Nearly half of an elite US epidemiology program known as the "disease detectives" were dismissed by the Trump administration on Friday, according to sources familiar with the matter, dealing a blow to public health efforts as fears rise over bird flu.
Hmm in only there was a culture of getting organised as an union.
Maybe the people in the US will find some strength of conviction in this mess
Many positions in federal service are banned from joining unions—most of the higher scale / subject matter expert and “white color” roles.
These were doctors and epidemiologists, and were also in a special 2 year program, so they wouldn’t have had the standard protections of competitive service, and might also have been excluded from union membership.
Worth noting that aside from some lawsuit exposure, fed unions are not allowed, by law, to strike. (Reagan terminated thousands of air traffic controllers when they struck and replaced them with scab labor as an example) And the current admin doesn’t seem to scared of laws or lawsuits at the moment. (Hopefully they’re wrong in that confidence, but who knows)
I would join a union in a heartbeat, but my position is barred from it.
That is ridiculous isn’t it? It’s saying people can’t join a private club.
Yep, for sure. The tradeoff was supposed to be the higher protections that come with competitive service positions, but those protections are being ignored or illegally removed week by week, so yeah at this point anyone should be allowed to join the union.
But to be honest? Its looking more and more like the admin is going to break binding union agreements as well so maybe it’s all just fucked.
The shit we’re going through to today is what happens when striking workers don’t break the scabs’ kneecaps, “legal” or not.
No, voters seem to approve of all this so far. Polls are positive. Swing voter focus groups like the gutting and are not concerned.
TBH the US government needed to be turned on its head, and that positive fantasy is being sold to the public as it’s reorganized to protect billionaires.
So… TBH, unless there’s some kind of social media revolution overnight, I would probably write us off :(
Social media is why nobody is doing shit. Everyone is quote dunking and liking posts as if it does shit.
Exactly, we need to drop it and organize like people used to, put flyers over the city. The social media only gives you illusion that you have a platform, in reality they still control who sees your message (if anyone).
A big part of the way people “used to” organize relied on physical infrastructure and institutions that often no longer exist: walkable “third places,” fraternal organizations/social clubs (outside of college), etc.
Who would read the flyers? Everyone is buried in their phones.
I would. Not everyone is on the phone while walking. In fact majority of people aren’t.
they aren’t swing voters anymore, they’ve been swindled and lied to and they ate it right up. might as well sign 'em up for a redcap of the month club membership.