Was never really a fan of unions but 12 years in retail made me warm up to the idea. Quit retail 6 months ago and already I’m back to seeing todays unions as no better than the retail corporations.
I still think retail could use unions, ie walmart target Lowes Home Depot. But seeing ups and the UAW has me shaking my head. UAW is demanding a 46% raise? Retail workers are lucky to get $1 on an hourly rate that is much lower. Retail workers already can’t afford a car, and car prices are ridiculously inflated already, let alone equally inflated housing.
I understand the reasoning and circumstances are circumstantial and skill is not necessarily equal, but to hear the UAW president talk about the discrepancy between CEO pay and auto workers who are making double retail workers makes their words fall on deaf ears. They bemoan low wages while profiting off their own constituents labor, labor that is higher paying than many millions in other industries.
UPS drivers average $145k/year and are negotiating for more while many people are taking to DoorDash or Uber for $20/hr. The discrepancy between union and non-union is just as bad as CEO vs worker. While that may sound like an argument for unions, and it is indeed, it’s disheartening to hear union people play victim and perpetuate the workers’ plight when they’re doing so much better; asking for more instead of spreading the wealth. That, to me, is the dilemma of capitalism, or communism.