "little" people that together can bring things to a better future but we have to stop fighting each other and falling for the lies of these bosses/people of power.
You are amazing I can't even begin to imagine how happy I would if I had a teacher like you, please continue being yourself it's cuz of people like u that I can still believe there's good in this world 🙏
Congrats on the win man. 15 years ago in Australia I attempted the same for my fellows and colleagues. I was elected by 87% of them to represent them (to a be a negotiator parallel to the union) But at 7% union membership I should have seen the level of solidarity for what it was. When push came to shove they scabbed on each other and hung me out to dry. I ruined my career for a bunch of selfish hustlers. 8% of whom lost their jobs the next month and the rest handed a pay cut. Solidarity is the key. To this day the average Aussie worker blames shit unions for their problems but few of them realise it’s themselves, each and together that gives the union its power.
A Union is supposed to be United. If a huge majority of workers don't band together then it's just a rebellious couple of employees that is way too easy for them to replace.
that's what makes unionizing so difficult, people will be all for it but when it comes time to go for it they chicken out and leave the people leading the charge out to dry
The very best thing I've done in my working career was unionize. My wages have gone up, my health insurance is way way way better and costs NOTHING, I have a pension, my working conditions are better, the list goes on. Sure there are some parts I dont like. Business Agents can fuck you over and bargain with the company on your behalf, AND YOU DONT GET TO VOTE ON IT. Even still, I do not regret it. If we had not unionized, our wages would have been cut, they told us outright that we were overpaid. My benefits were already shit, they eliminated the match on our retirement, they threatened layoffs. NONE OF THIS HAPPENED. Do it. Unionize your workplace. It is sloooooooooooooooooow. It is frustrating. It is so worth it though.
And the product you make is more expensive, forcing companies to look for other ways to save production costs, like moving your job to another country for example. People keep complaining about not making a living wage but those are the same people complaining about how expensive stuff is. D'uh, the more you pay your workers, the more you have to charge for your products.
@@joecoolioness6399is rate of profit an idea you understand? A company can still make profit, just less. If they cant live with that they can collapse and be replaced.
@@joecoolioness6399you really don't understand the brush of economics as well as you think you do. While its true, that increasing costs Does increase the minimum cost to be profitable, and the ratios of profitability skew higher. Companies are already trying to make as much money as possible by charging as much as they possibly can following by maximizing the ratio of (profit of sale x number of sales). With the exception of industries that really shouldn't be privatized like healthcare, when you charge more for a product, less people will buy it and companies know this and already have the price as high as they think they can get away with.
Unions? Neva hear of em bosss, worker's rights? pffssh more like worker's wrongs company loyalty is more important (wink wink) Sarcasm obviously, good on ya king.
my former company had a list of employees that were terminated and why. Things like "came in late too often" "drug related absences" "lack of adherance to safety policies" anyway, a number of them had "pro union" as the reason - yikes
10:00 One of my greatgrandfathers was a striker in that sit-down strike. I also had a family member on my dad's side who was an organizer and my paternal grandfather was the union rep at one of the plants in Flint MI. Thank you for this as well as this history of strikes!
Thank you so much for this Adam!!! I'm a public healthcare worker from Québec and we are currently in a big fight against our provincial government for better working conditions and wages. We made a coalition with other unions and recently, almost half of the teachers of our province joined us, making it one of the largest strike movement in the history of our province. (I'm no stranger to class warfare, strikes and protests as I was also part of 2012's Québec's student strike, also known back then as Maple Spring or the red squares movement.) Even just taking part of such movements is empowering and reassuring as you feel like you are not alone in this fight and most of all, you are not feeling powerless anymore! ✊🏻 You know that you are fighting for a good cause which will benefit not only you, but so many more around and even after you! As long as there will be workers, there will be unions to fight for them and protect them! Long live the workers and unions! ✊🏻
I can tell this meant a lot to Adam. I could hear the inflection in his voice as he says they won - the kind you have when you’re so moved you may cry. I’m really happy for you. The strikes across the country have been the most hopeful things have looked in years imo.
Probably your best video ever. A powerful, complete and important message that all should hear. The fundamental thing we need to bring each other to remember is this: If these wheels keep turning, it's because of us, the working class. Millionaires and billionaires are not wizards whom we need to make the world function. Human effort, time and intelligence are what makes the world go 'round. And that's us. They need us far more than we need them; and until we can do away with mega-rich classes altogether, then we better learn how valuable We the People are. Big love Adam, thank you
Love the video! I was taught the biggest lie of my life growing up in the south, that "unions are bad and not to bother because gee look at all the worker protection laws, no one will take advantage of you! Trust us...." Not buying it AT ALL and I've been wondering where yo start. Thank you for putting this video out! Looking up the union website you mentioned and starting my own journey to better wages and a better future! Thank yiu SO MUCH!!
I learned all of this way back in the 90s when i first entered the work force, as a teen. Grinding is rebranded slavery. My motto has always been "you pretend to pay me, i pretend to work" im a an art teacher making a ljving, and i love my job.
Solidarity forever, for the union makes us strong! Great piece Adam, the anger we feel at the injustices of our world is the fire that lights the torch of the second labor movement! For Every Man a Union!
I support unions, but I won't join one because labor leaders don't seem to fight anymore. Like the Democrats who's platform I believe in more than they do, it seems labor leaders are paid to not win by these same corporations. That's how it seems to an outsider.
“[…] labor has been equalized by the subordination of man to the machine or by the extreme division of labor; that men are effaced by their labor; that the pendulum of the clock has become as accurate a measure of the relative activity of two workers as it is of the speed of two locomotives. Therefore, we should not say that one man’s hour is worth another man’s hour, but rather that one man during an hour is worth just as much as another man during an hour. Time is everything, man is nothing; he is, at the most, time’s carcass.” -Karl Marx, Poverty of Philosophy
@@erica.7231 the only answer to our current labor issues are realizing the true value of our labor, that is what the capitalists (ie. mega-wealthy) steal from us. they strip all value of your labor, and give you back the ABSOLUTE MINIMUM they can get away with, and line their pockets, pay for their private jets, personal chefs, multi million dollar party nights, tens of thousands of dollars a night worth of tabs at fancy resturants, multi million/billion dollar homes, supercars, ect. with the rest. in america 1 in 5 children go without proper FOOD. FUCKING KIDS AREN'T EATING. if you think it's right for some to have so much while most have so little I question the depth of your humanity. and i'm not talking out of my ass, i was one of the hungery kids. if me and my girlfriend didn't shoplift food in highschool, or found a charitable foodbank, we would not have eaten outside what the school gave us. im only 24, this wasn't that long ago.
I'm 25 and just finished my apprenticeship in a trade union. Absolutely the best decision I ever made. I've only attended two protests in the 4 years I've been in this union but it has felt amazing each time. Sure it's not easy standing outside somewhere that you're clearly not wanted, but hearing about the contracts we secured by doing it makes every second worth it.
The Business Plot of 1933, when they planned to establish a fascist veteran's organization and replace FDR with a dictator. Fortunately for us, the man they chose, Smedley Butler, had become an anti-capitalist after seeing firsthand how U.S. corporations used warfare for profit. Also noteworthy in that Prescott Bush, father/grandfather of Presidents Bush, was a liason between the Wall Street plotters and the Nazi regime.
@StJimmy1408 Not education-based. But a good Union/Labor movie based on true events is a movie called "In Dubious Battle". It's got James Franco, Selena Gomez, Ed Harris, Peta from Hunger Games, and Vincent D'Onofrio among many others. Quite a star-studded cast. It's a good film. Onto real people and events though. The video creator didn't mention Joe Hill ( Swedish American activist) if you haven't read up on him yet.
Thanks for making this video! I used to work in HR at a cold storage warehouse and during new hire orientation they actually had a slide that talked about how they were good enough and how a union wasn't needed. I didn't agree w/ that and told the new hires how I felt or didn't go over it at all. It makes me so happy to see unions winning because for the longest time, I've been feeling hopeless for my future here. We have a long road ahead, but everyone keep fighting! ✊️
Thank you, Adam. I'm grateful that The Jungle was part of our curriculum in Middle School and it really still should be.. the struggle will always be relevant.
"Hard work never killed anybody." They used to tell that damn lie a lot when I was a kid. It sure as hell does. I don't believe they tell kids that bullshit anymore.
"Never killed anyone" Tell that to Japan
@@rowanmccracken5041 Or South Korea. Or China. Or Vietnam. Or even the US of A....
Oh yeah, I recognize that line. It's funny just how easy it is to disprove though.
@@rowanmccracken5041 Hardwork, and overwork are two different things.
@@Triaxx2not to companies and corporations, they’re not. Hell, most companies will put in lines in your contract that basically state that, along with whatever duties you’re assigned, you may be assigned additional tasks by your supervisor “as needed”. This is also known as “we’ll give you as much work as we like, whether you like it or not, and regardless of whether or not you’ve got the capacity to do it.”
I remember one comment I read years ago that stuck with me: "Ah, the Middle Class: Always three bad months away from poverty, never three good months away from escaping the grind". As a worker, no matter where you are on the ladder, you have infinitely more in common with the destitute, homeless man on the corner than you do the billionaires.
Kind of reminds me of this other comment I read a while back: "Ah, the Middle Class: Often viewed through the lens of its struggling 10%, rarely celebrated for the 90% that prospers." Most people that are unhappy about where they're at on the ladder adapt and jump to a new one.
While living in a cozy/warm Midwest McMansion, while doing something you love for a living, might be considerably more modest than a Billionaire's lavish lifestyle, it's still not even close to living under a bridge while coping with mental illness. 🤦
@micahriley9730 I think you're missing OPs point. The point isn't that being middle class isn't good enough or isn't a good life, it's that a billion dollars is such a big number, it's so astronomically big, that if you are pulling 6 figures, you are still economically much closer to the income of $0 than the income of a billionaire. If you make half a million, your income is rounding error to a billionaire. Counting to a million a second at a time takes 11 days. Counting to a billion a second at a time takes over 30 years. It just isn't comparable at all.
@@cbpd89 I believe you might be overlooking my core argument: the sheer incomparability of these economic classes. A middle-class individual might fly coach or first class, while a billionaire has the luxury of private jets. In stark contrast, the homeless might be found pushing shopping carts and collecting discarded items. There's a diminishing return on the tangible improvements to quality of life as wealth increases.
@@Omnip073n77 if the point was a snake it would have bit you.
Edit: after reading some of your other responses, why are you so anti union?
@@Bea-a-deer Tell me you don't know how to use a simple colloquial expression without directly telling me.😆🤣
It's like you have a limited set of "phrases" to detract from actual discourse, desperately fitting a square peg in a round hole. 😆🤣😂🤦
In 1999 I was working non union for $14.00, I paid for my health care, and a couple of hundred in a 401k. I went three miles away to a union job doing basically the same job. The wage was $22.23, with 1,000 hours of work my health insurance was paid for the next year, $120 per month pension for every year of 1,000 hours, and $3.00 per hour of work in an annuity account. All this for $10.00 per month and 1.5% of my gross earnings. It was the best thing that I have ever done for my career.
This makes sense for 1999, although this foreshadows why most domestic production operations dipped while still lowering costs with the consumer end.
Today, the average increase is 10% (not including the new fees). There's also a much greater threat to a majority of these jobs from impending automation and AI. I'm honestly rooting for the unionization of everything so the private sector starts pouring even more money into my industry, which will soon start ironing out solutions that replace these workers. 🤑
big vulture vibes. which is why unions.need to happen. With enough leverage (or.force) the fruits of new tech could be shared, not hoarded. If workers are more productive (which we are, even without further innovation, worker productivity has.skyrocketed through the years, largely bc of emerging tech) they what we need is claw out is the same pay for less work. The UAW has the right idea
that being said as someone who works in a sector that vc bros love to think they can automate where it's painfully obvious they don't know how anything works (healthcare) I don't know I'm that worried personally
@@Omnip073n77 From all the drivel you've been spewing, it's clear you're literally incapable of understanding this issue. You can only manage one perspective. And speaking as a programmer, if that's the level of attention to detail you put into your work, in a field where every angle must be considered *thoroughly,* the unions are gonna be just fine. (I am too, incidentally; lousy competition has made me highly valued among my clients. So, thanks for keeping that bar nice and low.)
@@Omnip073n77bad argument. They also shifted production overseas so thry can use child labour and skip environmental and safety regulation. That doesnt mean our child labour laws caused it. It means we need stricter laws around offshoring.
@@kimadams8757exactly
I worked at Amazon for a month, and I cant tell you that it is hell.
I was on a lift and had to stock items on second shift, bathroom breaks were frowned upon and even got me in trouble, the manager for my department asked "what was this 3 minute break from scanning" I told him, "I had to use the bathroom", to which he said "try to go during break time". Pissing in bottles is real, I have seen it first hand.
You can never work fast enough. I was told to pick up the pace as I wasnt making quota, when I explained that my lift was speed locked at the lowest setting (not out of training) they still chastized me. You had to also exit an aisle if a "Prime" picker needed into it. An aisle was only one lift wide and had magnetic tracks, so you either had to back out, or speed out and go back in later.
The best part was when we had a bomb threat, and no worker knew about it until after the fact. We knew that something was wrong when they denied people going on their scheduled break time twice, and when we asked, were told to "just keep working, we are figuring something out". Cops started to surround the building, and coming in, but all the doors were locked so no one could leave, this lasted about an hour or so. After it was all said and done, word spread quickly that there was a bomb threat, and that they were searching lockers and the break room. They told us during the event to keep working and not to go on break. The next day before our shift started, they confirmed it was a bomb threat, and we were pissed. They addressed it as if it was no big deal, and said "If anyone wants to talk about it, meet us over by the cooler, which I, and some others did. The manager acted like it was nothing and basically said "get over it" in a nicer way. I, and other employees didn't tolerate that our lives were put at risk for profit, and that there was no steps taken to secure any employees wellbeing. Keep in mind, I was driving my lift, right beside the locker room and break rooms putting items away, needles to say, I quit that day and never looked back.
Edit: Grammar corrections.
Just so you know, employers trying to control bathroom time in any way is an OSHA violation
Thank you for sharing your experience. That is really messed up of them
@@Enemby Also refusing to give breaks.
@@Enembyamazon has been fined for this & denying employees their breaks MANY times…they just pay the fines & keep doing it.
@@Snail_Nailz please try to bring facts as opposed to rhetoric - - - US Department of Labor finds Amazon exposed workers to unsafe conditions,
ergonomic hazards at three more warehouses in Colorado, Idaho, New York
OSHA cites global e-commerce company for similar safety failures at six locations
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that its Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued citations at three more Amazon warehouses - in Aurora, Colorado; Nampa, Idaho; and Castleton, New York - for failing to keep workers safe and delivered hazard alert letters for exposing workers to ergonomic hazards.
OSHA cited the multinational e-commerce company for not providing safe workplaces in violation of the OSH Act's general duty clause. The inspections follow referrals from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York that led the agency to open inspections and find similar violations at other Amazon warehouse facilities in Florida, Illinois and New York in July 2022. OSHA later opened inspections in Aurora, Nampa and Castleton on Aug. 1, 2022.
At all six locations, OSHA investigators found Amazon exposed warehouse workers to a high risk of low back injuries and other musculoskeletal disorders. The risks they faced are related to the following:
High frequency with which employees must lift packages and other items.
Heavy weight of the items handled by workers.
Employees awkwardly twisting, bending and extending themselves to lift items.
Long hours required to complete assigned tasks.
OSHA reviewed on-site injury logs required by federal law and discovered that, in fact, Amazon warehouse workers experienced high rates of musculoskeletal disorders.
OSHA proposed $46,875 in penalties for the violations at the Aurora, Nampa and Castleton facilities.
"Amazon's operating methods are creating hazardous work conditions and processes, leading to serious worker injuries," explained Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker. "They need to take these injuries seriously and implement a company-wide strategy to protect their employees from these well-known and preventable hazards."
On Jan. 30, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington extended the OSH Act's six-month limitations period related to the investigations at these three facilities while Amazon complied with outstanding subpoenas and, accordingly, OSHA's investigation continues.
In December 2022, OSHA cited Amazon for 14 recordkeeping violations as part of the same investigation.
Amazon has 15 business days from receipt of the current citations and proposed penalty to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director, or contest the findings before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. - - - OSHA National News
The line "you are worth more the less you are paid" really hits hard. It sounds like an oxymoron but is entirely true.
Only from the boss' perspective, sadly. :(
Extracting all of your productive capacity at discount? Definitely.
Also you notice most corporations prefer short term employees vs hard workers. Because they don’t want to pay what you are worth .
The average mega-corporations run a profit margin of about 5%. You are worth pretty much exactly what you are paid, and your worth can be measured objectively by how much revenue you bring into the company. A worker paid $10 an hour brings maybe $12 an hour in additiona revenues. A worker paid $100 an hour brings in about $120. So no, the more you are paid, the more you are worth.
@@heribertosarmiento1265 That doesn't even make sense, it's always your choice whether to raise your pay or not. If they didn't want to pay you more, they just wouldn't.
Just remember: the harder a corporation fights against unionization, the more you stand to gain if they lose.
Unions are like condoms, if someone is weirdly against it, you definitely need one.
THIS. are you on instagram?
Unions are a lot like condoms.
If your "partner" is always telling you you don't need one, then you ABSOLUTELY need one!
Bullsh*t. The more companies are forced to pay their people for low skill labor, the more products cost, the more they have to charge for them, the more they will explore more efficiency (automation), the more they will move factories, etc. Getting paid $75k a year to screw a wheel to a chassis might be great if you get that job but that job will soon be done by million dollar robots who don't get sick, don't extort for more money, and who don't hold companies hostage for another paid day off.
@@joecoolioness6399 agreed. If Workers become completly redundant then we can get some real Cyberpunk Nightmare Stuff. Imagine Billionares but they run entire states and command entire Continents worth of Resources and automated Labor. From Military to even Education. They will have total controll and if you stand up you get offed by private military or a secret agency that seaks and destroys the oposition. Lets hope they can´t Lobby that hard and that anti trust kicks in at some point.
A lot of people think laws banning kids from working in mines are good. I'm not sure though. For nearly a century 10 year old boys have dreamed of black lung and dying at 35. Yet we selfishly deprive them of that utopian dream. The kids yearn for the mines. We should help them realize their potential as disposable labor.
The black lung must spread. This is good for the economy.
Just look how many of them love to play minecraft. They long to mine.
You willfully neglect to mention the American child's inherited right to die in a textile fire
Lmao, I love "The kids yearn for the mines" jokes but honestly, I'm expecting US Republicans to start taking it up as an actual political stance any day now.
@@TheAwesomes2104 No joke, they actually have. Many red states have recently clawed back child labour laws. Including Meatball Ron's state, ya know, the guy that is so concerned about "Protecting children."
We have over 90% union membership and they just got us the highest raise in the industry this year. Nobody is going to convince me my life would be better without my union.
But... Think of the billionaires! They need money more than us! If they did not why would they have so much of it!
@@mavericksetsuna7396Those fat geese can lick the bottom of my sewer trekked boots
I wonder how they'll pay for those raises.... OH, that's right, they pass on that cost to me to buy the garbage you produce. Oh joy!
@@bobbobbington3615 and if you look around everything got more expensive. With or without unions. Almost as if coporations try to sell everything at the maximum possible price, even if they dont give out raises. Dont act like a company that makes millions in profit cares about keeping the price down for you.
@@bobbobbington3615 dont act like big companies care about keeping the price down for you. They will sell it for as much as they can get away with and if we dont get raises the investors will pocket the extra profits.
“I only pay you minimum wage because it’s illegal to pay you less”…
That’s how I’ve always heard it from the bosses 😡
That boss is definitely committing wage theft over and above the theft that is profiting from your labor
the only honest thing they ever said I'm sure, 'cuz that's true for all employees, whether illegal or just can't get away with paying less
I always thought that min wage was bad. 1 it does drive prices up. But also lets companies claim just what you said. Where as if we didnt have a min wage. They could offer a job at what ever the going rate was. If it was too low people wont apply. So they would have 2 choices negotiate wage individually or offer it competitively, or close thier doors. Either way workers stand to win, unless you go in to work for peanuts. 90% of people dont even try to negotiate.
@@87swoo44This is basically what’s happening with the restaurant business. Businesses either pay up or don’t get workers. Just paying minimum wage doesn’t cut it anymore
"we wish could commit human rights crimes but we would go to jail"
- bosses
Grew up in a union household. My parents raised 7 children on one union job. Bought a house, had two cars (dad's work car and mom's limousine aka the station wagon) and we all went on the big vacation once a year. We had music lessons, dance lessons (me) and participated in team sports (my brothers). A union job not only supported my family, it supported all the services my family needed: Grocery stores, hardware stores, shoe stores, clothing stores, sporting goods stores, music stores, fabric stores (after I learned to sew), restaurants, dentists, doctors, movie theaters and the big auditorium where my parents would go for classical music concerts or take me to see The Nutcracker ballet every Christmas.
That one union job supported a lot of other businesses throughout the year. That's how you build, grow and maintain a strong economy and have a middle class; with good paying union jobs.
Yeah, probably not the union. What were the tax brackets for the highest workers?
@@ja-son439If I had to guess, this person grew up in the 1970s maybe. Highest tax rate was around 70%
Union job or not in that era, you made a lot more vs the cost of living. These days you don't. But also, unions are monopolies for workers. Sure, if you have a union job, you're golden. But the fact that the union exists shrinks the job market in the space the union operates and makes it substantially harder for some people to get these unionized jobs. People who have union jobs are basically benefiting at the expense of other workers in the market, usually the less skilled. Minimum wage also does this where its sometimes (but not always) better for the people that keep their job, but for the people whose work isn't worth minimum wage, the law basically outlaws hiring them.
@@billyte1265Is this what you’re bosses told you at the pizza party that happened on the same night as the union meeting or are you the boss who feeds people these talking points?
@@billyte1265 So you are saying unskilled workers can't unionize? This is why unity and "not crossing the picket line" is important. If everyone is on board and move in unison, there is no one left to exploit! Is that so hard to understand? And if nonunion people have a hard time getting a job, that is incentive to join a union. But that doesn't really happen now does it? Because corporations WANT TO HIRE nonunion members. SO unless you have some very specific examples, your argument is full of holes.
This right here. This is exactly what I define as 'woke.' Recognizing a fundamental problem in society for what it is and incentivizing people to come together and act on it.
And I f*cking LOVE IT. Thank you for what you do.
Keep on preaching. Everybody needs to hear this.
Little wonder that the wealthy and the right-wing demonise the term "woke". It's a fundamental threat to their wealth and power.
Wrong that's defined as teamwork not woke.
Woke is basically socialism.
A dead system no country actually follows anymore.
Instead following there own versions of capitalism itself.
💯💯
Amen brother ✊
Amen! I'm here for it! ❤
If you don't pay your electric bill, you lose electricity
If you don't put gas in your car it won't go
So if you don't pay your workers, how do you expect them to work?
Simple, you threaten them with poverty and replacement… in other words scare tactics… it’s messed up
I know
With gen z, I don’t think that’s going to work anymore. If companies start firing people who aren’t completely loyal to them in the next couple of years, they gonna end up firing their entire workforce.
workers can still work until they die.
...or rather, they are going to eat you as they starve.
United we stand, divided we fall. Unions are just a straight answer to "How do we succeed?"
Keep up the good work Adam! You're awesome.
Or if you think about it, divided we're forced to stand, united we have the choice to sit down lol
@@KarlTheCoolUnited we have a choice. Divided we don’t.
United we bargain; divided we beg.
@@ecyor0you've won this round! 😅
Excuse my language, but no fuckin' doubt dude 😎
As someone who works in a corporate office environment, hard work is rewarded with More Work. Quiet Quitting is just doing your own job and not everyone else's.
Loyalty is bullshit, your boss steals your credit. There's always intrigue. Its in the public sector too, but private sector the whole point is make $ and move up by fucking others.
Corporations have no loyalty to anything. You reward for loyalty will be a sudden unwarned termination of your job because the guy in charge of the money and financial decisions of the company fucked up and now they're $900 million in the hole. He gets to keep his job, in fact by terminating entire departments, he might even be rewarded for saving the company money. This just happened this week at Epic Games were Tim Sweeny learned the hard way that running a store that gives things away doesn't make money and so 900 employees had to go for his managerial incompetence. Tim's not going to be punished or risk termination, he owns 50% of Epic Games stock. And even if he manages to pile drive the company completely into the dirt, he's famous and connected enough in the games industry to get a seat on the board of directors of EA or Activision. Loyalty to the company gets you no where and dumbass CEOs just fail upwards.
@@OsirisLord Yes, this happened to me so much in the banking sector. It doesn't matter how many hours I put in or how great my reviews were. I was just a number. But I'm part of a union now. Imagine having a stable job, which gives you raises fairly every 6-12 months. Where promotions are fair, and people can often move up just working their straight eight-hour day and putting in a quality day. Where you can have a stable pension and a 401K for retirement, plus your benefits. If you're not working in a union job now, it's worth considering to form one or if you're not ready for that, look for a union job. Many government or healthcare positions will have them. I work for the county and we are part of the SEIU, which is one of the largest unions in the country with multiple branches.
Yup I agree... I was once pulled aside for a conversation... Told that I was one of the most productive employees. Then my manager wanted to brain storm with me for how I could become more productive I told them pay me more to compensate for the fact that I get paid the same wage as others who do far less work. They couldn't give me a raise so I told them to talk to the other employees and not me.
@@brickellvoss7739haha more responsibility= more $$$
every time someone tells me "if they raise wages they will move the business" or "make it automated" or "shut down the business" i unironically tell them "go for it". businesses need people to spend money to make money, if we have no money to spend they have no money to make. let the rich shut down or automate all their work, lets see how long they stay "rich"
Unironically, it's not even that hard. The biggest fear of every single CEO isn't that they'll go broke, it's that they won't meet projected growth.
All you need to do is go on strike long enough and hard enough for the business to realize they're going to underperform for the financial quarter. That thought TERIFIES these people! Because it means they're fucking up, which shows in the stocks, which fucks with the bank evaluations, which gets investors and other higher-ups mad at eachother, etc.
These businesses might look all powerful, but they're way more fragile than you'd expect.
The key is class solidarity. As long as we take care of each other better than the .1% takes care of each other, we’ll make it. That means making material sacrifices to ensure that no one goes hungry when striking for adequate compensation for their record productivity.
Als9 the fact there are some already finding ways to automate things so they can make workers redundant
Automation! Ha. Ask yourself how many self-driving cars you have seen today, or how many robots are picking fruit in the orchards of Washington. Automation is an empty threat!
@@kingthe13Just like how Tesla was going to use basically all robots right? Then realized they’re far more of a liability outside their specific niche of capability.
Being on a negotiating committee is so radicalizing. I work for a union that represents caregivers (like people who work in nursing homes) and at one of the early negotiating meetings with our biggest employer, somebody from management LITERALLY FELL ASLEEP AT THE TABLE. Being told about how people were sleeping in their cars and taking second jobs and all that wasn't gripping enough for him, I guess!
Id make a show get real loud point him out chastise him then turn to your people "monkey see monkey do team this is how they work up top take a note on how to represent"
But really stay strong keep up the good work and take no shit
I've seen all kinds of horrible shit in workplaces, but this takes the cake, That scene could be a socialist propaganda poster lmfao 😂😂
"You are worth more to them the less they pay you" Holy sh!t. That hit hard.
Yes, getting promoted to unemployed is a real thing. It's where you get pay raises and promotions over the years, and one day they fire you because they can hire a fresh-out-of-school kid for minimum wage to replace you. Sure, he/she won't be as good as you, but it's an acceptable short term loss to the company.
@@TonyPombo This happened to my dad. Then 6 months later the company had to hire him back at a higher pay as a "consultant" because he was the only person who knew how the company intranet and most of the associated other softwares worked.
Any larger business is filled to the gills with sycophants and nincompoops when it comes to management and executive level. They don't know the business they're in, nor how their company actually operates. All that knowledge is in the worker class. Corporations will literally shoot themselves in both feet to make the line go up for 3 months
@@mundanepants Ya this happens a lot, especially in technical fields where the skillset is more specialized and management doesn't really understand the importance of the person they are firing, They just think "Bill is an IT guy making $110k, I can replace him with a younger IT guy for $40k"
That's just simple accounting. And by the same token, if they have to pay you more, they can do some combination of three basic things: 1. reduce expenses (that could be labor expenses like laying people off or reducing hours, but could be finding ways to cut costs elsewhere) 2. increase revenue (usually posed as raising prices, but could be better marketing or higher productivity) 3. Take less profit. Companies never like option 3, but if they can't cut enough costs, or raise prices without losing market share, 3 may be their only option. The other objection that often comes up is "they'll go out of business." A business model that only works because of exploitation of workers should go by the wayside. It's a bad business model.
@@TonyPombo yeah its been happening at the place I work, a bunch of people who'd been there for a long time just so happened to 'leave the company' within a week of each other right after training me and a wave of newcomers for about a month and a half
Seeing all these Unions getting formed, and these strikes winning the fight is genuinely the first thing in a long time that has brought me any kind of hope for the future.
Nice likes
We need even more!
People are quickly realizing what we need to do. However, unions can't be the end of it. If we take only concessions, things will go back to the way they are for the next generation.
@@nanashi420correct, we should when possible replace corporations with worker coops
"Whoever said you can't cheat an honest man wasn't one." - Terry Pratchett
Also business-owner unions are called "Chamber of Commerce".
Yep, everyone has the right to be organized in that stupid jungle of ours.
Bosses tell you you don't need to join a union, and then join a Chamber of Commerce to cry about how they pay you too much.
Wow! You Da Hammer, dude, you hit that one RIGHT ON THE THUMB! The Chamber of _-Horrors-__ Commerce!_ Where the bullshit meets the road. The ONLY ding CoC EVER issues is when yer LATE WITH YER DUES! Anything else, you're a "respected member of the org."
@@Barox213 It's kinda disingenious for any business to say unions are bad.
They promote and protect the interests of businesses in the community as they should. Members or not. The dues gets you an informal setting for members to schmooze with government officials and speak directly to them about their interests. Labor should have reps that can do that on their behalf.@@thesoundsmith
I wish so badly my industry had a union. Death care workers work insane hours, doing things that are often dangerous and we have to look white collar while we do it. But so much of us are paid so little it’s horrible. And considering how much our corporate overlords charge a family for a funeral it’s downright criminal how little we’re paid.
You can unionize,, but if they can't meet your demands they will just close
In other word, the worker gets leverage. Based.
Haha im just going to in the ground in my back yard and if not that a viking funeral in a river lmao. Formaldehyde is a crime against nature so dont you dare touch me with that unholy abomination
Hey, go ahead and try.
But make sure you're irreplaceable before doing so. You've got nothing to lose but your jobs!
@@adriadelafuente3648If enough workers unionize they are irreplacable :D it's just a matter of numbers.
"Quiet quitting" is propaganda language. The behavior it describes is properly called "working to rule."
they created at will employment cause it benefits them. You use it against them and they create slurs to try to keep abusing you.....
Working exactly to the point of what your pay is worth. Not going above and beyond for a corporation that doesn’t care about you.
Yeah, I laugh-cried my ass off when I started seeing the term pop up. When I told my friends about it, "hey did you know americans are calling doing the work you were hired to do for the amount of hours you're paid to do it 'quiet quitting'?", the reactions were always pretty much a confused "how else are you supposed to work?".
I think it actually is a good term. It's in contrast to loud quitting which is a strike.
@@MrMarinus18 Quiet and loud quitting places the negative connotation on you the worker instead of the employer who is trying to squeeze more labor out of you for free.
One of the most important things Adam taught me was "information asymmetry". I work for a Kroger company, a company so flush with cash that they're trying to buy Albertsons by selling nearly 2 billion in stores to clear antitrust laws...and they hide our vacation pay and lied (or management was too incompetent) to accurately tell me how much bereavement time I had when a family member died.
Despicable.
I absolutely despise Kroger. I'm done instacart for a while and Kroger is one of the main stores that we go to. Every single employee I talked to cannot stand working there and they're always short-staffed. I remember during the pandemic they were trying to hire the people that pick the groceries for the pick up customers. They wanted to pay $10 an hour and I laughed and told them they were going to have to raise her wages if they wanted anyone. Of course they did. Just enough..
The hustle clowns simping for corporations because they suffer from “one day I will be a billionaire “ usually will down vote your post because what you said is all true
I work for Albertsons and I notice the monopolization going on with supermarkets.. it’s fcking insane how 3 companies own all supermarkets in America.
Tax cuts for the rich and corporations never once made my life better. Being a member of a strong union did!!
Well, yes, it makes sense
Well said Unionstrong!!!! All day long 😊
Sure, keep believing that...
@@jailbird1133 is there really a counter point or are you really fan of the money game
Corporations developed the device with which you typed it and sold it at affordable price
This is your best UA-cam monologue so far.
The video script fits pretty well for several other countries, especially being aware of the SAG-AFTRA strike, which is easy because, you know, the USA's soft power.
Cheers from Brazil.
I keep telling my co-workers “Why should I work harder than you? Why should you work harder than me? At the end of the day, we’re getting paid the same amount to do the same job. If you set the standard you work at at a high level, the bosses will expect you to continue working at that pace even if you feel like garbage and the only one who profits is the company.”
We had a boss who literally told us if we deserved a raise they would give us one, according to him that’s how he got every raise and promotion. Always hit our goals for bonuses and things but a raise and overtime to keep up with the work? Lmao, no, work for free. So we stopped. My co-worker quit. And now alone I was eventually let go
My exact thoughts. I feel like my boss keeps comparing me to a coworker; we do essentially the same job, but he's able to do everything super-duper quickly and precisely. good for him. but the problem is that 1) i'm not him, and 2) i don't see any personal benefit outside of not having more to do later in the shift, so why bother
@@Nevertoleave
Such a common story.
One of the most disgusting things about the way the system is set up:
They are motivated to run understaffed, for maximum profits.
You where never going to get that raise.
I literally ran the front end of a 378 apartment complex (200 per leasing agent is average) by myself for 6 months. When I asked for a raise, the GM said that we were all getting raises at the end of the year so I didn't need one now...
Like seriously...
I work at Vanguard, where they have a thing called "calibration." From what I can tell it's like grading on a curve. They decide who did a better job and who did worse, and then they scale your bonus according to that. When I first heard about it I was disgusted. How can anyone think that's ok? They are literally paying us to compete with each other, all the while telling us how important it is for us to trust each other and work together.
But I can't imagine my office unionizing. According to marketrealist, Vanguard CEO Mortimer Buckley makes around 700K - about 7 times what I make as a developer in the "Data & Analytics" department. listofceo estimates his net worth around 60-75 million. I don't need to make more money - and I like the work I do - but my job satisfaction is tanking for two reasons: 1. I'm constantly pressured to produce more "value," and 2. I am fueling the engine that drives climate catastrophe, mass incarceration, imperialism, and globalization. In fact, I think that's what they mean by "value!" I know many of my co-workers feel the same way but how many are willing to put their jobs on the line to stop it? What do I do?
Those workers, fighting...DYING...for their rights? Those are the REAL patriots!
Film workers die all the time. PA's working 18 hr days, fall asleep at the wheel because they're being overworked. What's your point?
as one of my favorite songs says "Which side are you on boys, which side are you on"
that they need to unionize and force their employers to give them better conditions @@dictionaryofwords1108
Lol who is dying?
@@Dennis-nc3vw Educate yourself: ua-cam.com/video/z7NUb5Wx5Pc/v-deo.html
It's an older doc, but the info is still very relevant. Why do you think PA's are unionizing?
actually teared up when I learned of the success of the writers strike. We can do this together
@@robertxyz5255Bad take. There is always a next contract. That's how union contracts work. Union contracts are a temporary peace agreement between labor and capital.
Also AI is a scam.
what success their fked, this deal is temporary and their getting rid of all these cringe writers forcing diversity till their shows and movies died, most of what this dude said about AI in other videos was wrong and not its coming back to bite him in the ass.
I work in the public sector. Years ago, one division voted to unionize. There was some super sketchy behind the scenes maneuvering to try and derail the effort. When management failed to stop the union, they made a deliberate decision to ensure that union employees would be paid less. Disgusting.
I was punished at my job for discussing wages with my coworkers. I was told It could make people “uncomfortable”, when in reality it was making my bosses uncomfortable.
Protected speech can't be suppressed by an employer.
Document the fact that conversation happened in case of retaliation
I'm pretty sure it's illegal to tell workers they can't discuss their wages, not sure what that knowledge does for you, or if it applies where you live. But I know there are protections like that in existence
Can’t have employees having any metric for determining the value of their labor, can we?
When I got hired at my current job, I told my coworkers upfront what I got hired at. This made the bosses FURIOUS since apparently they then had to give raises to about half the staff who had been there longer and were being paid less. But the thing is, there's nothing they could do about it. They couldn't penalize me for disclosing my salary, and they could have been a lot of trouble when it was found that some of the women working there before me were being paid less than the man who just got hired.
My coworkers loved me for it, it was just the bosses who threw a fit then did nothing about it.
That is banned under NLRA
Adam’s “Adam Ruins Capitalism” arc is pretty lit
Organized labor is pretty natural in capitalism. Cronyism where the government works for corporations is what we have
@@BreakingStarGames No, capitalism does not specify things like that. The term "cronyism" is primarily used by capitalists who want people to ignore the fact that their lobbying of the government is an intrinsic part of an economy built on the interests of private ownership
My partner and I were calling his show Adam Ruins Capitalism back when it was on 😂
@@-_-_-_-_... what a strange reply
@@-_-_-_-_...No they're being helpful into not letting capitalist bootlickers off the hook. Its time has passed, we got what we wanted from it. We need a new system
Solidarity forever
Solidarity forever
Solidarity forever
For the union makes us strong
It is we who plowed the prairies; built the cities where they trade;
Dug the mines and built the workshops, endless miles of railroad laid;
We stand outcast and starving midst the wonders we have made;
But the union makes us strong.
Is there aught we hold in common with the greedy parasite,
Who would lash us into serfdom and would crush us with his might?
Is there anything left for us to do but organize and fight?
For the union makes us strong!
Hey Adam, I'm in the middle of a union drive at my own workplace. A very large company recently bought us out and has already cut benefits in half. Thank you for reminding me why I'm doing this. Things are hard.
I worked at Amazon for 3 months during the pandemic. All I got was barely enough to cover rent, one meal of ramen a day, and a crippling addiction to caffeine and Adderall. I lost about 50 lbs during that time from over exertion and starving myself. Then once I was injured while going too fast to keep up with the demands, they refused to pay for my physical therapy and I quit.
A hard lesson. Do not let it stop you. Fight against bozos like bezos.
@@kenknife111 That's the plan! I'm currently working on starting my own small company. I'm tired of working under other folks whose income I make a fraction of.
@@robertxyz5255Amazon propaganda
@@robertxyz5255 Id say you were in the minority there. I barely made 2000 a month, most of which went to bills of one stripe or another. I did have benefits, but since they were through Amazon itself, not an outside insurance company, they couldn't cover an injury gained under their watch. So I had to apply for workers comp. They also denied me on workers comp, stating that an object of the size I was describing would not have been on the line I was working. They put me into a Catch 22 and I know I'm not the only one.
@@robertxyz5255 You likely live in a state where workers have better rights. Right to sack states tend to treat workers the worst they can get away with as long as it earns them a penny more.
"we need this in art!" "we need this in healthcare!" "we need this in education!" i'm starting to think this is needed in every industry everywhere
It basically is.
Teachers already had unions they were very bad
Every industry needs a union
@@andrewgreeb916 In what way? The teacher's union is quite powerful where I come from and while that creates its own problems, for the most part it's exactly what you want out of a union.
@@andrewgreeb916who cares if a preexisting union was bad! The concept remains extremely valid and relevant!
I am a proud Union member. I work a blue collar job and have a six figure income with no college degree. Our labor is worth it, don’t let them convince you otherwise.
Its not worth it
@@Jinxawinxahe made a good argument. You did not.
My dad has been a Local 150 operator for over 30 years. When the housing market crashed in 2008 and he couldn't work, the union made sure his family still had healthcare. When his criminal employer was 2 months behind on paychecks, the union made sure he got all his backpay. And next year he'll be 55 years young and able to retire on a full union pension. Workers united! Apes, together, strong!
I am a Teamster.
We get minimum wage, work in a dangerous environment, and will be fired if we do not work a minimum 10 hours a week overtime.
Unions are a grift and a scam.
@@reincarN8ed Do you work?
Adam is spot on. 38 years ago I graduated High school and bought into the capitalism facade. I entered the manual labor force eventually I started my own one man business. I work manual labor 40 - 60 hours a week. What do I have to show for it? Drowning in red ink, My wife and I are barely able to afford to pay the bills and afford to drive to work. I told both of my children NEVER HESITATE TO TAKE MONEY OUT OF YOUR EMPLOYERS POCKET.
I love Adam being unleashed to his full disclosing potential
The unions at my organization successfully got all employees a raise of at least 20% over the next couple of years. I am not a union member (at least not yet), but I am definitely grateful for the hard work they put in.
that raise gets turned into higher cost of product, making other kinds of business having to raise prices aswell resulting in inflation making this 20% raise worthless because prices increase by 20% if not even more because why not turn it up a lil while being at it?
the only way to fight capitalism is politics and one of the worst offenders in capitalism and the ones to gain the most by it are politicians ... yeah we are screwed if we dont get the foot in the door now.
You need to join. It isn’t just about pay.
On behalf of Americans everywhere, a truly heartfelt thank you to you and everyone who fought so hard for all of our rights. Thank you!
On behalft of the rest of the World : Thank you for trying to put a stop on ruining it for everyone else.
As long as US companies are getting their way in their home country they try to push the same bull on other countries.
I saw a lot of videos of US Citizens envying German public healthcare ( or public healthcare in general ) truth is the current System is clap.
And the main reason is that politicians in the 90's allowed/enabled the health system should be profitable. Which opened the doors for Foreign Investors with "good" profitable Ideas.
Just remember "Profit" and "Dividends" is nothing but taking money out of a company and giving it to people who never lifted a single digit for that money, instead of reinvesting it into the company or giving it to people who did the actual work.
And you Suffragettes !!) There aren't enough thank you's on the planet. But THANK YOU 😊
Thank you for doing this video , Im an IBEW Jouneyman Wireman. I'm the recording secretary in the executive board and on our apprenticeship committee. I'm so happy to see the rise in union popularity in the general public and videos like this show people why and how important they are. Joining the IBEW was the best thing I've done for my life, anytime someone is talking about how they hate their job or how bad their working conditions are I just wanna grab people and say find a union!! Right-to-work states are the next problem on the list maybe?
I left the picket line at a Stellantis plant about an hour before watching this. Glad to be part of the second American labor movement with you.
You guys got this!!! Keep going
rooting for you guys! keep fighting!
UAW makes me proud to be from Michigan again 💪Union Strong! Let's see how much the capitalist class continues to ignore those who built their wealth FOR them!
i’ve watched my grandfather work tireless hours. deadass has worked second shift since i could remember and never left work for more than a week and he’s still working at that plant. and both him and my grandmother still make less than people who have worked less hours. it’s wrong in every way. we need unions everywhere. not just cole miners not just factory workers. we need them at restaurants at walmart. everywhere.
A democratized economy is one that the American worker can prosper within.
Eh, I don't think my dad needs a union. But, he's lucky enough to be essential, and working for a company that understands that.
@@BakuganBrawler211socialism lol
But yes, absolutely.
@@henryfleischer404a union still helps even then
@@rimworld64 In no way is that socialism. I am a socialist, I believe the means of production should be owned by the people and not a specific person or set of people, but unions does not equal socialism. It's just better than what would exist WITHOUT unions.
This is why history is the most important class in highscool.
My history teachers were also the only ones to put on adam ruins everything.
There's not a single communist society that hassurvived.
Also why Florida wants to ban history.
Good teachers
Wow that's awesome! The thing is Adam ruins everything didn't come out until after I already finished high school so This just didn't happen. I mean I graduate high school in 2007 so UA-cam was still considered kind of new at the time.
But Adam is a product of an abundant culture and he is wrong! Therefore his "history" is wrong. Have you ever asked yourself why so much industry has left America? Why so many poor are unemployed? Why minimum wage NEVER increases anyone's wealth? Why small business suffers so much? It's because of YOUR policy ideas.
@TheAdamConover - possibly the best thing you've ever created. Should be required viewing in every High School, not only in the USA but also around the world.
Solidarity. 😊😊🌈🌈☮☮
There's corporate snakes, in a dark room somewhere, talking about how Adam is becoming a problem.
Keep it up brother.!
"you are literally worth more to them, the less they pay you." That really hits man.
same as "you're made of stardust", worthless platitudes that sound deep on the surface, but are revealed to be a 2d visual illusion once you think about it from a different perspective. if you are willing to earn them more in exchange for a lower pay, they will fight each other to get you to work for them, more so the cheaper you are relative to others. in situations like that, you should let them bid for your attention, but the average uneducated laborer is not aware of anything but themself, which is what unions are made for. too bad modern unions are either controlled by the corporation, or the government, or else they might actually offer good policies that help everyone, and not policies that help a few unionized workers by creating artificial worker scarcity by forcing other workers into unemployment, coincidentally leading to a greater need to be part of a union to survive in the economy.
@@davidlewis6728 but isn't that the same thing? You said a worker should attempt to cause a bidding war over themselves by offering to work for less, so doesn't that imply that you are worth more to them if they get to pay you less? I'm a bit confused as to what your criticism of the original statement is
@@janitor1165 "we're made of stardust" is also true, but it's also a platitude. people who understand what the phrase means understands that it isn't as meaningful (doesn't "really hit" as hard) as what people who don't understand it will hear. yes, you are worth more to someone the less you cost to hire, but worth is decided by how much people are willing to pay to get something, so to rephrase it, people are willing to pay you more if you are willing to work for less (than market price) which is about as meaningful as "water is wet", but because of how he is framing it, it looks like it means something completely different. the way adam is portraying it almost makes it seem like the market doesn't value you, that you are not a person to them, just a resource, or that their ideal working condition would be you working for them for nothing. that's even less accurate than the pseudo-intellectual interpretation of the stardust quote, but it's great at convincing you to fear the market and underestimate your ability to influence anything without the help of the conmen, both in congress, and on the market that adam has clearly sided with.
Life shouldn't be about of extracting every last drop of efficiency, it should be about love and joy. Work should be aspect of that joy, not just as a means to an end, not a necessary evil for living life well. Adam taught me to be critical about the world as a child and to challenge the status quo as an adult!
you should be critical of adam. He gets a lot of things wrong and is often very biased for the sake of being edgy. So much missinformation shared by him
@@jonathandpg6115Provide evidence of the misinformation or go away.
Take pride in your work! Thank you.
@@jonathandpg6115even if he is wrong or biased, the attitude he imparts is a very good one, because it's all about being critical even if it's not comfortable. That was the whole premise of his old show, "Adam RUINS everything", it was meant to make people critical of things they thought they liked, and not rest on their laurels
Dude you inspired me to start a preschool teachers union for my wife. Keep up the good work my man
Wishing you and your wife the best of luck on this! My mom and I both used to work in preschool - it's grueling work, and for anyone reading this who's unaware, childcare workers (who often need degrees to get entry level jobs) have been systemically underpaid all across the US. I'm not in the industry anymore so there's not much I can offer you, except some moral support. Keep it up!
I did "the grind" for 20 years trying to save enough money to take my construction company from one-off contract jobs to landing consistent work at a decent profit.
My entire waking life was spent trying to make it work...
...and it almost did until my wife had a stroke and needed me at home.
20 years of work went "poof" with one medical event.
Now I'm in a state union CUTTING GRASS at a mental hospital and I make more and have 100% more benefits than I ever had before.
I work 40 hours a week and my off time is EXACTLY THAT! Off time!
I don't even think about work when I'm not there!
EPIC WIN!!!
But you always had that option. The path you first chose wasn't exactly the wrong path, its just highly competitive and kinda higher risk for higher potential. Where as union jobs you know your not getting much farther but ur still content with where ur at.
@@Rock_Shady that’s technically true, he always did, but the ideas of being “self-made” and the “American Dream,” hustle culture, getting to the top, and working like he said at every waking moment, have been way oversold that a lot of ppl don’t end up looking into other options. It’s not impossible to be self-made, become a CEO at a company, or live the American dream, but a lot of ppl aren’t in the right place to make it feasible. Some don’t realize that until they try to make it happen, and they figure out what they’re rlly up against, or in OP’s case, when a life-altering event happens, like a stroke. And what could help you if ur livelihood starts going south? Social safety nets and things like labor unions. But capitalists try to convince the working class that they’re not worth it and they just take their hard-earned money, when it’s capital owners who have the most to gain from workers, esp when they’re not unionized. Maybe you weren’t being that deep but OP was likely unaware of how beneficial unions are and there’s career options while not exactly super impressive or flashy can provide good benefits w/ less stress and more security. His original goal is not impossible to achieve, but there’s nothing wrong w being content w just enough or having a regular job
@@Rock_Shadyabsolute W, happy for you dude. being a buisness owner isn't all it's cracked up to be, especially when competing with multi million dollar corporations.
Glad you're happy, king. Best to your wife.
How did you get a union job cutting grass?! Man... I feel ripped off.
With the Kaiser healthcare strike after the autoworkers and the WGA, we are experiencing an awakening. A change reminiscent of The Grapes of Wrath. The irony of the hollywood strikes is that they made a movie about jimmy hoffa’s assassination just a few years ago, a union boss..
who also was connected with the mob
@@SwedishDrunkard5963the origins of mobs/gangs are directly related to the problems created by a ruling class. Robin Hood was in a gang.
@@thatwildginger5423 true
@@thatwildginger5423Yep, gangs are an extremely common, while unfortunate, coping mechanism in response to inadequate housing, no good paying jobs, etc. When it becomes too hard to survive alone, it's natural and logical to gang up to survive together.
My boss makes a dollar when i make a dime, so I'll watch Adam Conover on the company time!!! 😤😤😤
For most companies it is more like your boss makes a dollar and you make a third of a cent.
Good for you, the less we work the better.
Literally watched this video while I was on the clock.
Same here, and it’s on my work phone 📱 I’m watching it
"The boss makes a dollar, I make a dime,
This was a poem from a simpler time,
Now the boss makes a million and I don't make jack,
so now's when we STRIKE and take it all back."
Literally just got chills. Thank you Adam. Your contribution to the wellbeing of all your colleagues and all of us is truly commendable ❤
A proud story to share: Our Education Union recently negotiated, for the first time, a completely collaborative bargaining agreement with our ESD. When you mention changing the world, there are unions out there that are changing the narrative and destroying that negative working relationship. Changing the way unions work with corporations. Progressing, changing the future. That, too, is the power of a union.
My past boss literally stole my comission money... And people say that If i worked hard like ten people he would reward me ? HAHA no.
Sue
Wage theft is the most common type of theft in the USA
@@AEthelinggwith what money?
@@AEthelingg Lawyers have this weird habit of wanting to be paid for their labor... and dude was getting robbed... you seeing the issue?
Complain to the nlrb and after an inconvenient amount of time you’ll get your money back
If the phrase "Quiet Quitting" can be a popular phrase, "Quitquake" deserves to be one as well.
“Quitquake” yo… that’s not bad at all!
I second the motion.
quitstorm
I'm a bit old school I just call it half-assing
You pretend to pay me, I pretend to work.
This was a great video Adam. Love ya brother, from the IBEW electricians union. ✊🏾⚡️
I remember being in 2nd grade history class when our teacher did an extremely short version of this and she ended it with "and every place got unionized and we all lived happily ever after, until some crazy person decided happily ever after for everyone was a dumb idea, and now we're going right back to heck"
made me feel very safe living in the u.s. of a.
Your teacher was very wise.
Artists, illustrators, game designers, graphic designers... we all need a union
Hell yeah brother!
God plz, we need this
There is the Freelancers Union. Idk if that fits wat ur looking for 0:
Everyone needs a Union
YES
Bravo, Adam! Capitalism's stranglehold on the propaganda of the grind RUINED.
unions are more a part of capitalist countries than socialist ones. I'm pro-capitalist because I want to see proper regulations and social policies
@@erica.7231 you're really confused lmao
@@riuukoverno
@@riuukover not every country is as "F the citizens" as we are here in the US... this includes the other "capitalist" countries, because despite what Fox News says, having free healthcare doesn't automatically make a country socialist.
@@erica.7231 you're using words that I don't think you know the meaning of lol.
Also, unions HAVE to be created because capitalism creates such horrible conditions. Like your comment really doesn't make sense. If the entire system is set up to help workers, then unions aren't needed. Unions are only necessary because of the abuse capitalism is to workers. So your first sentence shows a severe misunderstanding of WHY that is. On top of that, capitalism does not want proper regulations, what does that even mean? And they sure as shit don't want "social policies". I feel like you didn't even watch 30 seconds of the video 😂
Im so glad that your channel has so many subscribers and so many views. We really do need channels like these to spread the truth about the systems we live in and how to improve them in order to have a good lfie with dignity
I've worked harder than most of my coworkers, I've been super dependable, showing up on time and only calling in sick when I was actually sick. I did a bunch of extra stuff nobody asked me to do, and I did it all with a good attitude. Despite all that, I've been passed by on promotions multiple times. Companies don't reward hard work with success. And heck, even if I got that promotion, I would only be making a few more cents than I do now.
Your value in your position was a big factor keeping you from getting promoted. This is the sad secret of hard workers - they can literally hustle themselves into a rut by being too valuable in their lower position.
I've had a similar story, I worked harder than my coworkers: so my co-workers got fired and their responsibilities were dumped onto me, with no pay raise. I quit the next week. All hard work rewards you with is more hard work.
too true 😔stay strong dude
Had a BOSS once say, "Never do a shitty job well".
Well of course not. You've shown that you're too dedicated to this position by doing it so well so giving you the promotion would be detrimental to productivity.
I hate hustle culture. Sometimes I don’t want to be productive and I’m okay with it
But Andrew Tate and them said you won't be a billionaire like them unless you do work hard and fight your urges to not do shit!! Hahaha
Sarcasm man. I'm with you. After working with mental health patients on their behavior and helping direct care staff all day. When I get home, the last thing I want to do is study anything, read anything, and or go to another job to punch in a clock there. I just want to chill, rest. Get ready for the next day and not feel guilty.
@@Dr.Beetlejuice110 yeah and besides the people that do get "rich" from him are only mildly more successful than the average. they still could not buy a buggati even if they wanted to🤣 and those people work a lot and are very very lucky for even succeeding
@@michaelthedude8009 hahaha, and unfortunately the system isn't changing so they will quite possibly NEVER get to own a Bugatti! Hahaha
@@michaelthedude8009
I can't even drive, so if I bought a Bugatti I what would I do with it?
@@Dr.Beetlejuice110 Why the hell would I want to be rich? To loose my touch with humanity and become some subhuman ghoul chasing the ephemeral key to immortality? Fuck that I am not a lich or a vampire, I am a god damned human and ape together strong.
Rest long and good comrade, the parasites will bend the knee and WE will build the coalition to end capitalism, the contradictions are becoming ever more poignant.
From a "right to work" state, i can relate.
It's only a matter of time. Workers of the world unite ✊🏼
You can still unionize in a "Right to work" state. It just means that people can opt out of paying dues while still getting all the benefits and protection of a union. It's bullshit, and those people are scabs, but you can still unionize. I did it once upon a time in Florida.
Also thanks to the supreme Court all government work is "Right to Work" even in states that aren't right to work.
Right to work more like 'we can fire you for no reason and you don't get unemployment'
@@toddoverholt4556 you're thinking of employed at will. They still have to have a legal reason to let you go
@@TheDpDrifter not necessarily true. To get around that they don't fire you, they just lay you off. They don't need a reason.
@@CaptPeon they still require a legal reason to fire you. Most people don't talk to a labor lawyer when they're with screws them.
Similar to the triangle shirt factory, an amazon warhouse collapsed from a tornado a few years ago and workers were not allowed to clock out and seek proper shelter.
Here's a sign your company needs to Unionize. Most American's don't know that approximately 80% of the radio news and traffic reporters they listen to and some of the tv people too, even in the large markets, are working for $14 an hour (with no benefits) for a company called Total Traffic Network/ I Heart Music. That's why it seems like a high school talent show when you listen to the news. Polished, experienced broadcasters won't work for McDonalds money, so they get out of the business. All listeners get anymore is people who are desperate for ANY kind of job. That's how low things have sunk in broadcasting now that only 3 companies own just about all of the radio stations in the country. They know workers should unionize , so when they hire you they make you sign documentation that says you will not participate in efforts to unionize!
Welcome to consolidation a.k.a communism :D
That sounds illegal though....
@@Laura-ei4fs "Wait, that's illegal" has never once stopped a corporation.
@@SeppelSquirrelit all depends upon what the penalties will be. If there is a strong enough penalty, only companies run by idiots will violate them.
@@SeppelSquirrel yeah that's true but if it's illegal, it holds no actual power over the employee. It's a right. It's like them making you sign up a contract that says "I give up my right to freedom of speech"
If the capitalists were as smart as their paychecks, they wouldn't have screwed over the writers... You know, the people whose job it is to tell a story?
Thanks for spreading the word, Adam!
The people who run Hollywood think they don't need stories, only big names and CGI.
I work in the 3d animation industry and while the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes are impacting us (many studios are on standby and in-between projects, many coworkers and I are currently out of job), I am 100% behind your fight and really hope the animation/VFX industry will unionize too! In the past years, I've seen companies do so many shady things to friends, many friends burning out because they're overworked, and sometimes they don't even make it to the credits, etc, it needs to stop! Without us, the billionaires can't do movies and shows. It's time they realize they need us more than we need them.
It’s awesome that you’re still standing in solidarity with the writers even though it’s negatively impacting your ability to make money. I really hope that your industry follows suit and that you guys are supported by the writers when y’all do. Working class solidarity.
I just found your UA-cam channel/videos this past week. Well done on your thoughtful/funny/accurate takes on various issues. You are up there with the John Stewart/John Oliver/Stephen Colbert, etc. Brilliant!
As someone who worked at Amazon, I actually know what orientation day is like. They spend a half-day giving you a tour of the prison death trap, then you go home feeling exhausted but just _walking_ around the warehouse. Then you realize tomorrow, you have to work for twice as long while _doing_ stuff. You will be _way_ more exhausted by tomorrow's end.
There have been times when I was too tired to eat and kept falling asleep after each bite.
As a bus driver that's in a union, yes, union jobs are way better than non-union jobs
The New Labor movement fills me with so much hope. All of us are badly exploited and exhausted but I've had more hope than I've had in a long time. We can beat the capitalists!
Here's me, a communist, waiting for the socdems to radicalise when the union movement starts to take off and is faced with the next generation Pinkertons
Then you have the wrong skill set. Try learning something marketable.
@@joecoolioness6399boot licker
You ain't winning lil bro.
This!! Unions becoming more favorable (especially with young people) gives me hope!
Divided we beg, united WE BARGAIN. Thank you for continuing to do labor and class-struggle videos. It's vital.
No, divided we beg, united WE DEMAND!
I have a marketable skill, if you have one of those you don't need a union. I get paid what I do because I provide value to the company. Not because a bunch of whiners had a tantrum and shut down a factory.
@@joecoolioness6399 Oooh woe is I! Haha you peasantry fools, relying on unions! WEAK! A NOBLE HOMO SAPIEN OBEYS HIS SUPERIORS FOR THEY ARE LIKE DEMIGODS WHO GRACE US WITH THEIR PRESENCE! A NOBLE HOMOSAPIEN PROVIDES AND DOES NOT ASK!! FOR WORK WILL SET YOU FREE!!!!
IAM ZE UBERMENSCH ZIEGFART!!!!!
@@joecoolioness6399 Ok you're definitely a bot there no way you can be in so many comments being so Anti-union. Who is paying you?
Hello ehanner
It's sad that the algorithm will probably push this video down to stop view counts from rising because of the topic, but people need to see this and we need more people willing to take the first steps towards re-unionizing America because if we don't it's only going to get worse for us and our kids.
Congratulations on helping lead history in the right direction, Adam. Fantastic work these past several months. You've been an imperative voice to the movement.
Great video! Unions are our only chance at wrestling back corporate greed and exploitation! ✊️ ❤
My husband is a SAG member. We both wanted so bad to go picket with you but I was in the hospital for so much of the strike. I’m happy you and our reps were there on behalf of us who couldn’t go.
My wife is also in SAG and couldn't walk with them - literally, because she was home recovering from ankle surgery. But SAG is still out on the lines; it was WGA who got a settlement. Hopefully, the studio bosses will realize that they need to come to fair terms with the actors as well.
@@stevenkramer3431 I know, it’s crazy they have t come to deal yet.
When the Teachers in LA want a vote to unionize, the School District sent someone around to tell us that if we voted in the Union, we would lose our jobs, we voted for the Union, and the only one who lost his job was the guy who told us that! And after that our benefits, and salaries went up nicely!!!!!!!!!
As a teacher, I try and tell this to my students. This doesn't stop at workers rights it's racism, socio-economic discrepancy, violence, etc. We are all unique beings that deserve to be seen and heard but we all have to remember we are also the same in many ways and WE are the "little" people that together can bring things to a better future but we have to stop fighting each other and falling for the lies of these bosses/people of power.
You are amazing I can't even begin to imagine how happy I would if I had a teacher like you, please continue being yourself it's cuz of people like u that I can still believe there's good in this world 🙏
Congrats on the win man. 15 years ago in Australia I attempted the same for my fellows and colleagues. I was elected by 87% of them to represent them (to a be a negotiator parallel to the union) But at 7% union membership I should have seen the level of solidarity for what it was. When push came to shove they scabbed on each other and hung me out to dry. I ruined my career for a bunch of selfish hustlers. 8% of whom lost their jobs the next month and the rest handed a pay cut. Solidarity is the key. To this day the average Aussie worker blames shit unions for their problems but few of them realise it’s themselves, each and together that gives the union its power.
A Union is supposed to be United. If a huge majority of workers don't band together then it's just a rebellious couple of employees that is way too easy for them to replace.
@@TrainerAQAfter all, it’s just a union in name at the point.
Oh man this is so sad how ru doing nowadays?
that's what makes unionizing so difficult, people will be all for it but when it comes time to go for it they chicken out and leave the people leading the charge out to dry
Which is why I always have a personal garuntee
The very best thing I've done in my working career was unionize. My wages have gone up, my health insurance is way way way better and costs NOTHING, I have a pension, my working conditions are better, the list goes on. Sure there are some parts I dont like. Business Agents can fuck you over and bargain with the company on your behalf, AND YOU DONT GET TO VOTE ON IT.
Even still, I do not regret it. If we had not unionized, our wages would have been cut, they told us outright that we were overpaid. My benefits were already shit, they eliminated the match on our retirement, they threatened layoffs. NONE OF THIS HAPPENED.
Do it. Unionize your workplace. It is sloooooooooooooooooow. It is frustrating. It is so worth it though.
And the product you make is more expensive, forcing companies to look for other ways to save production costs, like moving your job to another country for example. People keep complaining about not making a living wage but those are the same people complaining about how expensive stuff is. D'uh, the more you pay your workers, the more you have to charge for your products.
@@joecoolioness6399go kill another version of batman’s parents, joe cool
@@joecoolioness6399is rate of profit an idea you understand? A company can still make profit, just less. If they cant live with that they can collapse and be replaced.
@@joecoolioness6399bootlicker lowlife
@@joecoolioness6399you really don't understand the brush of economics as well as you think you do. While its true, that increasing costs Does increase the minimum cost to be profitable, and the ratios of profitability skew higher. Companies are already trying to make as much money as possible by charging as much as they possibly can following by maximizing the ratio of (profit of sale x number of sales). With the exception of industries that really shouldn't be privatized like healthcare, when you charge more for a product, less people will buy it and companies know this and already have the price as high as they think they can get away with.
Fuuuuuuck yes, Adam! I been wanting to call this shit out for almost 20 years and just haven't had the platform. Thank you!
At my last job, i had to lie in my final interview and say i was against unions. They gate keep jobs based on your ability to be a liability.
In my book if they ask illegal questions, it's ok to lie
Damn! Do you mind saying what company that was?
Unions? Neva hear of em bosss, worker's rights? pffssh more like worker's wrongs company loyalty is more important (wink wink)
Sarcasm obviously, good on ya king.
immediate felony charges duplicated for every employee....
my former company had a list of employees that were terminated and why. Things like "came in late too often" "drug related absences" "lack of adherance to safety policies" anyway, a number of them had "pro union" as the reason - yikes
10:00 One of my greatgrandfathers was a striker in that sit-down strike. I also had a family member on my dad's side who was an organizer and my paternal grandfather was the union rep at one of the plants in Flint MI. Thank you for this as well as this history of strikes!
Workers of the world, unite! ✊
Congratulations Adam and to all the workers that transform this world! 👏👏👏
Thank you so much for this Adam!!!
I'm a public healthcare worker from Québec and we are currently in a big fight against our provincial government for better working conditions and wages.
We made a coalition with other unions and recently, almost half of the teachers of our province joined us, making it one of the largest strike movement in the history of our province.
(I'm no stranger to class warfare, strikes and protests as I was also part of 2012's Québec's student strike, also known back then as Maple Spring or the red squares movement.)
Even just taking part of such movements is empowering and reassuring as you feel like you are not alone in this fight and most of all, you are not feeling powerless anymore! ✊🏻
You know that you are fighting for a good cause which will benefit not only you, but so many more around and even after you!
As long as there will be workers, there will be unions to fight for them and protect them!
Long live the workers and unions! ✊🏻
I can tell this meant a lot to Adam. I could hear the inflection in his voice as he says they won - the kind you have when you’re so moved you may cry.
I’m really happy for you. The strikes across the country have been the most hopeful things have looked in years imo.
Probably your best video ever. A powerful, complete and important message that all should hear.
The fundamental thing we need to bring each other to remember is this: If these wheels keep turning, it's because of us, the working class. Millionaires and billionaires are not wizards whom we need to make the world function. Human effort, time and intelligence are what makes the world go 'round. And that's us. They need us far more than we need them; and until we can do away with mega-rich classes altogether, then we better learn how valuable We the People are. Big love Adam, thank you
Love the video! I was taught the biggest lie of my life growing up in the south, that "unions are bad and not to bother because gee look at all the worker protection laws, no one will take advantage of you! Trust us...." Not buying it AT ALL and I've been wondering where yo start. Thank you for putting this video out! Looking up the union website you mentioned and starting my own journey to better wages and a better future! Thank yiu SO MUCH!!
This is the most optimistic and inspiring video I've seen on unionization. Thanks for sharing!
I had a union jib but coming to a small town there were no union jobs, now I hope to maybe change that.
I learned all of this way back in the 90s when i first entered the work force, as a teen. Grinding is rebranded slavery. My motto has always been "you pretend to pay me, i pretend to work" im a an art teacher making a ljving, and i love my job.
Solidarity forever, for the union makes us strong!
Great piece Adam, the anger we feel at the injustices of our world is the fire that lights the torch of the second labor movement! For Every Man a Union!
Apes together, Strong.
I support unions, but I won't join one because labor leaders don't seem to fight anymore.
Like the Democrats who's platform I believe in more than they do, it seems labor leaders are paid to not win by these same corporations.
That's how it seems to an outsider.
Let’s see “Adam ruins Communism” for a change. He would NEVER. Thats his baby.
That's some inspiring stuff *sharpens the scythe*
The unfortunate truth is that to get super wealthy you do not do so by using other people's money. You do so by using other people's time.
You do so by using other people's bodies and health.
“[…] labor has been equalized by the subordination of man to the machine or by the extreme division of labor; that men are effaced by their labor; that the pendulum of the clock has become as accurate a measure of the relative activity of two workers as it is of the speed of two locomotives. Therefore, we should not say that one man’s hour is worth another man’s hour, but rather that one man during an hour is worth just as much as another man during an hour. Time is everything, man is nothing; he is, at the most, time’s carcass.” -Karl Marx, Poverty of Philosophy
you use both.
@@derekposniewski3062 lmao the only answer to mental suffering is physical suffering- Karl Marx
What's the point of worshipping an old dead german guy
@@erica.7231 the only answer to our current labor issues are realizing the true value of our labor, that is what the capitalists (ie. mega-wealthy) steal from us. they strip all value of your labor, and give you back the ABSOLUTE MINIMUM they can get away with, and line their pockets, pay for their private jets, personal chefs, multi million dollar party nights, tens of thousands of dollars a night worth of tabs at fancy resturants, multi million/billion dollar homes, supercars, ect. with the rest. in america 1 in 5 children go without proper FOOD. FUCKING KIDS AREN'T EATING. if you think it's right for some to have so much while most have so little I question the depth of your humanity. and i'm not talking out of my ass, i was one of the hungery kids. if me and my girlfriend didn't shoplift food in highschool, or found a charitable foodbank, we would not have eaten outside what the school gave us. im only 24, this wasn't that long ago.
I'm 25 and just finished my apprenticeship in a trade union. Absolutely the best decision I ever made. I've only attended two protests in the 4 years I've been in this union but it has felt amazing each time. Sure it's not easy standing outside somewhere that you're clearly not wanted, but hearing about the contracts we secured by doing it makes every second worth it.
We really need to start teaching people about the time that Capitalists were planning to overthrow FDR
The Business Plot of 1933, when they planned to establish a fascist veteran's organization and replace FDR with a dictator. Fortunately for us, the man they chose, Smedley Butler, had become an anti-capitalist after seeing firsthand how U.S. corporations used warfare for profit. Also noteworthy in that Prescott Bush, father/grandfather of Presidents Bush, was a liason between the Wall Street plotters and the Nazi regime.
Ahh. The business plot.
And FDR was trying to help them. If FDR never showed up. The owner class would be in Gulags.
I thought I had a pretty good grasp on Union history, any sources I could check out?
@@StJimmy1408here’s what you get if you type “business plot” into Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_Plot
@StJimmy1408
Not education-based. But a good Union/Labor movie based on true events is a movie called "In Dubious Battle".
It's got James Franco, Selena Gomez, Ed Harris, Peta from Hunger Games, and Vincent D'Onofrio among many others. Quite a star-studded cast.
It's a good film.
Onto real people and events though. The video creator didn't mention Joe Hill ( Swedish American activist) if you haven't read up on him yet.
I don't think a video has ever opened my eyes quite as much as this one. And I'm not even american!
Health care workers are about to strike too. I got coworkers going to our sister hospitals next week
Thanks for making this video! I used to work in HR at a cold storage warehouse and during new hire orientation they actually had a slide that talked about how they were good enough and how a union wasn't needed. I didn't agree w/ that and told the new hires how I felt or didn't go over it at all. It makes me so happy to see unions winning because for the longest time, I've been feeling hopeless for my future here. We have a long road ahead, but everyone keep fighting! ✊️
As someone who plans on joining a teachers union after I finish college, this video filled me with a lot of hope for the future. Thanks Adam!!
Let’s see “Adam ruins Communism” for a change. He would NEVER. Thats his baby.
Thank you, Adam. I'm grateful that The Jungle was part of our curriculum in Middle School and it really still should be.. the struggle will always be relevant.