The union drive at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Vance, Alabama, has taken a new approach, abandoning the traditional methods that previously failed. Workers have embraced a more worker-led strategy, leveraging modern tools like social media and rapid communication to gain momentum.

Key strategies include:
- Core Group: A small, dedicated group of 20 workers started the campaign, much smaller than the hundreds previously recommended. This core group was deeply committed and set the stage for broader support.
- Identifying "Talkers": Instead of a formal committee, the focus was on finding respected workers ("talkers") who could informally spread the union message, building relationships rather than requiring formal commitments.
- Floor Walkers and Riders: Workers with mobility within the plant, like team leaders and floor walkers, helped spread the word across the plant quickly, a crucial factor in the campaign's success.
- Technology for Speed: QR codes and text messages allowed for fast distribution of union cards, bypassing traditional, slower methods like house calls and meetings.
- Dealing with Management Resistance: Mercedes management’s anti-union stance is predictable but mild, so organizers focused on building internal support before management could escalate its opposition.
- Building a Worker List: Organizers created a detailed list of workers, allowing them to track support, follow up on union cards, and target areas with weaker backing.
- Creating Momentum: Fast communication and regular updates generated excitement and unity, making workers feel part of a successful effort.

The campaign saw impressive results: 1,500 signed cards in seven weeks, compared to just 30% in six months during previous attempts. With momentum building, the focus now is on reaching 50% support, and organizers continue to recruit more talkers to ensure success. Despite ongoing resistance from management, workers feel empowered and determined to push forward.

https://jacobin.com/2024/01/mercedes-benz-union-organizing-strategy-alabama/

Musk has taken over the US office of Personnel Management

https://bsky.app/profile/brody-justadude.bsky.social/post/3lh2gsyba4s2p

Next week US president Joe Biden finishes his term of office, to be replaced by the Donald. Biden would have been extremely popular with the American public and probably would have run and got a second term as president, if US real GDP had increased by 4.5-5.0% in 2024, and if during the whole of his period of office since end 2020, real GDP had risen 23%; and if per American, real GDP had risen 26% over those four years. And he would have been congratulated if the Covid death rate during the 2020-21 pandemic had been one of the lowest in the world, and the economy avoided the pandemic slump in production.

Above all, he would have been feted if the inflation of prices in goods and services after he came into office was just 3.6% in total over four years. That would have meant that, with wages rising at 4-5% a year, real incomes for average American households would have risen significantly. At the same time, strong growth would have allowed the financing of important new infrastructure spending in the US that could have led to an extensive rail network across the country using super fast trains; and with bridges and roads that did not collapse or crumble along with environmental projects to protect people and homes from fires and floods, and the introduction of cheap electric vehicles and renewables. How Biden would have been popular.

And with extra revenue from strong growth, the Biden administration would have been able to balance the government budget and curb or reduce government debt. And with zero to low inflation, interest rates on borrowing would have been near historic lows, enabling households and companies to afford mortgages and finance investment in new technologies.

And what if US companies had sold a record level of exports of goods and services to the rest of the world, running up a sizeable surplus on trade, despite various tariffs and sanctions against American companies from other trading nations. In running trade surpluses, American banks and companies would have been able to build up foreign exchange reserves and invest in projects abroad, strengthening America’s influence in the world in a beneficial way.

Unfortunately, none of these things happened to the US economy in the four years of Biden’s presidency. Instead these were features of China’s economy.

https://thenextrecession.wordpress.com/2025/01/14/the-exceptional-economy/

this has rewired my brain