[wiz21c]

My second question is : why don't union gets bigger and stronger ? Millions can't be put on the brink on poverty without an answer.

Yesterday, on a european TV, I saw a documentary about middle class people who became half-homeless (their words). They were just unlucky to loose their jobs. Now I understand they may have had too much credits or debts here and there but, these were middle class, that is, they went down the social path. That's scary.

[s_kilk]

The Bourgeois State, in both the US and Europe, has put a lot of work into undermining Unions, and Labour power in general, all in the service of Capital interests.

These outcomes are not surprising, this is literally the project of NeoLiberalism. A feature, not a bug.

[mschuster91]

> My second question is : why don't union gets bigger and stronger ?

Due to a combination of anti-union propaganda, (US only?) unions having an image of being corrupt and the shift to "gig economy" which was specifically created to combat unions...

[NicoJuicy]

Almost no Belgians in Belgium are homeless. I haven't seen anyone, although there seems to be some in the main capital.

I know a lot of refugees live in sheltes and currently there are homeless people in Brussels due to the breakup of Calais. But these people don't want to get asile in Belgium, but want to go to the UK. So that's why they don't receive anything here. That is their choice ofc.

[wiz21c]

Yep, statistically there are not many. But people helped by "social security" is growing faster than demographics. Those people are at the last level of social welfare, after that they're super close to homelessness.

the thing is, before being homeless, you're already in deep shit.

for refugees, I think you're right but "their choice" is a way to frame them that is a bit harsh. I see many of them everyday close to north station (brussels) and I doubt it was their choice to be there in the first place.

(edited the station, it's the north one :-))

[gadders]

>>ut these people don't want to get asile in Belgium, but want to go to the UK. So that's why they don't receive anything here. That is their choice ofc.

It's not their choice. EU rules say they should claim asylum in the first EU country they arrive in.

[Shivetya]

No offense, by numbers yet, by percentage of population it is similar to most other countries. We had other such declarations here recently but it all comes down to not seeing what is there to be seen. Homelessness exist in most part because they are invisible to the average person.

2011, 50,000 estimated with ten percent of that permanently on the streets. Number looks low until you realize the population is under twelve million total.

we must never allow ourselves to believe there isn't a problem. don't look a the numbers but concentrate on the percentage of the population.

I know it so much easier to demagogue other countries for their "problem" but do note, countries like the US where I am in report it and have many organizations which exist to remind people there is a problem. That doesn't mean its worse here, by percentages we are below many EU countries but as a physical number it looks bad because we have three hundred million plus people to start with

[seanmcdirmid]

I was going to say, I thought I saw plenty of homeless people in Brussels when I visited awhile ago. Now Switzerland really doesn't have homeless people as far as I can tell.

[randomdata]

More importantly, why don't strong unions do something about it? The mid-1980s saw the strongest unionization period for Canada – with nearly a 40% unionization rate – but all the of same declines mentioned by the parent were quite visible then. Wages, for instance, have been stagnant since the late 1960s. There was plenty of opportunity to fix the problems during those best union years.

Unionization has declined somewhat since that time, but is still fairly strong in Canada today, with about 30% unionization. The six strongest unionized country in the world. That matches the peak unionization rate for the USA (down to about 10% today), which is heralded for bringing great working improvements for the American worker. There really should be no reason why the current unions in Canada cannot improve on these things. History has shown that 30% unionization is enough to change the world.

I expect that unionization is declining, rather than strengthening, because the potential members are feeling like the unions have become self-serving or are resting on their laurels.

[lightbyte]

If those people were made homeless after losing their jobs they were definitely not "middle class". There is almost no middle class anymore and nobody wants to accept that they are apart of the poor, lower class. It's hard to change reality when nobody believes it.