Showin' 'em how it's done!

[oselle]

This is such a fun story:

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ikea-union-20110410,0,5341610.story

I love it. First of all, it's such great proof that America is slipping into second-world status when a successful foreign corporation views us as a source of cheap, easily exploited labor that is entitled to none of the benefits its workers enjoy in its home country, due to "the standard of living and general conditions in the different countries." I love that we're fast tracking that race to the bottom! Talk about American exceptionalism!

Second, there's absolutely no way to fight this! After all, a very loud portion of our government officials (and citizens!) are firm believers in the "Shut the fuck up and be grateful you have a job!" theory of labor relations. No lawmaker in America would ever dare stand up to Ikea and say, "Hey, your workers in the U.S. deserve the same rights as your workers in Sweden!" because no lawmaker in America would ever, ever, EVER dare to claim that working people deserve a $19/hour salary and five weeks of vacation, much less the right to unionize. Shit, I've been listening to Republicans going on for months now about how private-sector folks like me are TOTALLY FURIOUS at all those fatcat teachers and firefighters and janitors with their cushy public-sector jobs. Apparently it's my duty as an American to want my fellow Americans to suffer. Unless they're a CEO...or they work for Goldman Sachs...or...something. Sorry, I can't always keep straight what the Republicans want me to be furious about.

Finally, we've spent so much energy demonizing Western Europe (and Sweden in particular, for some reason) as a secular Socialist nanny-state hellhole, that in fact, I expect some conservative pundit will shortly get on television or the radio and give thanks to Jesus that America was here to show this godless Swedish company the way we git 'er done here in the US of A. Low wages! Forced overtime! No unions! Discrimination! USA! USA! USA!

Great stuff!

Comments

[shoofus.livejournal.com]

standard of living huh, wonderful. well its the south...and appalachia, even...its not like its in the heart of american union's territory, like say wisconsin and the lafollettes...oh wait...lafollette is secretary of state to governor walker there...ummm...ok so its not like its detroit, heart of steel where everyone has a full time highpaying job and every house is in great shape and...um...

[oselle.livejournal.com]

That "standard of living" line was PURE GOLD. It's just so great. All these years, the rest of the world has really been paying attention to what's been going on over here...and now they know that our workforce is ripe for the picking because our own expectations regarding "standard of living" have become so degraded that the best we can hope for is a paycheck and maybe a few holidays. I expect that more and more foreign companies will be showing up here to leech off our increasingly desperate working class, vanishing middle class and awesome corporate tax benefits...while our government and business leaders will sit around and pat themselves on the back for all the great job creation.

Showin' em how it's done

[ewanmax.livejournal.com]

I'm one of those fatcat teachers (still don't even make 40,000 after ten years) who work 11 hour days weekends and nights, spend our own paycheck on our students shoes, bicycles, tire patches, paper, pencils, uniform shirt, jackets, endless amounts of food, copies of anything we need including the tests we're suppose to be giving them and I can't use my health insurance till the summers, because I can't afford to take the time off (not because I don't have tons of sick days - at least two months worth now) but because we can't get subs to even come to our school and I don't want my kids to miss a day of learning, because they need to pass the FCAT, so they won't be 13 years old in 5th grade. Anyway, I'm not confused at all about what the Republicans want, they want mindless sheep and more apathy.
Loved your commentary.

Re: Showin' em how it's done

[oselle.livejournal.com]

Oh, I don't think they want us to be apathetic. They want us to be VERY VERY ANGRY...about lurid fantasies that they invent to distract us from the things we SHOULD be angry about.

Hey wait a minute! Why am I talking to YOU? You're one of those fatcats I just found out I'm furious over! Say, what're you doing here on LJ with us private-sector common folk? Shouldn't you be off living large on my dime? Sailing your yacht? Buying an island in the Caribbean? LOLOLOLOL!

[claudia603.livejournal.com]

Sing it! It's so true it makes me sick whenever I think about it.

I'm a fatcat teacher who barely makes enough to live above poverty, can't afford new clothes right now, and can only afford to pay the tax that I OWE (yes, OWE) to the IRS because I have a second income via my husband who makes more than I do in a third world country (and has better health benefits, too).

[oselle.livejournal.com]

It's pretty sad when someone can get a better job in a third-world country, but that's what it's coming to. I read recently that pretty soon America's educated young people are going to start going overseas to find jobs, the way people used to come here years ago. I totally believe it. This story is a perfect example...would you rather work for Ikea in Sweden, where you'll enjoy a much higher standard of living and "general conditions," or in Virginia, where you'll enjoy the luxury of shutting the fuck up and being grateful you have a job? I'd pick Sweden.

[emeraldus.livejournal.com]

Walmart's not any different from Ikea when it comes to unions. They make sure to show any new people a little video about how Walmart is this big ol' happy family and you don't really NEED an union to come in the middle of this happy family, do you? 'Cause we're all FAMILY and FAMILY don't need outsiders to take care of business.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

Sure, but Walmart is notorious for this kind of thing. Ikea, on the other hand, has long prided itself as being a company that's socially responsible and a great place to work...apparently only if you're Swedish. Alas, you can hardly blame them for taking a page from the Walmart playbook when they decide to open a manufacturing facility in the U.S. No reason for them to extend Swedish-style benefits to American workers when companies like Walmart have established that American workers are here to be exploited. Why, that's exactly what makes the U.S. so "pro-business!"

[dodger-sister.livejournal.com]

the standard of living and general conditions in the different countries

I couldn't believe I was reading that line. That some other country was saying that about America. This is where we are on the scale now? /headdesk/ Sounds about right.

What I took away from this is that we need to get ourselves some Swedish husbands and head on over there.

[oselle.livejournal.com]

Yes, this is where we are on the scale. It won't be long before foreign companies are talking about us the way we talk about exploited workers in India and China: "Hey, these jobs are a step up for these people! Otherwise they'd be starving!"

I'd love to head on over somewhere and believe me, if I'd known 20 years ago that this was where America was going, I would've gotten the fuck out then, when I was still young and cute and before I had a mortgage and elderly parents to look after.

[virgobaby77.livejournal.com]

Hey, don't forget McDonald's is hosting some sort of "National Hiring Day" for 50,000 lucky people. More low-wage, no-benefit fun for everyone!

[oselle.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I saw that up in the window of my local Mickey D's, complete with some sort of "Great jobs, great future!!" message. Meanwhile, through the window I could see some poor bastard mopping the floor at nine in the morning. Kind of an incongruous picture.

[lame-pegasus.livejournal.com]

Would you believe that in Germany people who get a job are forced - forced, I tell you - to get a health and anti-employment insurance? Evol socialists, all of us.