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.
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.