TODAY: The dam has never been more profitable, now that we’ve fired all the folks with their fingers in the little cracks.
THIS TIME NEXT YEAR: Oh no! The dam has failed! Please help us, we need bailouts!
I hate feeling like an expendable human resource. When I was laid off it was completely without advanced notice, they’re never considerate enough to notify you two weeks in advance (like we are supposed to do).
It’s not like the executive types are known for their empathy. I’ve seen the Chairman of the Board throw full on temper tantrums (and throwing stuff) at his subordinates. They have zero qualms laying us off if it means it increases this quarter’s bottom line.
That’s why I quit recently with no notice. They asked and I said “you didn’t give one the last 4 rounds of layoffs, so why should I?”
I live in a country where the company or you need to notify the other 2-6 months in advance. You can only quiet earlier if it is mutual.
I recommend joining a Union so you can also have the safety benefits that we do.
I live in a country (the US) where secondary and general strikes are illegal, so unions don’t have as much power.
In fairness, you usualy get severance that is more than 2 weeks, and you don’t even have to go to work to collect it. That said, in like spain, I think they have to employ you until you find a new job or something.
Yup. Post-COVID, the rich were scared by the newly empowered worker who had just finally begun to understand their worth and power, and have declared war on the working class in retaliation. There’s plenty of evidence for this by now; the pattern is obvious.
So real talk time, what are doing about it?
Why aren’t the remaining workers walking out in protest? Why aren’t sympathetic industries and collectives talking to all of these recently released labor force members and collectively organizing marches and strikes, encouraging workers to refuse to do labor until executives take massive paycuts?
What do we have to do, and why aren’t we doing it?
And if you are somebody out there doing it, what do people like me have to do to get involved?
Why aren’t the remaining workers walking out in protest?
I fear homelessness.
What do we have to do, and why aren’t we doing it?
The list of worker protections needed for that kind of solidarity would take a book series to properly explain. The majority of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, meaning they can’t walk out without losing everything. They would pretty much instantly lose their jobs, which is a huge deterance.
And culturally, the situation is fucked. The U.S. has a much workers solidarity as La Croix has taste. Nobody wants to be the first to stick their neck out for a general strike. Nobody takes the ideal of a general strike seriously. A third of the population is republicans, whom vehemently oppose unions and worker protections.
The culture, values, and worker protections of this country need to dramatically change. And I wish I had solutions.
The list of worker protections needed for that kind of solidarity would take a book series to properly explain. The majority of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, meaning they can’t walk out without losing everything. They would pretty much instantly lose their jobs, which is a huge deterance.
I mean I hear you, and I agree with all of that… But people are already losing their jobs without these safety nets anyway. This meme is in response not to just the general discontent, but specifically the trend of corporate layoffs despite record profits.
We are already taking losses in the battle without ever actually stepping onto the battlefield, so what the hell do we have to lose?
But people are already losing their jobs without these safety nets anyway.
And it’s absolute bullshit. But from the average workers perspective, there is a strong incentive to not lose your job even if you know there is a high chance of losing it to begin with. So the resulting behavior is that workers try to keep their head down and postpone that eventual job loss.
Until a worker can be confident there will still be food on their table and a roof over their head when they strike or try to form a union, the incentive to keep your head down will continue to remain too strong.
I don’t know man. That feels defeatist to me. We’ve made these kind of big pushes in the past, and we are capable of doing them again. Maybe the unrelenting brashness of this current wave of assault by the wealthy can be the tipping point. I think we need to be having hard conversations with our neighbors and coworkers right now, because I think more might be able to see the writing on the wall today than have in a long time.
Yeah, it is a bit defeatist. And I don’t have high hopes for this country to unfuck itself of the current situation. I’ve mentioned unionization to co-workers in the past. At best they don’t bat an eye and engage, and at worst they treat you like an enemy, and no matter what the word is treated in a hushed manner.
I’m not saying it is impossible. It’s just a ball busting-ly hard job to get done.
I don’t disagree at all with that.
I guess the way I see it is either we don’t try anything and fail regardless, or we try our damned and probably fail but maybe succeed. 2% chance for success sounds better than guaranteed 0% to me.
Yeah, that’s pretty much where I’m at. It’s worth tying, even if the chances are small, and they are definitely small.
I’m ready to talk about stuff you get banned for saying, and we need a lot more people. Only the billionaires and their heirs for now.
Didn’t Microsoft just report massive profits after reporting they played off tons of people? Maybe it was in reverse order, but they knew they had massive profits at the same time they were laying off tons of people.
Laying off a lot of people does wonders for the end of year report…
Yes, and also months after Bobby Kotick left, taking a $300M severance package with him.
The Microsoft layoffs were a bit different because it was cutting redundant positions after the Actiblizzard merger.
Stuff like middle/upper management mostly I would bet, the company I worked for did a similar lay off after an acquisition not long ago.
The worst part is seeing all these people getting mad at their computers. Call me when y’all are ready to drag them out of their houses and roast them, I’ll wait for you to catch up.
So what have you done so far?
Write a witty Lemmy msg
Look, I’m not going to say violence is never the answer. History is full of examples to contrary. But it feels like there’s a lot of steps we haven’t taken before getting to that point. And no, I’m not talking about voting. We need to get serious about collective striking efforts. So I hope you’ll answer not just the call for pitchforks when it comes, but also the one for picket lines when it comes first.
This is basically why the French Revolution happened
It’s pretty crazy how much they can raise employees salary by getting rid of ceo pay.
If the company had 1000 workers, they could each get a 30k raise.
Ain’t capitalism grand?
Boeing!
What do you expect him to do? Not partake in the season’s festivities?
You will see this trend with Ai more and more, expected 40% lost of jobs worldwide due to the Ai implememtation. Google former Ai head of departement claims.
😔
I can relate. Im also a jealous fucking man and hate it being rubbed into my face.
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha…
You serious?
For real though. Yes the CEO can get a pay cut, but that is unlikely to save more than a few individuals. The costs of labour are just that high, often the highest of all costs a company has. That’s why laying off staff, although terrible, is the best way to save money for a company.
I agree that CEOs earn waaaaay to much for what they actually do, but cutting that is not the magic solution people imagine it is.
Even the famous pay cut by Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo was accompanied by other cost saving measures in the company, and only because Japanese law demands that layoffs be the last thing a company does.
I agree that CEOs earn waaaaay to much for what they actually do, but
No but required. It sounds like you agree. Some of us are just more mad about it.
