Speaking of Europe...

Today, according to the international economic database Penn World Table, the German work year is an astonishing 380 hours shorter than ours — which means that Germans work almost 10 weeks less than we do every year.

Even stranger, Americans began to glamorize their lack of free time. As the boomer generation reshaped society in its own image, it brought its '60s, countercultural ethos to the workplace — transforming the staid, conformist office into a vessel of self-expression. Work became the central means by which you undertook to live your best life, follow your passion, and change the world. As Goldman bankers and Google idealists alike began to toil through the nights and weekends that previous generations had fought so hard to secure for them, mental-health professionals bemoaned the rise of what became known as "hustle culture." Working long hours was suddenly the ultimate status symbol, a peculiarly American form of humblebrag. In 2017, a clever marketing study found that if you told an American you worked long hours, they assumed you were rich. If you told an Italian the same thing, they assumed you were poor.

Renegades Hang wrote on Feb 1, 2022, 18:50:
Bestselling historian and economist Tom Woods: "American workers had the eight-hour-day well before their much more heavily unionized counterparts in Europe did"

Spain got an 8 hour work day in 1593, American workers were striking for a 10 hour work day in 1791. Your historian also willfully confuses Unions with the labor movement as a whole. The labor movement started agitating for 8 hour days in America around 1860. It seems to be the same for Europe.

17 posts from that guy, and half of them are anti-union, anti-climate change, and pro-Trump

Unions scare the corporate suits shitless. Images of revolutions and guillotines are probably at the forefront of their minds whenver the dreaded "U" word is spoken. Goes to show how much the blue collar (and now it seems even the white collar) average worker is appreciated in today's super-capitalist system.

Flatline wrote on Feb 1, 2022, 20:19:

Renegades Hang wrote on Feb 1, 2022, 18:50:
Bestselling historian and economist Tom Woods: "American workers had the eight-hour-day well before their much more heavily unionized counterparts in Europe did, and they earned much higher wages. Unionism never accounted for more than a third of the American labor force, and that was at its height."

"Labor historians and activists would doubtless be at a loss to explain why, at a time when unionism was numerically negligible (a whopping three percent of the American labor force was unionized by 1900) and federal regulation all but nonexistent, real wages in manufacturing climbed an incredible 50 percent in the United States from 1860—1890, and another 37 percent from 1890 to 1914, or why American workers were so much better off than their much more heavily unionized counterparts in Europe. Most of them seem to cope with these inconvenient facts by neglecting to mention them at all."
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2004/11/thomas-woods/unions-lie-and-so-do-their-supporters/

Economist Hunter Lewis: "Higher wages earned by unions actually come out of the pockets of other workers, not out of employers’ profits, a point that is now well established but still little understood."

Economist Walter Williams: "What truly protects workers as a group is competition, where many employers are competing for their services."
https://fee.org/articles/what-protects-consumers-and-workers/

Huh I wonder what economic activities happened between 1860 and 1890? I mean, for those kind of wage increases you'd almost have to... I dunno... Go through a massive war then completely reconstruct a decimated region that rivals most countries in size that had not really been industrialized recently, all while engaging in rapid, almost break-neck expansion into unclaimed territory.

"Labor historians and activists would doubtless be a loss to explain why having to actually pay employees rather than use violence to force them to work for free resulted in wages increasing"

Cutter wrote on Feb 1, 2022, 12:29:
"Quite an experience to live in fear, isn't it? That's what it is to be a slave."

*chills*

Funnily, was playing through AC Origins, just finished the dlc's the other day.
And I ran across this homage text on my last run in the game that turned the Tears in the Rain quote into something that fit in that AC:O timeline. Recognized it pretty much instantly.

edit: https://imgur.com/DS0Ef5k

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eight-hour_day

If that loss of "flexibility" means they can't work people 80 hour week crunch times without paying them an extra dime... yeah maybe that's what should happen. I'm perfectly ok with 80 hour work weeks... if they are voluntary and paid the OT. Neither of which is true in the software industry.

"But how can companies make great games if the artists don't actually struggle?" -Ubisoft dude before PR dude edit

Renegades Hang wrote on Feb 1, 2022, 18:50:
Bestselling historian and economist Tom Woods: "American workers had the eight-hour-day well before their much more heavily unionized counterparts in Europe did, and they earned much higher wages. Unionism never accounted for more than a third of the American labor force, and that was at its height."

"Labor historians and activists would doubtless be at a loss to explain why, at a time when unionism was numerically negligible (a whopping three percent of the American labor force was unionized by 1900) and federal regulation all but nonexistent, real wages in manufacturing climbed an incredible 50 percent in the United States from 1860—1890, and another 37 percent from 1890 to 1914, or why American workers were so much better off than their much more heavily unionized counterparts in Europe. Most of them seem to cope with these inconvenient facts by neglecting to mention them at all."
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2004/11/thomas-woods/unions-lie-and-so-do-their-supporters/

Economist Hunter Lewis: "Higher wages earned by unions actually come out of the pockets of other workers, not out of employers’ profits, a point that is now well established but still little understood."

Economist Walter Williams: "What truly protects workers as a group is competition, where many employers are competing for their services."
https://fee.org/articles/what-protects-consumers-and-workers/

Huh I wonder what economic activities happened between 1860 and 1890? I mean, for those kind of wage increases you'd almost have to... I dunno... Go through a massive war then completely reconstruct a decimated region that rivals most countries in size that had not really been industrialized recently, all while engaging in rapid, almost break-neck expansion into unclaimed territory.

Prez wrote on Feb 1, 2022, 18:45:
This is one of those times that there is no need for long-winded diatribes. All I have to say to Activision is "Fuck Off".

Don't know if you're familiar with this song but it's always been one of my faves....
Wayne County & the Electric Chairs - Fuck Off

WannaLogAlready wrote on Feb 1, 2022, 19:08:

Renegades Hang wrote on Feb 1, 2022, 18:50:
.... "Higher wages earned by unions actually come out of the pockets of other workers, not out of employers’ profits, a point that is now well established but still little understood." ...

Elon ?

Nothing more than murky bilge water from the pull yourself up by your frozen bootstraps revisionist gqp.
sad

Renegades Hang wrote on Feb 1, 2022, 18:50:
.... "Higher wages earned by unions actually come out of the pockets of other workers, not out of employers’ profits, a point that is now well established but still little understood." ...

Elon ?

Bestselling historian and economist Tom Woods: "American workers had the eight-hour-day well before their much more heavily unionized counterparts in Europe did, and they earned much higher wages. Unionism never accounted for more than a third of the American labor force, and that was at its height."

"Labor historians and activists would doubtless be at a loss to explain why, at a time when unionism was numerically negligible (a whopping three percent of the American labor force was unionized by 1900) and federal regulation all but nonexistent, real wages in manufacturing climbed an incredible 50 percent in the United States from 1860—1890, and another 37 percent from 1890 to 1914, or why American workers were so much better off than their much more heavily unionized counterparts in Europe. Most of them seem to cope with these inconvenient facts by neglecting to mention them at all."
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2004/11/thomas-woods/unions-lie-and-so-do-their-supporters/

Economist Hunter Lewis: "Higher wages earned by unions actually come out of the pockets of other workers, not out of employers’ profits, a point that is now well established but still little understood."

Economist Walter Williams: "What truly protects workers as a group is competition, where many employers are competing for their services."
https://fee.org/articles/what-protects-consumers-and-workers/

This is one of those times that there is no need for long-winded diatribes. All I have to say to Activision is "Fuck Off".

Cutter wrote on Feb 1, 2022, 12:29:
"Quite an experience to live in fear, isn't it? That's what it is to be a slave."

This is so perfect a quote, thanks man.
R.H.'s monumental R.B., one of the greatest movie moments of all time.

In my modest way I was a slave 46 years, and the fear grows as you get older.
Till you are, if lucky, finally home free.

It never ceases me to amaze me how company's will tell bullshit to discourage unionization. It's so simple really. The more your company opposes unionization, the more you can sure it's good for you the worker. In capitalism, the employer/employee relationship is adversarial. The fact that company's will go to great lengths to discourage unionization tells you all you need to know about whether you should vote to unionize or not.

The reason they spend millions is the anti-union tactics work. It is mostly a misinformation campaign -- it is amazing how well those work. For example, in political campaigns...

Saboth wrote on Feb 1, 2022, 14:17:
Translated: Fans should attack game devs who unionize to discourage them from fighting for their rights and humane treatment as they work on our games.

That's likely the plan here. The need for Unions becomes more and more obvious as companies fight tooth and nail to stop them from forming. What I don't understand is why ANY employee of a company that's looking to unionize would vote against it. Amazon is spending millions of dollars to try to stop their employees from unionizing, that should tell them, plain as day, that unionizing is in the worker's best interest. And yet they still have a surprising number of employees who vote against it.

Translated: Fans should attack game devs who unionize to discourage them from fighting for their rights and humane treatment as they work on our games.