At the end of the show on Sunday, HBO’s “Last Week of Last Night” host, John Oliver, revealed how some of the largest companies in the United States spent millions of dollars to disrupt the union movement.
Oliver studied in depth how Amazon, Delta Air Lines, Starbucks, and Target used “union-breaking” tactics to illegally threaten workers. Such strategies include influence campaigns and intimidation, anti-union signs throughout the workplace, and multiple anti-union texts throughout the day. Some companies also showed videos of forced unions disguised as anti-union movements.
“If you have never participated in union activities yourself, you might think that union voting is a completely free and fair election,” Oliver said.
He added that secret voting is “an illusion created by executives like Jeff Bezos.” Said Amazon does not “think that we need a union as an intermediary between us and our employees, but of course, in the final analysis, this is always the employee’s choice.”
“I don’t know you, but I am not personally comforted to hear one of the wealthiest people on the planet say’this is your choice’,” Oliver said. “Regardless of the context, I can only hear, “Gun or arrow, you are more willing to be hunted, this is your choice.”
Oliver said that the use of illegal intimidation by these big companies is effective because the impact is small. They can tell their workers that joining a union may threaten their jobs or make them lose money, because these are just “predictions” and not company threats.
“To be clear, this is a for-profit consulting company, paid by a for-profit company, and they think the union is just for money,” Oliver said. “It’s not even the pot calling the kettle black, but the pot calling the kettle a pot. It’s like being called a bad first date by Ted Bundy.”
Although nearly half of non-union workers said they wish to join a union, only more than 10% of American workers belong to one of them.This is just over half of the unionization rate in 1983, which means that Americans live in One of the worst times for organized labor in the U.S.
Oliver has been following his part about unions on Twitter. Fans emphasized the challenge of forming a union in the United States.
