May Day Strike

[sothereiwas]

7 minutes ago, eleanorrigby said:

I would imagine that people working inherently dangerous jobs already have things in place to protect their health from the hazards. But if the job also carries with it the potential to have to be around many other people all during their shift, I think they should be given the PPE that they need, and whatever other adjustments necessary to keep them safe.

I know in my misspent youth I worked quite a few manual labor jobs that required PPE of a different sort such as heavy leather gloves and sometimes leather aprons and hard hats; the employer made them available for purchase but wasn't responsible for supplying those things, other than maybe cheap foam earplugs. It seems like this would fall under the authority of OSHA to ensure this happens?

[Ruby Slippers]

This situation has made it abundantly clear how much of a burden service workers shoulder for the benefit of those higher on the pyramid in the Ponzi scheme. It's criminal that these people still get such terrible pay and benefits while those at the top continue to prosper in luxury. In times like these, workers historically seize the moment to demand better conditions and pay. I support them 100%, love to see hardworking people getting their back up and demanding fair treatment. 

There are some wonderful business owners doing amazing things for their companies and workers - check out Dan Price of Gravity Payments. 

[eleanorrigby]

@sothereiwasI don't know if OSHA would handle something like this, I think a union would negotiate what the employer would provide for equipment needed to perform the job.

[Gr8fuln2020]

May Day strike cannot be sustained or taken seriously if people are afraid that their jobs are going to be taken away. There are millions waiting for those jobs to become vacant. There has to be a mass, grass-roots movement to make systematic changes to our society. Large corporations will and have continue to get massive bailouts, tax cuts, insane 'stimulus' packages that are disproportionate to their need. The decades since the great depression, really WWII, have seen the steady and precipitous destruction of organized labour movements, worker's rights groups, etc. You have people in this country (USA) who fear anything resembling social rights without categorizing it as communists and socialist. Many of these same people tend to equate the two. You put enough fear into the hearts of the people and they will always live in that fear even if it hurts them in the long term. 

I wish them luck. Our society is not built to respond affirmatively to social justice issues. It is and has always been a struggle. 

[sothereiwas]

21 minutes ago, eleanorrigby said:

@sothereiwasI don't know if OSHA would handle something like this, I think a union would negotiate what the employer would provide for equipment needed to perform the job.

I think OSHA would mandate what PPE is required and who supplies it would be between the employer and employees or their agents probably?

EDIT: I guess the employer and employees can always add to the OSHA requirements though. 

Edited May 1, 2020 by sothereiwas

[eleanorrigby]

I suppose. Looks like gloves and masks during this pandemic at a minimum. I would want the N95 mask provided. I was reading that a cloth mask only provides up to 20% filtration of particles vs the 95% of the good masks.  There are probably a million little things that need to be negotiated. Now that I've started wearing the N95 mask, I'm realizing how hot and suffocating they are compared to the bandannas/dust masks. The workers might also need to negotiate extra breaks just to take time to take the mask off in a safe place and catch their breath if needed. 

 

https://www.osha.gov/workers/

Quote

 

Know Your Rights

Under federal law, you are entitled to a safe workplace. Your employer must provide a workplace free of known health and safety hazards. If you have concerns, you have the right to speak up about them without fear of retaliation. You also have the right to:

Be trained in a language you understand

Work on machines that are safe

Be provided required safety gear, such as gloves or a harness and lifeline for falls

Be protected from toxic chemicals

Request an OSHA inspection, and speak to the inspector

Report an injury or illness, and get copies of your medical records

See copies of the workplace injury and illness log

Review records of work-related injuries and illnesses

Get copies of test results done to find hazards in the workplace

 

 

[BC1980]

1 hour ago, Gr8fuln2020 said:

May Day strike cannot be sustained or taken seriously if people are afraid that their jobs are going to be taken away. There are millions waiting for those jobs to become vacant. There has to be a mass, grass-roots movement to make systematic changes to our society. Large corporations will and have continue to get massive bailouts, tax cuts, insane 'stimulus' packages that are disproportionate to their need. The decades since the great depression, really WWII, have seen the steady and precipitous destruction of organized labour movements, worker's rights groups, etc. You have people in this country (USA) who fear anything resembling social rights without categorizing it as communists and socialist. Many of these same people tend to equate the two. You put enough fear into the hearts of the people and they will always live in that fear even if it hurts them in the long term. 

I wish them luck. Our society is not built to respond affirmatively to social justice issues. It is and has always been a struggle. 

There is always someone willing to do your job for less money than you. 

[Gr8fuln2020]

2 minutes ago, BC1980 said:

There is always someone willing to do your job for less money than you. 

Yep. Less benefits. Less protections. As long as our society, our corporations and social elite make up the rules, the worker will only get the crumbs from the table to fight over. All societies have been that way and ours is no different. 90% of the wealth owned by 10% of the population is not from hard-work...a lot having nothing to do with work had an unmistakable impact. 

[carhill]

Pandemic -> Depression -> World War

Amazon delivery van stopped by an hour ago so that one wasn't striking.

Main deterrent to wholesale firing of striking/non-returning workers is training. Broompusher doesn't need much but a skilled worker in a particular job function can require very expensive and unique training at company expense; that takes time. However, we have experience with taking an untrained workforce and turning them into a fighting war machine. WW2 was the time and the lady who gave me life was one of those Rosie the Riveters. Technology and training have markedly progressed since that time.

[sothereiwas]

19 minutes ago, BC1980 said:

There is always someone willing to do your job for less money than you. 

Willing, almost surely, the question is ability. For those Amazon jobs I suspect the ability bar is relatively low and they probably do OTJ training. So those cogs are probably easy to replace now that we're back to having some unemployment. 

[preraph]

FYI, I did get the disposable masks delivered today from Amazon.  I'm not on Prime, but they were (with tax and everything) right at $50 for 50 of them.  But it only took two days and their packaging was reasonable.  I am hating all this sanitizing and some packaging is hard to cut off and get rid of with scissors, but this came in a paper bubble pack that was easy to cut the top off of while holding with tongs.  Then I sprayed the inner box for the gloves and it will just sit about a week.  Too expensive, but at least they came.  Anyone who has stock in these PPE companies is making a freaking killing right now.  Or Amazon.

[eleanorrigby]

^^ that's good. I'm glad the price and delivery has gotten reasonable. I really, really hope mask and glove wearing doesn't have to become our new normal. Social distancing is a cake walk compared to mask wearing.