The world is watching.
6 Likes
4 Likes
Slight mod above. 
6 Likes
10 Likes
âI kept hearing ill speaking of the hourly employees,â said Doyen. âThen one day I overheard a conversation between two managers that they needed to take back the hub, that they referred to as a prison, and that they are the âwardensâ taking back the prison from the âinmatesâ. On that note, I did not want to be a part of management any more because I couldnât idly sit by and allow managers to speak ill of the people I called my friends and colleagues. It didnât sit right with me as a human.â
After the incident, Doyen wrote a resignation letter from his managerial position. Afterward, he started speaking with union organizers and getting involved in the union effort, which he had not initially supported. âŚ
Based in Germany, DHL is one of the largest logistics corporations in the world.
Through the union organizing campaign, workers have filed 17 unfair labor practice charges against DHL, alleging harassment, intimidation, surveillance and retaliation from management for union activities. The Teamsters have accused DHL of violating a neutrality agreement with the union and failing to live up to the companyâs global declaration of workers and human rights by opposing the union.
The Teamsters already represent about 6,000 of the 10,000 workers at DHL in the US and workers criticized DHL for its response to the union drive at the hub given previous agreements with the union at other sites.
Doyen said workers were pushing to unionize at DHL for issues ranging from job security, representation at disciplinary hearings, improved pay and benefits, a voice on safety issues and working conditions.
Doyen described the work as dangerous and grueling, with workers subjected to extreme temperatures in summer and winter months, often without air conditioning or heating in vehicles. He claimed workers had to deal with old or poorly maintained equipment, and had to ask management to call off work due to safety concerns for weather such as lightning.
13 Likes
Direct action. Loud and unruly direct action. A popular mandate. Bringing down a government: What is it about the French that they are ready to take to the streets in behalf of the society they stand for when the society they stand for is challenged by an imperious figure such as Emmanuel Macron? If you think this a good question, here is another: What is it about Americans that, as the sad record indicates, nothing rouses them from their quite amazing stupor such that they get off their sofas and⌠and act, act in behalf of⌠of anything?
Not quite fair given the strength of BLM protests and a couple of decades ago, those against the attack on Iraq. But when it comes to labor issues, well yeah, indeed.
11 Likes
I do think the media downplays two things on the subject of labor protests. The first is how it relates to the history of the police (who now have better unions and pensions than most workers). The second is how violent and duplicitous the police are in their role as defenders of corporate interests. Folks are quick to compare treatment of workers to slavery, but rarely mention how that system doesnât work without overseers.
13 Likes
9 Likes
7 Likes
Cross post in ageism - but can also be in Black Lives Matter.
8 Likes
Ah, the NYT strikes again. The other point that gets conveniently overlooked is that the financial picture in retirement tends to be much worse for women:
Nor does the article consider that, in a country that doesnât require paid sick leave or paid parental leave, let alone paid vacations, for many people retirement is the only time in their lives theyâll have to relax and do things for themselvesâŚ
⌠With an average payment of $1,827 a month and a maximum of $4,555 (which goes only to people who spent 35 years or longer earning more than the Social Security cap currently set at $160,200, and also didnât retire until age 70), few people can live comfortably
[emphasis mine]
That doesnât account for gaps in employment for childcare and/or eldercare, both of which tend to cause women to work longer to make up for years where zeros are included in the average. Combine that with the ageism you mentioned, and a return to the workforce for people over 40 usually means earnings take another hit. What are the odds of women earning even close to the cap, given the wage gaps? 
10 Likes
7 Likes
7 Likes
12 Likes
Here is the article in questionâŚ
And for the person mentioning academia⌠Iâm guessing that going into academia is now also getting less diverse with regards to class. The vast majority of my working class students are getting âpracticalâ degrees - business, nursing, computing, etc⌠something theyâve been told they can get a BA in and get a good job thatâs gonna lift them out of poverty. Studying and examining the world, how it functions, what the people in this world do or make, etc⌠they canât think about doing that, even if they wanted to do it, because they know that there is not real path to job security that way⌠
13 Likes
On Monday, a co-worker was telling me about her family easter gathering. Apparently her uncle had a minor heart attack recently. This occurred while on the job. He obviously left work to go see a doctor. His employer then gave him a 3 day suspension and something about losing a week of PTO ( donât remember the specifics). Heâs a couple years from retirement and doesnât want to get fired and lose his pension.
8 Likes
Sounds illegal.
13 Likes
12 Likes
A very good article⌠but I wanted to note this particular comment (many of them were very supportive and kind)âŚ
Following your passion and dream is something we should all do. We should steel ourselves for the journey, though. It may be bleak at points, however, the long-term payoff/reward for sticking with it, and for driving through the difficult times is well worth the effort. As in any pursuit, there are, as the author stated, gains and losses along the way. The big question isâŚHow much do you truly BELIEVE in your dream?
Holy âI did not read the actual article, but am just trying to shove my ideology down everyoneâs throat without seeming to do so!â Batman! The commenters name is âserial entrepeneurâ 
11 Likes
7 Likes
