#there's no labor shortage

[tehjleck]

Reminder - as the news talks about shortages in school bus drivers and teachers that they are neglecting the actual cause of those "shortages" in personnel was because in 2018 certain elected officials (cough, MAGAt republikkkans) allowed a conman to dismantle the pandemic response unit.

Which allowed covid19 to run rampant in this country for over a year. So when the news talks about labor shortages, just remember republikkkans allowed over 1 MILLION unnecessary deaths with their indifference.

#there's no labor shortage #bus driver shortage #teacher shortage #covid killed 1 million #covid is still a thing #ignorant people #wear a fucking mask people #trumpslegacy #the gop is corrupt #corporategreed #capitalismkills #endthegop

[vergess]

I'm fascinated by the insistence of even fairly progressive people over a certain age (around 20 years my senior) insistently believe the myth that "no one wants to work."

Meanwhile, again, myself and everyone I know are blasting applications as aggressively as possible for a less than 1% chance of an interview for glamourous positions such as "grocery store janitor" and "gas station cashier"

Meanwhile, study after study shows definitively that the labour "shortage" is caused by companies claiming they are hiring when they are not.

Meanwhile, the basic reality of looking around yourself at how many young people as dying in poverty while scrabbling for nonexistent jobs continues to occur.

Meanwhile, more people are striking than have in decades because working conditions are continuing to deteriorate.

"No one wants to work" is a LIE, and an insulting one at that.

(Links to studies will be provided in the reblogs)

#Automatic OP tag #Labour #Labor #Work #Labour shortage #Labor shortage

[dispatchesfromtheclasswar]

#class war #class warfare #classism #labor shortage #capital strike #labour shortage

[robertreich]

Why Child Labor in America is Skyrocketing

Corporations are bringing back child labor in America.

And some Republicans want to make it easier for them to get away with it.

Since 2015, child labor violations have risen nearly 300%. And those are just the violations government investigators have managed to uncover and document.

The Department of Labor says it's currently investigating over 600 cases of illegal child labor in America. Major American companies like General Mills, Walmart, and Ford have all been implicated.

Why on Earth is this happening? The answer is frighteningly simple: greed.

Employers have been having difficulty finding the workers they need at the wages they are willing to pay. Rather than reduce their profits by paying adult workers more, employers are exploiting children.

The sad fact of the matter is that many of the children who are being exploited are considered to be “them” rather than “us” because they’re disproportionately poor and immigrant. So the moral shame of subjecting “our” children to inhumane working conditions when they ought to be in school is quietly avoided.

And since some of these children (or their parents) are undocumented, they dare not speak out or risk detention and deportation. They need the money. This makes them easily exploitable.

It’s a perfect storm that’s resulting in vulnerable children taking on some of the most brutal jobs.

Folks, we’ve seen this before.

Reformers fought to establish the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 for a reason — to curb the grotesque child labor seen during America’s first Gilded Age.

The U.S. banned most child labor.

But now, pro-business trade groups and their Republican lackeys are trying to reverse nearly a century of progress, and they're using the so-called "labor shortage" as their excuse.

Arkansas will no longer require 14 and 15 year olds to get a work permit before taking a job — a process that verified their age and required permission from a parent or guardian.

A bill in Ohio would let children work later on school nights.

Minnesota Republicans are pushing to let 16 year-olds work in construction.

And 14-year-olds in Iowa may soon be allowed to take certain jobs in meatpacking plants and operate dangerous machinery.

It’s all a coordinated campaign to erode national standards, making it even easier for companies to profit off children.

Across America, we’re witnessing a resurgence of cruel capitalism in which business lobbyists and lawmakers justify their actions by arguing that they are not exploiting the weak and vulnerable, but rather providing jobs for those who need them and would otherwise go hungry or homeless.

Conveniently, these same business lobbyists and lawmakers are often among the first to claim we “can’t afford” stronger safety nets that would provide these children with safe housing and adequate nutrition.

So what can stop this madness?

First: Fund the Department of Labor so it can crack down on child labor violations. When I was Secretary of Labor, the department was chronically underfunded and understaffed. It still is, because lawmakers and their corporate backers want it that way.  

Second: Increase fines on companies that break child labor laws. Current fines are too low, and are treated as costs of doing business by hugely profitable companies that violate the law.

Third: Hold major corporations accountable. Many big corporations contract with smaller companies that employ children, which allows the big corporations to play dumb and often avoid liability. It’s time to demand that large corporations take responsibility for their supply chains.

Fourth: Reform immigration laws so undocumented children aren’t exploited.

And lastly: Organize. Fight against state laws that are attempting to bring back child labor.

Are corporate profits really more important than the safety of children?

#youtube #videos #video #child labor #economy #labor shortage #Republicans

[animentality]

#twitter #us politics #labor shortage

[actualmermaid]

I'm not going to write another long commentary on "quiet quitting" or "nobody wants to work anymore" or the "great resignation" or whatever. There's been enough of those.

What I AM going to write is a little bit of advice for those of you who are contemplating a career change, because workers have more power than ever and it's a great time to look for a new situation. You can take it or leave it--this is just what worked for me.

Family, school, and culture tried to keep me on a "white-collar professional" track, but I didn't like it and wasn't cut out for it. I have a BA in English and worked a customer service/tech support job for several years until the pandemic hit and we all got laid off (which was, truly, the best thing that ever happened to my professional life). I'm now a pastry chef and I love it.

It's not too late to start something new. Many jobs are willing to train you, as long as you have basic aptitude and willingness to learn. Search for apprenticeships and entry-level positions in fields that interest you, whether or not you have any previous experience.

Keep an open mind. See what jobs are urgently hiring and/or offering good wages, and do some research on what those jobs entail. Does it sound like fun? Send out a resume. You don't have anything to lose by trying or interviewing, even if it doesn't work out.

Write a brief cover letter explaining that you are changing careers, and although you don't have formal experience in [field], you are interested in the work and are willing to learn. Mention the skills that you learned in your previous job(s): customer interaction, critical thinking, time management, bookkeeping, confidence under pressure, whatever.

Don't get discouraged. You're awesome and brave, and if people don't want to hire you, that's their loss. Take your skills and experience to someone who will appreciate them, even if you have to be ghosted and rejected several times in the process.

If you can afford it, don't be afraid to take a little bit of a pay cut. (I got severance from my office job, and my wife makes a good salary, so we could afford to be choosy.) If you have to take a job you don't love in order to pay the bills, keep looking for something better! Again, don't get discouraged!

All experience is good experience. You learned things at your previous jobs, even if it doesn't seem "relevant." If nothing else, previous jobs can tell you what you're NOT cut out for, so you know what to avoid.

You have power in interviews. They're not just deciding whether or not they want to hire you--they're also showing you who they are as a business/industry, and you can (and should!) ask questions and set boundaries. Be firm, confident, interested, and polite.

If you're interested in a specific field, lurk in professional forums online to get a sense of the industry culture and what employers are looking for. Search for things like "electrician forum" or "women in trades" or "forest service lgbt friendly" and so forth.

Get all your paperwork in order. Make sure you have your resume updated and that you have access to transcripts, vital documents, and the names/phone numbers of past employers. Put all of this in one place.

Be bold! Think about what you wanted to be when you were 10, and look up what that job requires! Maybe you won't get to be a paleontologist-astronaut-ballerina, but you'll learn that you have a real talent for making artisanal ballet shoes (or whatever)!

#work #employment #labor #labor shortage #career

[decolonize-the-left]

Also I'm reading this article

and it's says:

Labor data analysts today warned of a worsening “demographic drought” and its impact on a shrinking workforce and the American economy. The crisis, they said, is caused by a shortage of people projected to continue for the rest of this century and affect every business and region of the country. Their warning comes days after the U.S. Chamber of Commerce launched a campaign to address a growing shortage of workers.

And that's straight up proganada. Literally anytime you see something saying "labor shortage" causing a bad economy/recession/bad lives for future americans yes it's fake because obviously there are people here Now who wanna work and just aren't paid enough. But also... They just don't wanna downsize or lose profit. Straight up. That's all it is. They'd rather tank the country and your lives as an act of intimidation to avoid taking a loss themselves. A loss that would leave them millions of times better off than most of us anyway, btw

Translated to normal human speak it's just:

Our businesses and corporations are too large to sustain with the current workforce. In order to avoid downsizing or losing profit and existing to serve the public, we think it should be your responsibility to have more babies that exist to serve us. Until you agree with us we'll just keep holding this over you since your lives also revolve around the capital we provide :)

As multi-million/billion dollar companies/corporations we can afford to keep this up a lot longer than you can try resisting us :)

#capitalism #biden #leftist #direct action #anarchy #mutual aid #forbes #labor shortage #usa #economics #ndn #indigenous #lgbt

[bitchesgetriches]

How to Use Labor Shortages to Your Advantage

Keep reading.

If you found this helpful, consider joining our Patreon.

#labor #workers rights #labor shortage

[toytulini]

god I know this is like The Wrong Stance on AI. I know its not about whether the art is Real and Human or If It Has A Soul and how a lot of the arguments against it are the same bullshit arguments people made against digital art like I Know. I Knowwww. but god, I'm really sorry, not to post like one of those annoying poetry bloggers I cant stand (yall are valid, live your truth, theres nothing wrong with what you post I'm just a petty bitch who hates poetry. unless I dont hate it.)

But theres just something about the way AI art will almost certainly never be able to mimic the exact way my pencil leaves an indentation in the paper, the way some of the lines I can never fully erase cause I pressed too hard, theyll have to at least train them to draw with a physical pencil first, and sure, they could train it to draw with a pencil and even erase the exact same piece I drew, line for line, on a piece of paper with a robot arm powered by AI, but they can't replicate. idk. the lineage of lefty bitches in my family, and the way I grew up going through school with my entire left arm silver with graphite, from doodling on my schoolwork. not yet anyway. but I guess I do live for the day we make the ai sentient enough that we can traumatize it by giving it homework after kneecapping its executive functions so it copes by drawing a big tiddy lobster monster. sure

#toy txt post #reblogs OFF i dont trust yall to be normal with this one i do NOT want it getting notes #i posted part of this before in a chat to a friend but im feeling it again. so #i havent drawn my big tiddy lobster bitch in awhile i should draw her again #also yea SORRY im sure this is The Wrong Feeling To Have About AI but also sometimes im a little grateful that i dont think my style is #smth a lot of the ppl coding ai to make art find to be worth trying to replicate except maybe as like a fake progress shot on a piece #which is smth i used to be really insecure about. how unfinished all my art looks bc it isnt to the point i cant fucking watch #like speedpaints and shit bc i just start feeling stupidly insecure about all the points in the video where I Would Have Stopped and been #like. im not touching it anymore i dont want to ruin it #and ive been insecure about my inability to really do digital art with like a stylus and shit like the way i do it with a pencil #and i know that is just me needing to Practice it but being too frustrated by it #anyway i know its just a Tool and its Fine and the problem is the art theft and the labor problems of it but liiiiiiike #i just. #im sure there will be unique things and usages of ai as a tool and i genuinely hope that ppl can figure out a way to make one that isnr #isnt* just full of stolen content bc theres unique fuckin shit about like digital art programs u can write stupid poetry that you hate #about it. or stupid poetry that i hate. cos im the poetry hater. listen. i cant stress this enough: its fine. youre fine. keep posting your #poetry and reblogging shit that speaks to you. im just a Bitch okay Ignore Me #i should go draw bokrae like. eating a computer about this #the real reason for that graphics card shortage was bokrae ate them all when she was in the mood for a crunchy snack

[girderednerve]

The AP found that U.S. prison labor is in the supply chains of goods being shipped all over the world via multinational companies, including to countries that have been slapped with import bans by Washington in recent years. For instance, the U.S. has blocked shipments of cotton coming from China, a top manufacturer of popular clothing brands, because it was produced by forced or prison labor. But crops harvested by U.S. prisoners have entered the supply chains of companies that export to China.

While prison labor seeps into the supply chains of some companies through third-party suppliers without them knowing, others buy direct. Mammoth commodity traders that are essential to feeding the globe like Cargill, Bunge, Louis Dreyfus, Archer Daniels Midland and Consolidated Grain and Barge – which together post annual revenues of more than $400 billion – have in recent years scooped up millions of dollars’ worth of soy, corn and wheat straight from prisons, which compete with local farmers.

...Incarceration was used not just for punishment or rehabilitation but for profit. A law passed a few years [after the formal end of the convict-leasing system in 1928] made it illegal to knowingly transport or sell goods made by incarcerated workers across state lines, though an exception was made for agricultural products. Today, after years of efforts by lawmakers and businesses, corporations are setting up joint ventures with corrections agencies, enabling them to sell almost anything nationwide.

Civilian workers are guaranteed basic rights and protections by OSHA and laws like the Fair Labor Standards Act, but prisoners, who are often not legally considered employees, are denied many of those entitlements and cannot protest or form unions.

“They may be doing the exact same work as people who are not incarcerated, but they don’t have the training, they don’t have the experience, they don’t have the protective equipment,” said Jennifer Turner, lead author of a 2022 American Civil Liberties Union report on prison labor.

#this whole article is good read the whole thing #it's extremely important that reporters & activists continue to bring to light the horrific abuses of prison labor #& that we all understand that none of this is new - angola / louisiana state prison is immense & has a vast bloody history #the largest agricultural producer in the state of texas in the 60s was the department of corrections #& as this article points out a rising reliance on incarcerated labor is one response #to the labor shortages caused by unchecked covid deaths + restrictive immigration policy #the whole of american incarceration & labor policy is evil. blood on the leaves & blood at the root

[x-v4mp3y3lin3r-x]

my major Monster High fandom pet peeve is seeing cool custom doll designs and then all the comments are "why couldn't the real doll have looked like this!!!!" like? seriously? are you fucking kidding me? what happened to COMMON SENSE?

#no. mass produced dolls cannot look like hand painted and hand sculpted customs that people poured hours and hours of labor into. #especially not when you dumb little cunts complain insistently about 'doll shortages' ALREADY #monster high

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Labor advocates on Tuesday decried a business-backed bill introduced by Republican state lawmakers in Iowa that would roll back child labor laws so that teens as young as 14 could work in previously prohibited jobs including mining, logging, and animal slaughtering—a proposal one union president called dangerous and "just crazy."

Senate File 167, introduced by state Sen. Jason Schultz (R-6) would expand job options available to teens—including letting children as young as 14 work in freezers and meat coolers and loading and unloading light tools, under certain conditions.

Teens under 18 would still be generally barred from employment in fields including mining, logging, demolition, and meatpacking, and from operating potentially dangerous machinery and equipment including circular saws, guillotine shears, and punching machines.

However, the Des Moines Register reports the proposed law contains "an entirely new section" that "would allow the Iowa Workforce Development and state Department of Education heads to make exceptions to any of the prohibited jobs for teens 14-17 'participating in work-based learning or a school or employer-administered, work-related program.'"

The proposed bill—which comes amid an ongoing labor shortage in Iowa—also expands the hours teens may work, and shields businesses from liability if a minor employee is sickened, injured, or killed as a result of a company's negligence.

"This is just crazy," Charlie Wishman, president of the Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, told the Des Moines Register. "A kid can still lose an arm in a work-based learning program."

Wishman said the bill will gut more than a century of child labor protections, many of which were enacted in an era when "children were hurt and killed" on the job.

"The idea of putting children into work activities that could be dangerous is something that is not only irresponsible but reprehensible," Wishman added.

Iowa state Sen. Claire Celsi (D-16) called the proposed legislation "another sign that the labor market in Iowa is in big trouble."

"Businesses are so desperate to hire warm bodies that they want politicians to bend child labor laws (and eliminate corporate liability)," she wrote on Twitter.

State Sen. Nate Boulton (D-20), an attorney specializing in labor law, described the bill as "offensive."

"Putting children at risk, and creating immunity for that risk, is not acceptable," he told Iowa Starting Line.

As in other states, child labor violations are not uncommon in Iowa, with immigrant minors particularly susceptible to exploitation.

"These efforts to roll back child labor laws overlap with the conservative changes to school curriculum," tweeted education podcaster and author Jennifer Berkshire. "The through line is an effort to teach kids that free enterprise rules and that the boss is king."

"Instead of raising the minimum wage and paying adults more or funding a social safety net, Iowa would rather bring back child labor," author Lyz Lenz tweeted.

#us politics #news #2023 #iowa #child labor #child labor laws #conservatives #republicans #gop #gop policy #gop platform #labor shortage #Senate File 167 #Jason Schultz #Des Moines Register #more perfect union #twitter #tweet #Charlie Wishman #Iowa Federation of Labor #Claire Celsi #Nate Boulton #Jennifer Berkshire #Lyz Lenz #Iowa Starting Line

[todaysdocument]

The Yuma County Water Users Association wrote to the Immigration and Naturalization Service on April 23, 1943, asking that Mexican workers from neighboring Sonora be allowed to stay in the U.S. to help with the harvest. 

Record Group 85: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service

Series: Subject and Policy Files

File Unit: 55854/100H

Transcription: 

[stamps read "SPECIAL" and "VIA WESTERN UNION"]

WUG 26 111

YUMA ARIZ APR 23 148P

EARL H HARISON COMM IMMI AND NAT

DIV DEPT OF JUSTICE

THIS FARMING AREA RAISING ALFALFA FLAX AND OTHER VITAL WAR CROPS SERIOUSLY SHORT OF FARM LABOR BUT SITUATION COULD BE RELIEVED IF MEXICANS FROM ADJACENT SONORA WERE ALLOWED TO HELP IN HARVEST NOW COMMENCING. SOME SONORA MEXICANS HAVE DRIFTED IN DURING THE PAST FEW MONTHS BUT FACE IMMEDIATE DEPORTATION. MEXICANS RECRUITED BY A F S FROM INTERIOR MEXICOS HIGH ALTITUDE AND COOL CLIMATE CANNOT STAND OUT HEAD AND MOST OF THEM HAVE LEFT. BORDER MEXICANS FROM SONORA AN LOWER CALIFORNIA USED TO OUR CLIMATE ARE EXPERIENCED FARMERS. THIS HELP ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY TO HARVEST VITALLY ESSENTIAL WAR CROPS. CAN DEPORTATION BE STAVED TEMPORARILY OR UNTIL AUTHORITY FOR LEGAL ENTRY CAN BE SECURED

YUMA COUNTY WATER USERS ASSOCIATION HENRY FRAUENFELDER PRESIDENT.

FSA

725P.

[Pencil marks reads "/3/6" or "1316"]

[stamp reads "A MESSAGE CENTER P.M. APR 23 (illegible) & NATZ SERVICE DEPT OF JUSTICE" and "SPECIAL"]

#archivesgov #April 23 #1943 #1940s #World War II #WWII #labor history #immigration #I did try to find out how many Japanese Americans were living in Yuma before the war #but I couldn't easily find that information so I'm not sure how much of the labor shortage was due to Japanese American incarceration

[vietnyamese]

UGH I like seriously DO NOT understand my parents purposefully misconstruing and tuning out half of the sentences I say to imply I was saying something that they want to impose on me I feel like I've never ever seen anyone else's parents do this it confuses me so bad

#it would be one thing if we qere arguong but ill say 'i think doctors are valuable but we shouldnt be promoting the artificial labor shortag #and my dad or mom will chime in like oh you like doctors so you wanna be a doctor? #NO! WHAT ARE TOU TALKING ABOUT #color.txt

[thoughtportal]

#tweet #tweets #twitter #long haul covid #covid 19 #COVID-19 #long covid #labor shortage

[comfortsnow]

Love how the government is pretty much completely ignoring that millions of people just can't afford food anymore. I remember when an "expensive" shopping trip was $40 a few years ago, but now buying 4 items is $100+. Hell world

#'but theres a labor shortage :(' i don't think starving people is going to fix that!