Ah, the “gig” economy. The siren song of “post-ideological” Millennials. Labor-management tension? Nah, owners will appreciate their value and skills and reward them handsomely. Collegial, cooperative work environments? Puh-lease! How passé. The individual reigns supreme. Unions? Yeah right. “What need have [they] of stinking unions”!
Well young Millennials, welcome to the extremely ideological world of unfettered, unregulated, monopolistic business and ownership, and its enthusiastic enabler, the Supreme Court of the United States. Think you’ve got a good gig goin’? Then you should take a look at the May 21 Court decision ruling that companies can use arbitration clauses in employment contracts to prohibit workers from banding together to take legal action on workplace issues. The case dealt with a charge that employers had underpaid their workers. The workers’ employment contracts required that they resolve disputes in arbitration rather than court; and that they file their claims individually. Collective action was prohibited.
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