• bleistift2@feddit.de
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    362
    ·
    9 months ago

    Hey guys, listen up. The scraps Amazon is giving me are insufficient to make ends meet. UNIONS ARE THE PROBLEM!

    • GraniteM@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      160
      ·
      edit-2
      9 months ago

      Jesus, when you put it like that, even if Darla isn’t a robot or a paid astroturfer, she’s still making the case for unions.

      • xantoxis@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        50
        ·
        9 months ago

        Yeah the argument itself is so transparently dumb that no legitimate person would hold it; and I think the dunk tweet is pointing out that in addition to having no good argument, Amazon thinks we’re too stupid to notice the astroturf.

        • LinkOpensChest.wav@lemmy.blahaj.zone
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          15
          ·
          9 months ago

          There are people who genuinely believe this, sadly. I’ve encountered them here where I live in South Dakota where we’re propagandized against unions from a very young age. These are people who would easily fall for obvious astroturfing like Darla above. It’s one reason I think basic tech and media literacy are so important.

    • sbv
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      161
      ·
      edit-2
      9 months ago

      Amazon probably outsourcing to a PR that specializes in union busting.

      1. But the PR firm that has little technical expertise - they just know they need bots to do some astroturfing.

      2. So the PR firm outsources to an IT consulting firm.

      3. But the IT consulting firm only bids on contracts, they don’t do the actual work, so they find a subcontractor.

      4. The subcontractor may hire subcontractors. Continue this step for however many iterations the value of the contract will allow.

      5. Eventually the subcontractor hires a gig worker or an underpaid staffer to do the minimal amount of work possible.

      6. The gig worker avoids as much effort as possible, because they’re paid by volume rather than time.

      At this point the requirements may or may not be fulfilled, but the admins of each org are satisfied, so they move on to the next contract without verifying the work.

      Edit: I wrote this facetiously, but u/SpaceNoodle found a news article suggesting at least some of these accounts are legit, as backed up by a Belling Cat investigation.

    • cm0002@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      19
      ·
      edit-2
      9 months ago

      The Amazon employee hired to do this and is trying to fight for unions secretly: :(

    • Lath@kbin.social
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      17
      ·
      9 months ago

      They’re even shafting their shills when it comes to paying a decent wage.

    • Signtist@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      8
      ·
      9 months ago

      There’s no reason to try any harder than this. Most people who will see this tweet won’t look at the handle or the replies - they’re read the tweet, then move on. And if they see enough of these tweets, they may just internalize the notion that unions aren’t worth it. It’s better for Amazon to make more tweets than it is for them to make better tweets. And it’s not like they’re going to see any repercussions for trying to maliciously influence their employees.

    • zarkanian
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      9 months ago

      Something similar happened when there were all of those news stories about abusive work environments at Amazon. Amazon employees spontaneously tweeting about how much they loved their jobs.

  • ImplyingImplications@lemmy.ca
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    104
    ·
    9 months ago

    My union dues are 1/52 of my yearly pay. I make $25.77 an hour in an entry level job with no education requirements. Minimum wage here is $16.55 an hour.

    • starman2112
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      38
      ·
      edit-2
      9 months ago

      Well you may be making 50k before taxes, but you’re paying like a thousand dollars a year in union dues! You could instead be making 33k with no union dues, and a smaller tax burden. Think of how much you could buy with that extra thousand dollars!

      On a side note are you hiring, and how far are you from Wichita, Kansas? I don’t mind a commute

  • minibyte
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    75
    ·
    9 months ago

    This year because I’m a union member I get 3 paid sick days and a personal day extra, which would pay for my dues for the year twice.

  • Another Catgirl@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    32
    ·
    9 months ago

    unions are trying to use the threat of a strike to increase worker wages so that fewer workers need to scrape by. We should have union loans that pay union dues until the wages are increased (by union activity), and then use part of the increased wages to pay off the loan.

      • Another Catgirl@lemmy.blahaj.zone
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        edit-2
        9 months ago

        no, I think a strike fund is different, a strike fund is like a collective savings account for union members to save up for a strike, while my idea prevents workers interested in unions but not interested in union dues from needing to pay union dues until after their wages are increased.

        • Monkey With A Shell@lemmy.socdojo.com
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          9 months ago

          Yeah, but that starts to walk right up to the ‘right to work’ line, give me the benefits of a union shop without the responsibilities like voting, dues, or solidarity of action until later. If a union is in place you already have benefits of it most likely by having a guaranteed raise schedule or higher starting wages than you otherwise would. If it’s just being established you’ll have a vote, and if it gets established against your vote then that’s just the way it is and you either join or leave.

          The dues are integral towards the operation by funding things like a strike fund, hiring negotiators, or any other operational costs.

          Think the other side of it, you get hired and floated a ‘loan’ until some later point. In the interim a strike is called. Are you going to walk out and expect pay from the union from a fund you haven’t paid into?

          • Another Catgirl@lemmy.blahaj.zone
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            9 months ago

            well yeah kinda. What I mean is that means testing employees trying to unionize by requesting union dues before joining is a great way to to segregate the workforce between the wealthy (those who can afford union dues) and the poor (those who can’t afford union dues). At the extreme, it’s like an elite club of the highest-earning employees and the employees who work a sidegig. There should be union financial aid available for those whose expenses and budget can’t afford to join a union until after they get a raise.

    • tourist@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      6
      ·
      9 months ago

      They all have that unnatural looking direct camera stare with a vague background.

      A lot of them share that exact same smile. Not sure how to describe it

      Also feels like the camera is the exact same distance from every face.

      I’m sure if you zoom in to the original pfp, you’ll find the classic image artifacts. Probably even the website watermark.

      Using an actual unlicensed shutterstock image would feel more authentic at this point.

  • LeadersAtWork@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    17
    ·
    9 months ago

    Darla there reads like a coherent Trump.

    Anyone wanna bet on it being a fake account meant to spread misleading information on unions, while appearing to be voicing legitimate concerns?