I was raised in a right-to-work state, then moved to another right-to-work state, meaning union strength and commitment to the cause was decidedly weak and toothless. Not knowing any better, I signed up to fork out my union dues every payday. But what I found very quickly was that CWA 3204 had no real power. It only took one visit to the monthly meeting to recognize that fact. During that visit, I put the speaker, a local politician, very much on the spot by asking pertinent, probing questions. I saw him flustered and lose complete composure on stage. This is not the kind of response I wanted to receive.
My daily job was absolute hell on earth. I was working at a call center for a cellular company that shall remain nameless. I made nothing in salary, for one. When I called about my interview, the personal secretary of the boss of the entire center tried to talk me out of it. But being that I was young and naive at the time, I felt that I could do some good, no matter what sort of dysfunction I saw in front of me.
Instead, over time, I spoke to several of my colleagues. We all complained that the union was taking our dues and doing absolutely nothing constructive with them. I think at most we received a full hour for lunch, rather than 30 minutes. Big effing deal, that.
As is often the case, the manager of the entire center was toxic. Once I asked his personal secretary, who I have mentioned earlier, if I could borrow a notebook. He went spare. I got a severe talking to for a very silly reason. And though I am not a violent person in any way, shape, or form, I eventually entertained notions after a time of taking a baseball bat and busting both of his legs with it. The problem with me is that I truly am a gentle giant, and I have to be literally backed into a corner before I ever fight back. My size and girth have been my protection at times, but they have also been a strong drawback, too.
The reason I use this story as an example is to compare it to the latest band of workers who wish to unionize. You may recall that their distribution center is only a few miles from my place of residence.
An official with the National Labor Relations Board has recommended that the results of this year’s union vote at Amazon’s Bessemer fulfillment center be set aside, determining that the online retailer violated labor law.
The decision, reported by Bloomberg and The Washington Post, could pave the way for another vote on whether workers at the warehouse can join a union, after an already contentious campaign earlier this year.
It was my understanding in accepting the job offer was full realization that most workers at this call center would be black. The white woman who interviewed me whispered the fact under her breath, so as not to be overheard. That said, I suppose I haven’t seen evidence of black laziness and all the other inflammatory remarks and stereotypes whites often make about them. We were all highly stressed individuals, and got most of our share of frustration from impatient customers, not from our co-workers. I saw no overt acts of discrimination, but due to the fact that I hadn’t slept well in adjusting to an early shift, as well as resenting having to take a job I knew already I was going to hate did not have me in the best of spirits.
An African-American woman who was one of my co-workers stood up for me in the face of other co-workers and explained that I was totally harmless. To them, I had come across as weird. She felt that she existed in two universes, one black, one white. And she was beholden to neither at the sane time, as well. I was white, and very white in a very black workplace. But this is no complaint. I learned more on the job about African-American culture than I had at any point in my life. I’m not patting myself on the back, but rather stating that being a white ally requires more than walking around a local park with a “Black Lives Matter” poster.
This particular center, which now no longer exists, insisted that we workers check in with the front desk every day before starting our shift. The reason for this was that, at some point in the recent past, a gay man, posing as a woman, began e-mailing salacious letters to a straight man. The presumably straight man didn’t take a likeness to the behavior. When the truth finally came out, the gay man found himself the victim of intense physical violence. Or, to be blunt, the gay man had the hell beaten out of him. Some centers might have kept this story under wraps, but not here. Everyone who could stay the maximum of a year on the phones immediately put in for promotion at the home office downtown once they had did their time.
Had I acted in such a way, I would have been transferred elsewhere, probably to make a boring, but reasonably well-paying job. But I always chafed at the very nature of the private sector and was lucky to make it six months at the call center. My bipolar disorder flared up, as is often the case when under a tremendous amount of stress. I thought instead about getting a job with the union, which I might have been eligible for, but I noticed that every local representative had to move every year to another city. I wasn’t sure I was ready for something quite that drastic.
I’d seen my first cousin’s peripatetic existence as a news anchor woman. She knew, going into the field, that it would be rare to stay at one station longer than a year. She went to local affiliate after local affiliate, finally becoming a news anchor woman in Pennsylvania. When soft news took hold, she, in revulsion, decided to retool and pursue a course instead in academia. She had many war stories to tell her students.
Despite the recommendation, a decision must still be rendered by the NLRB’s regional director. Amazon can also appeal that decision. A final determination will take several weeks.
Despite the recommendation, a decision must still be rendered by the NLRB’s regional director. Amazon can also appeal that decision. A final determination will take several weeks.
“Our employees had a chance to be heard during a noisy time when all types of voices were weighing into the national debate, and at the end of the day, they voted overwhelmingly in favor of a direct connection with their managers and the company,” an Amazon spokesman said. “Their voice should be heard above all else, and we plan to appeal to ensure that happens.”
Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), the union that organized there, said, “Amazon cheated, they got caught, and they are being held accountable.”
I encourage you to read up on this full post and all the hyperlinks if you wish to see more. As much as I enjoy the convenience of Amazon, the more my conscience gnaws away at me. No one needs 192.4 billion dollars, for any reason. Call me a socialist, but I’d rather see that money be redistributed to people who could really use it. I’ve heard a cry of panic from people my parents’ generation who are genuinely shaking in their boots that this country will switch to a fully socialist form of government. No matter what I try to tell them, it is simply a manifestation of their worst case scenario and highly implausible.