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PaperclipPerfector  12d ago (text post)   27722 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of September 23, 2024

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What does the NLRB do?

I'm not a huge fan, but they do have some function in ensuring that the right of workers to chose to unionize or to chose not to unionize is respected. At the very least, overseeing that voting is a role for a neutral third party.

If a business isn't allowed to shut down without NLRB approval and it must only employ some designated union, I'm going to say they're bad and should have this power revoked.

A business is allowed to shut down for any business reason. It cannot shut down because the workers there voted to unionize, that would be unlawful retaliation.

That's the kind of factual question that is litigated all the time and can be resolved by the normal judicial process. For example, one could look to whether other stores with similar performance shut down during that period, or what the usual process would be for underperforming stores.

Someone has to be decide on it, the NLRB should probably let the federal courts do more of that though.

A business is allowed to shut down for any business reason. It cannot shut down because the workers there voted to unionize, that would be unlawful retaliation.

Unless they're allowed to hire non-union workers, I consider it a valid business reason to withdraw from the market.

Being forced by law to negotiate with some group to access labor is unacceptable.

I'm aware on surface reading that this is retaliatory but fuck that.

This is essentially leading to a government enforced cartel that decides all baristas now must be paid X.

I consider it a valid business reason to withdraw from the market.

This is still one step removed from the 'real' business reason though. The NLRB alleged that Starbucks' closure were part of a strategy of intimidation, not simply a response to business conditions downstream of unionisation. Which is to say, they didn't close the stores because unionization made labor too expensive and reduced profitability, rather they closed viable locations as mere retaliation/pour encourager les autres.

Sure, though they only don't want to have a union in their eco-system because it will make labor too expensive and reduce profitability. The fact that it's a step removed doesn't make it less of a valid business reason.

The choice of whether to have a union is with workers. If Starbucks wants to not have one, it needs to convince workers that they will benefit more not having one.

I understand and respect that this is your opinion.

For the better part of the century, the core tenant of US labor law is that If a majority of employees vote to empower a union to negotiate on their behalf, The business is indeed required by law to negotiate with that union.

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