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Flight attendant union leaders ‘ready to go to jail’ as Air Canada strike outlawed
(www.theguardian.com)
this post was submitted on 18 Aug 2025
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Work Reform
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A place to discuss positive changes that can make work more equitable, and to vent about current practices. We are NOT against work; we just want the fruits of our labor to be recognized better.
Our Philosophies:
- All workers must be paid a living wage for their labor.
- Income inequality is the main cause of lower living standards.
- Workers must join together and fight back for what is rightfully theirs.
- We must not be divided and conquered. Workers gain the most when they focus on unifying issues.
Our Goals
- Higher wages for underpaid workers.
- Better worker representation, including but not limited to unions.
- Better and fewer working hours.
- Stimulating a massive wave of worker organizing in the United States and beyond.
- Organizing and supporting political causes and campaigns that put workers first.
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I wonder what moral philosophy could justify imprisoning someone for refusing to work under the terms of their agreement. I suppose it's the same premise used to justify slavery.
In my view, you can have expectations about people and the nature of work in your business, and I can have expectations about what and how I'm compensated, my rights, and my roles if I work for your business. If we don't meet each other's expectations, we go our separate ways. In no way, should either of us, nor the state, imprison us if we refuse terms, unless a party breaks the law.
The real question, perhaps, is, "when and why is it against the law to refuse to work?"
Kropotkin was right all along.
What we need, is not a wage slavery system centered around what we earn; but a society based around what we need.
We need to establish our own farms, our own woodcutters, our own medical aids; and we give to each other freely, so that we may freely receive in return.
The right to contract is fundamental to our Constitution in the United States. It's protected by the due process clauses in the 5th and 14th amendments. Though many disagree, the United States Constitution is, on paper, agnostic in terms of economic systems.
The question, for me personally, is do socialist or communist systems produce less corruption in capitalist systems inherently? My answer is no. I am of the opinion that neither arbitrary central planning nor complete laissez-faire economics are inherently more virtuous or morally sound than the other. Economic systems just like their political counterparts are susceptible to corruption in determining what individuals or societies "need".
Immoral behavior by smaller groups within larger groups is a byproduct of human nature. No matter the economic system, the only way to reduce corruption is to build systems that do not concentrate power, be it the state, or a group of unscrupulous plutocrats that rig free markets in their favor once they've cornered them.
I contend that societies that perform the best (i.e., upward social mobility, positive outcomes in hunger, per capita income, life expectancy, infant mortality, and literacy rates) have hybrid systems between socialist and market economies with tightly regulated and enforced antitrust and consumer protection.
Political and economic power must not be allowed to concentrate in individuals, trading guilds, institutions, nor the state.
Well, Kropotkin agrees with you in the last regard; that power should not be concentrated at all.
What he favours is a system such as yours, but differently. Trusts, which are inherently money-based, would be meaningless under an anarchocommunist system, as there is no money to speak of. A gift economy is one option, in where goods are directly given to one another without expectation of reward, and without a middle man such as money.
To prevent a "free rider" or "hoarder" problem, a pay-it-forward model could be handy, in where if you want goods, you need to give plenty back to the community.