S08.E30: Union Busting

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Main topic:  Union Busting

Also:  Participants in the January 6th insurrection; Paul Gosar video; the many questions of Fox & Friends Brian Kilmeade; review of year's shows; cameos by George Clooney, Jenifer Coolidge, Will Ferrell, RuPaul, Cardi B., Brian Baumgartner, the void, and Leslie Jones; white void tonight with the void

It's the last episode of the season.  😿

Original air date 2021.11.14

[Annber03]

"Marjorie Taylor Wanna-Greene" XD. 

"We're storming with our words." Yeah, no. If there's one positive outcome from the horror that was the January 6th insurrection, it's that all these people who stormed the Capitol are blatantly, brazenly stupid as hell. It's amazing how absolutely none of them seem to grasp the concept of keeping their mouths shut or covering their tracks, but thank goodness, for the rest of us, that they aren't doing either of those things. I just wish their time in prison was a lot longer, and significantly harsher. 60 days is a slap on the wrist for someone who's arrogant enough to think their hair and eye color somehow spared them spending any time in prison. 

The story about Gosar, meanwhile, is utterly horrifying and if there was any actual justice he'd have been removed from office for good by now. 

As for the union story, having worked in retail myself (as have my parents and sister), I cackled at John's "Have they ever worked retail?" bit in response to that one anti-union video going on about not being able to help customers XD. He's not wrong! The fact the actors in that video were part of SAG just made it all the more ridiculous. That's amazing. 

But yeah, that whole segment certainly explains why so many attempts to unionize fail. "Captive audience meeting" just sounds like a term straight out of hell in and of itself, I don't care what the reason would be for such a thing. And after all the stories that have come out about the miserable and horrific working conditions at Amazon, Bezos really has a lot of nerve even showing his face on TV at all, and trying to defend his way of doing things. It'd be great if that legislation to protect workers and give them more of a fair fight to unionize would pass. Something else we should make a lot of noise to Congress about.

Loved Leslie trying to do the whole "I Dream of Jeannie" folding arms and blinking thing, as well as the "Bewitched" nose twitch, to try and get out of talking to John :p. So wild that even now he still hasn't seen much of his staff - hopefully with time that'll change. Until next year, then!

[ahisma]

Marjorie Taylor Wanna-Greene is the perfect name for prison convict Barbie!

John calling Cruella DeVille dogicidal inspired me to look it up—yup, canicide is a real word.

That SAG actor may not be a rapist, but would he take a job acting in a pro-rape movie?

The show’s own version of an anti-union propaganda film was the best! I actually liked it better than the celebrity cameos at the end. (Except Leslie Jones. I always love Leslie Jones!)

I’m 100% with Void on his take on Bugs Bunny.

[scarynikki12]

Of course Jenna Ryan watched YouTube to prepare for her prison sentence. Personally, if I had to go to prison I'd be shitting myself every second because I watched the entirety of Oz and I know, I KNOW, that I would somehow get both Schillinger and Adebisi as cellmates even though: 1) I'd go to a women's prison and, 2) they're fictional.

I love Ollie making a point to say that Gosar wouldn't personally attack AOC because he'd lose. 

Lord that Brian Kill Me Now guy must be hell to work with. I get a migraine from his nonsense just from the clips that Ollie and others show while making fun of him.

That Ladies Garment Worker's Union song is catchy. 

I'm glad the show went into detail on union busting. I didn't know that there are firms designed to bust union organizing, much less a couple thousand, but I'm not surprised. That one tactic claiming that a worker will get lower wages and worse benefits is a bullshit one and I'm glad Ollie called it out as such. Every company in the country would be pro-union if it made things worse for their workers.

Now I feel guilty for not letting Mario take a bathroom break. Maybe he goes when he's swimming in the water worlds?

Oh, god, I remember that Target orientation video from when I worked there. I never rolled my eyes so hard when they got into the anti-union propaganda. I love the detail that the actors hired for it are members of SAG.

I love Ollie's more honest video for the union busters. Those are the same actors from the Target video right? They look like them at least.

Clooney showing up for the finale after his cameos from the season and letting Ollie have new summoning powers was pure joy. Jennifer Coolidge, Will Ferrell, RuPaul, Cardi B (who was hysterical), Kevin from The Office!, The Void, Leslie Jones, and back to Clooney. I can't wait to see whatever celebrity related recurring bit they do next year.

[scarynikki12]

30 minutes ago, ahisma said:

I’m 100% with Void on his take on Bugs Bunny.

Agreed. I adore Bugs, and was watching a bunch of his shorts just last night, but that rabbit is incapable of learning a lesson. He'll learn everything else in the world but not a lesson.

[paigow]

1 hour ago, scarynikki12 said:

Agreed. I adore Bugs,. He'll learn everything else in the world but not a lesson.

What could he learn from these guys???

      

[nickp1991]

When Delta tried to unionize they told employees to invest in video games instead of union dues. “Video game characters are the ultimate example of exploited labor…not once in 36 years of playing Mario have I ever seen him get to take a bathroom break.”

[ahisma]

7 hours ago, scarynikki12 said:

That Ladies Garment Worker's Union song is catchy. 

 It’s a lifelong ear worm for those of us who were around back then! I knew immediately what song John was going to play, and sang along.

ETA: Here’s a great history piece on the song and the Union. The first video is the one I remember more clearly from the ‘70s, but the 1981 version John showed is also included farther down.

https://womenatthecenter.nyhistory.org/look-for-the-union-label/

Edited November 15, 2021 by ahisma

[paigow]

7 hours ago, scarynikki12 said:

Schillinger

Say it 5 times in the shower room and he will appear

[peeayebee]

10 hours ago, scarynikki12 said:

I love Ollie's more honest video for the union busters. Those are the same actors from the Target video right? They look like them at least.

I don't think they were the same. I'm sure I've seen the guy before who was in John's video.

 

2 hours ago, ahisma said:

 It’s a lifelong ear worm for those of us who were around back then! I knew immediately what song John was going to play, and sang along.

ETA: Here’s a great history piece on the song and the Union. The first video is the one I remember more clearly from the ‘70s, but the 1981 version John showed is also included farther down.

Yes, I was surprised when he said it was from the 80's. I thought it was earlier, so thanks for that confirmation. I don't really remember the actual videos, just the song.

I'm sure the video that Gosar retweeted was not something he originated. Either a staffer tweeted it or someone sent it to him and he retweeted it. Either way, it's bad. But that's the whole thing with these people. "Can't you take a joke?"

I've never worked anywhere with a union or where the opportunity to join one came up, but I think I would be discouraged by being told the company would close. I was glad to hear the percentages that John informed us of, that only 1% (was it?) actually close, but still, I'd be worried about a company moving oversees. 

I feel that a lot of decisions companies make about workers is determined by shareholder concerns. I don't know what can be done about that.

It was nice to end with several pleasant and funny celebrity appearances. Nice palate cleanser.

[swanpride]

Never worked in a company where a union would make sense, since they were all fairly small - I am talking "small enough that the boss knew all employees personally". It's so much harder to be sh... to your workers, if you know their faces, plus, Germany has pretty extensive worker rights anyway. Those include limiting the working time per week, minimum paid vacation days plus paid holidays plus paid sick days, plus rules for the break-times, higher wages if you work on a Sunday and a general rule against calling your employer during their off-time. Most of them thanks to unions, btw. 

The ironic thing is, that such provisions are actually for the good of the companies too, especially in the service industry. Because people who have proper wages and free time, also have the opportunity to spend money. But since companies in the US think extremely short term...

Regarding the 60 days: I could live with the sentences, if there were also a probation period attached to it. And in this case probation shouldn't mean "you are in if you storm the capital again" but "you are in if you do anything which can be read as encouraging another one" (including doing a youtube channel which spread misinformation). Honestly, with stipulations like this all those idiots would end up behind bars sooner rather than later. 

[iMonrey]

Quote

That Ladies Garment Worker's Union song is catchy. 

 It’s a lifelong ear worm for those of us who were around back then! I knew immediately what song John was going to play, and sang along.

ETA: Here’s a great history piece on the song and the Union. The first video is the one I remember more clearly from the ‘70s, but the 1981 version John showed is also included farther down.

Thanks. I, too, am old enough to remember the song and the videos, and raised an eyebrow when he said it was from the early 80s.

I kind of hoped one of the celebrities he conjured at the end would be Adam Driver, but I guess that joke is over. 🙁

[PrincessPurrsALot]

I actually sang along with the start of the ILGWU song, "Look for the union label . . . " Then I realized I woke the dog.  😳

Union busting is an important topic as some businesses expand.  With the size of Amazon, Walmart, Starbucks, etc., there are very large workforces that could be unionized.  I have worked in union shops and was at one time a member of the IATSE.  I became a member so my employer could not ask me to do highly dangerous work or use me to do work for which I was not trained in an attempt to avoid paying height bonuses (height off the stage when hanging lights, etc.) to union workers.  Being on a ladder when you should use a lift or saving time by not tying in correctly can have major consequences.  

The show's version of the video was brilliant.  

 

[DoctorAtomic]

This is way way less important than the union topic (which I support) - but, yes, subs over dubs. 

[RedbirdNelly]

the Leslie Jones part was the best celebrity part. I loved all her moves to get rid of John

[Brandi Maxxxx]

On 11/15/2021 at 4:35 PM, scarynikki12 said:

Now I feel guilty for not letting Mario take a bathroom break. Maybe he goes when he's swimming in the water worlds?

Or maybe that's what all the pipes are for...

[swanpride]

Nah, you really need better worker songs...like, this is basically its own genre in Europe. Especially popular ones are:

Auf, auf zum Kampf - YouTube

(Onto the fight, Germany)

Bella Ciao - ORIGINALE - YouTube

(Goodbye Beauty, Italy)

Arbeiter von Wien [German worker song][+English translation] - YouTube

(Workers of Vienna, Austria)

"Nelkenrevolution" - Portugal 1974 - "Grândola vila morena" - YouTube

(Grandola, tanned City, Portugal)

And my personal favourite (not because of the melody, I guess bella Ciao has that one in the bag, because of the meaning), the Hymn of Solidarity:

Ernst Busch- Solidaritätslied (1931) w/ English lyrics - YouTube

 

Edited November 16, 2021 by swanpride
Sorry, forgot the links

[JustHereForFood]

1 hour ago, swanpride said:

Nah, you really need better worker songs...like, this is basically its own genre in Europe. Especially popular ones are:

...

Eh, no thanks. Coming from a former socialist republic, I have a knee-jerk reaction to these kinds of things. I don't deny positives of unions, but there are certainly some bad associations there for me.

(And we recently had a terrible version of Bella Ciao that coincidentally had nothing to do with any social topic and it made me hate that song in all its versions, but YMMV.)

[swanpride]

I get that...but "our live is shitty, but we will stand together and fight for our rights" is a much more inspiring message than "hey, unions aren't that bad". 

[andromeda331]

I wish I could be surprised but I'm not. Of course businesses don't want unions. Employees that want unions face being fired. Just paying employees a decent wage with benefits is too much to ask for. 

[Annber03]

30 minutes ago, andromeda331 said:

I wish I could be surprised but I'm not. Of course businesses don't want unions. Employees that want unions face being fired. Just paying employees a decent wage with benefits is too much to ask for. 

And yet a lot of these business owners wonder why they have a hard time keeping employees for any real length of time. Gee, it's a mystery. 

[paigow]

In Canada, the healthiest unions are those representing government employees. The Auto Workers lost so many members that they had to rebrand because recruiting drives were expanded to all industries.

[swanpride]

In Germany the biggest is easily the IG Metall (for Industry workers, including car manufacturing, hence not necessarily surprising), followed by ver.di (retail). 

[Victor the Crab]

I would have thought Ollie would have gone all in, focusing on the January 6 insurrection attempt, given how this was the last show of the year and that it was arguably the story of the year. Or at least something light. The story of union busting would have been better served in the middle of the year, like just before Labor Day.

[andromeda331]

On 11/16/2021 at 4:09 PM, Annber03 said:

And yet a lot of these business owners wonder why they have a hard time keeping employees for any real length of time. Gee, it's a mystery. 

Especially in the middle of the biggest health crisis we've ever had. Of course that's going to make a lot more employees think twice about working a job without any benefits. 

[lasu]

Cardi B: Siri! Tell Alexa to stop!

 

🤣

[Lantern7]

Great finale. Not as cathartic as last year, but still a good end for a slightly less shitty year. Also a great end to the finger-snapping running gag. Apparently, John isn't that respected by actual celebrities. Or the Void.

On 11/17/2021 at 12:36 PM, Victor the Crab said:

I would have thought Ollie would have gone all in, focusing on the January 6 insurrection attempt, given how this was the last show of the year and that it was arguably the story of the year. Or at least something light. The story of union busting would have been better served in the middle of the year, like just before Labor Day.

I'm thinking LWT couldn't find a way to look at the incident and find a new way to view it. And I bet everyone involved with the show tried.

Any word on when the ninth season starts?

#ButItCouldGoDown