{"id":429970,"date":"2022-04-11T00:30:02","date_gmt":"2022-04-10T21:30:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/why-amazons-first-ever-union-isnt-thanking-aoc\/"},"modified":"2022-04-11T00:30:02","modified_gmt":"2022-04-10T21:30:02","slug":"why-amazons-first-ever-union-isnt-thanking-aoc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-amazons-first-ever-union-isnt-thanking-aoc\/","title":{"rendered":"#Why Amazon&#8217;s first-ever union isn&#8217;t thanking AOC"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2c50ee5cd87\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2c50ee5cd87\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-amazons-first-ever-union-isnt-thanking-aoc\/#%E2%80%9CWhy_Amazons_first-ever_union_isnt_thanking_AOC%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Why Amazon&#8217;s first-ever union isn&#8217;t thanking AOC&#8221;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CWhy_Amazons_first-ever_union_isnt_thanking_AOC%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;Why Amazon&#8217;s first-ever union isn&#8217;t thanking AOC&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<div class=\"inline-module inline-module--columnist inline-module--author\">\n<div class=\"inline-module--author__img\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"76\" height=\"69\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/08\/nicole-gelinas.png?w=76&amp;h=69&amp;crop=1\" class=\"attachment-nyp_columnist size-nyp_columnist\" alt=\"Nicole Gelinas\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/08\/nicole-gelinas.png 76w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/08\/nicole-gelinas.png?w=38 38w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 76px) 100vw, 76px\"\/>        <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Leaders of the new Amazon Labor Union were clear last week on who\u00a0<em>doesn\u2019t\u00a0<\/em>deserve credit for their victory in organizing a Staten Island warehouse: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. You could chalk up her disinterest in the cause to the risk of being associated with a campaign that could have lost or just disorganization \u2014 but the reality is that AOC\u2019s Democratic <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Social<\/a>ists of America don\u2019t mix well with traditional labor unions.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Just after the vote to organize the 8,300-strong workforce at the JFK8 complex, the first such win in the country, movement leader Christian Smalls said AOC \u201cdoesn\u2019t deserve this moment.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>She was supposed to attend a rally last summer for the workers, but jilted them without warning \u2014 a snub Smalls\u00a0called\u00a0\u201ca slap in the face.\u201d She has cited both scheduling conflicts and security concerns as excuses.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Fact is, though, the DSA movement has never been a union movement. Nearly four years ago, when AOC herself first won her Democratic primary, she beat the union-backed incumbent, Joe Crowley.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Just\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www1.nyc.gov\/office-of-the-mayor\/news\/306-18\/mayor-de-blasio-united-federation-teachers-contract-agreement-provide-paid-parental#\/0\">days<\/a>\u00a0before the vote in 2018, Crowley stood with Bill de Blasio as the then-mayor announced a brand-new benefit for unionized teachers: six weeks of parental leave, at full salary. \u201cI <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>laud Mayor de Blasio and the United Federation of Teachers for striking this important deal,\u201d Crowley said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Unionized teacher support obviously didn\u2019t carry Crowley to re-election \u2014 but there\u2019s one word in Crowley\u2019s statement that DSA adherents such as AOC don\u2019t like: \u201cdeal.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/Alexandria-Ocasio-Cortez-1165.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez\" class=\"wp-image-21849639\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/Alexandria-Ocasio-Cortez-1165.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/Alexandria-Ocasio-Cortez-1165.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/Alexandria-Ocasio-Cortez-1165.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wants people to look to the government for all their benefits, whereas Smalls and fellow organizers want to extract even better benefits from their employers.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Kevin Dietsch\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>New York state\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ny.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/atoms\/files\/PaidFamilyLeave_EmployeeFactSheet.pdf\">had already created<\/a>\u00a0a new paid family-leave program for\u00a0<em>all<\/em>\u00a0private-sector workers here months earlier. People working more than 20 hours weekly could take eight weeks at half pay (now higher) to care for a new baby. Like with Social Security or Medicare, all workers pay for this program via a regular paycheck deduction.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The deal the teachers scored, then, was\u00a0<em>better<\/em>\u00a0than what everyone else gets \u2014 much better. Full pay and no deduction from paychecks to fund it (the city paid for it through vague \u201csavings\u201d). The teachers were effectively saying: Whatever everyone else gets is\u00a0<em>not<\/em>\u00a0good enough for us, and we are powerful enough to get better.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This stance is not at all unusual in the union world. Take retiree health care. Right now, hundreds of thousands of city-government retirees are fighting a de Blasio-era cost savings asking them to pay $191 monthly to keep their otherwise entirely free health plan or switch to a plan with fewer benefits and maintain the no-cost status.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/Joe-Crowley.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Rep. Joe Crowley\" class=\"wp-image-21849646\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/Joe-Crowley.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/Joe-Crowley.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/Joe-Crowley.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Rep. Joe Crowley speaks onstage during GRAMMYs on the Hill (Advocacy Day) on April 10, 2019 in Washington, DC.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Paul Morigi\/WireImage for The Recording Academy<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Of course, almost nobody in the private sector can depend on his former employer to pay his health care in retirement. That is why the US government created Medicare, a subsidized \u2014 but not free \u2014 retiree health-care plan.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>City workers can retire in their 50s and enjoy free health care, but private-sector workers who retire early must wait until age 65 for Medicare because the federal government has determined that people younger than that should <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a>ly be in the workforce.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Private-sector workers unionize, too, because they want something better than the legal minimum. Amazon\u2019s starting wage in New York City\u00a0is already $18 an hour, $3 above the city\u2019s legal minimum. Unionized auto and other industrial workers have long enjoyed better retirement benefits than most private-sector workers (although they lost some in the 2008 financial crisis).\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n    <\/aside>\n<p>This all creates a huge tension between Amazon (and Starbucks) workers creating unions and AOC types who claim to stick up for workers\u2019 rights.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>AOC wants people to look to the\u00a0<em>government<\/em>\u00a0for all their benefits, whereas Smalls and fellow organizers want to extract even better benefits from their\u00a0<em>employers<\/em>. Unionized workers with excellent health care have never been advocates of \u201cMedicare for All\u201d because they don\u2019t need it.<\/p>\n<p>AOC and fellow Democratic Socialists\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dsausa.org\/dsa-political-platform-from-2021-convention\/\">claim<\/a>\u00a0to support unions, but much of their labor agenda consists of universal benefits that would make labor unions obsolete. The most obvious one, from the DSA\u2019s platform: to \u201cguarantee a job with union wages and benefits to everyone who wants one by creating millions of public sector jobs.\u201d With \u201cunion wages and benefits,\u201d there is no need for a union.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Ironically \u2014 and something AOC is well smart enough to understand \u2014 a newly powerful service-sector workforce actually <em>harms <\/em>support for the DSA movement. Unionized Amazon jobs are going to be really good logistics jobs (not so much Starbucks jobs, as the economics just don\u2019t work \u2014 you can\u2019t sell people $15 cups of coffee).\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>And people with good jobs are not street protesters or socialist voters.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em>Nicole\u00a0Gelinas is a contributing editor to the Manhattan Institute\u2019s City Journal.<\/em>\n                        <\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/04\/10\/why-amazons-first-ever-union-isnt-thanking-aoc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Why Amazon&#8217;s first-ever union isn&#8217;t thanking AOC&#8221; Leaders of the new Amazon Labor Union were clear last week on who\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0deserve credit for their victory in organizing a Staten Island warehouse: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. You could chalk up her disinterest in the cause to the risk of being associated with a campaign that could have lost or&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":429971,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/Alexandria-Ocasio-Cortez-1166.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[7309,127817,4997,2758],"class_list":["post-429970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-unions","tag-4-10-22","tag-alexandria-ocasio-cortez","tag-amazon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/429970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=429970"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/429970\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/429971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=429970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=429970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=429970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}