A supermajority of game developers behind the popular digital game Magic: The Gathering Arena has announced their intent to form a union with CWA, also marking the first unionization effort at Hasbro subsidiary Wizards of the Coast.
That’s what you get when unions aren’t a major player in your country.
In Denmark for example the government doesn’t even pass laws for stuff like minimum wage or working conditions. Everything is based on collective agreements between unions and employer associations. That’s how Denmark has pretty high minimum wage, 5 weeks guaranteed vacation per year, maternity leave, paid sick leave and other benefits. And these benefits can’t be taken away if some party that’s hostile to workers get elected.
Out of curiosity, what’s stopping someone from starting a company that hires non-union labour for cheaper than the collective agreement? Or is it mandated by law that everyone must be part of a union?
I mean people have tried it and there is no law that forces people to be in a union. But why would anyone go and work for a company that is paying them less?
As for an example of what would happen just look at Tesla in Sweden(which uses a similar system)that has refused to sign a collective agreement and some of their employees have been striking against the company since 2023 which is still going and is the longest strike in Sweden in the last 80 years. After the strike started other unions started so called “sympathy strikes”. The Swedish Transport union joined the strike and refused to load or unload any Tesla cars at ports. The dockworker, electricians and postal worker unions also joined and refused to provide services to Tesla. This affected their deliveries, installation and maintenance of charging stations and so on. Eventually unions from other Nordic countries also joined such as Danish port workers from 3F union then Norwegian port workers from Fellesforbundet and finally Finnish ones from Finnish Transport worker Union. Pension Danmark, one of the largest pension funds in Denmark to divest entirely from Tesla. They now have to transport their cars by land since port workers refuse to unload them and they can’t even get license plates for their cars because of the postal union strike.
I mean people have tried it and there is no law that forces people to be in a union. But why would anyone go and work for a company that is paying them less?
Economic downturn where there are barely any jobs, except at companies that can hire people at lower rates? Rural area and you don’t want to move for a job, but the only companies around pay less?
It’s why I prefer a nationally mandated minimum wage, just not US style where it’s been left the same for decades. Here in Estonia, it’s updated every year and is the product of negotiations between an organization that represents unions and another that represents employers. So kinda like in Denmark, I guess… Except the number they come up with is mandatory for everyone in the country, whether or not you’re in a union. Obviously a union will still have its own collective agreements and can demand higher wages, including by striking if necessary.
That’s what you get when unions aren’t a major player in your country.
In Denmark for example the government doesn’t even pass laws for stuff like minimum wage or working conditions. Everything is based on collective agreements between unions and employer associations. That’s how Denmark has pretty high minimum wage, 5 weeks guaranteed vacation per year, maternity leave, paid sick leave and other benefits. And these benefits can’t be taken away if some party that’s hostile to workers get elected.
Out of curiosity, what’s stopping someone from starting a company that hires non-union labour for cheaper than the collective agreement? Or is it mandated by law that everyone must be part of a union?
I mean people have tried it and there is no law that forces people to be in a union. But why would anyone go and work for a company that is paying them less?
As for an example of what would happen just look at Tesla in Sweden(which uses a similar system)that has refused to sign a collective agreement and some of their employees have been striking against the company since 2023 which is still going and is the longest strike in Sweden in the last 80 years. After the strike started other unions started so called “sympathy strikes”. The Swedish Transport union joined the strike and refused to load or unload any Tesla cars at ports. The dockworker, electricians and postal worker unions also joined and refused to provide services to Tesla. This affected their deliveries, installation and maintenance of charging stations and so on. Eventually unions from other Nordic countries also joined such as Danish port workers from 3F union then Norwegian port workers from Fellesforbundet and finally Finnish ones from Finnish Transport worker Union. Pension Danmark, one of the largest pension funds in Denmark to divest entirely from Tesla. They now have to transport their cars by land since port workers refuse to unload them and they can’t even get license plates for their cars because of the postal union strike.
Economic downturn where there are barely any jobs, except at companies that can hire people at lower rates? Rural area and you don’t want to move for a job, but the only companies around pay less?
It’s why I prefer a nationally mandated minimum wage, just not US style where it’s been left the same for decades. Here in Estonia, it’s updated every year and is the product of negotiations between an organization that represents unions and another that represents employers. So kinda like in Denmark, I guess… Except the number they come up with is mandatory for everyone in the country, whether or not you’re in a union. Obviously a union will still have its own collective agreements and can demand higher wages, including by striking if necessary.