Our BetterMost Community > The Holiday Forum
Celebrating the Winter Solstice
Sason:
--- Quote from: Penthesilea on December 26, 2019, 08:01:26 am ---
And in two years it'll be worse because both Christmas holidays will be on the weekend. They're totally lost, eeek! >:(
--- End quote ---
>:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:(
Sason:
Well, if y'all hadn't fought against the English army, you would've had vacation and other benefits too! ;D
Not to mention proper spelling 8)
serious crayons:
--- Quote from: Sason on December 27, 2019, 05:27:16 pm ---That could be it, although I'm sure there are additional explanations too.
--- End quote ---
Sure. Though some of those are connected. For example, many Americans embrace a "rugged individualist" ideal, which comes with a lot of characteristics that can lead to unfairness.
I wrote the vacation story almost 20 years ago, but as I recall it included a number of different explanations. But unless unions work really differently in Europe than they do in the United States, they are a major factor in determining benefits like vacation time for large groups of people.
Unions have often been unpopular here forever and in recent decades have become increasingly weak. Most industries aren't unionized (mine is, thankfully). The United States does not have a Labor Party, unlike many countries in the world, including European countries.
(FYI, the Wikipedia entry on "labor parties" lists the United States as having a labor party, too, but Wikipedia thinks it's called the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party. Which I can say as a Minnesotan -- the only state to even use that moniker -- just means Democrat. I don't know why we keep that DFL designation, which may have come in handy early in the 20th century or something but now is outright inaccurate. Many farmers and laborers vote Republican.)
Sason:
--- Quote from: serious crayons on December 28, 2019, 05:16:12 pm ---Sure. Though some of those are connected. For example, many Americans embrace a "rugged individualist" ideal, which comes with a lot of characteristics that can lead to unfairness.
I wrote the vacation story almost 20 years ago, but as I recall it included a number of different explanations. But unless unions work really differently in Europe than they do in the United States, they are a major factor in determining benefits like vacation time for large groups of people.
Unions have often been unpopular here forever and in recent decades have become increasingly weak. Most industries aren't unionized (mine is, thankfully). The United States does not have a Labor Party, unlike many countries in the world, including European countries.
(FYI, the Wikipedia entry on "labor parties" lists the United States as having a labor party, too, but Wikipedia thinks it's called the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party. Which I can say as a Minnesotan -- the only state to even use that moniker -- just means Democrat. I don't know why we keep that DFL designation, which may have come in handy early in the 20th century or something but now is outright inaccurate. Many farmers and laborers vote Republican.)
--- End quote ---
I'm quite convinced that unions and labour parties are a very big factor in achieving benefits and legal rights for employees. Among other groups.
In Sweden the unions were really struggling and not always legal during the first decades of the last century, but later on the unions and the social democratic (aka labour) party have been one of the most important determing factors in developing the political, social and work related systems here.
serious crayons:
--- Quote from: Sason on December 29, 2019, 01:56:33 pm --- the unions and the social democratic (aka labour) party have been one of the most important determing factors in developing the political, social and work related systems here.
--- End quote ---
That's why a lot of Americans think your system sounds better. Others, however, think America is always the best at every possible thing.
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