[simonsarris]

I don't have any opinions here but for added context and interest, the two unions involved released statements:

NY Mag Union statement on the cuts: https://twitter.com/NYMagUnion/status/1251218401688772608

Vox media union on the cuts: https://twitter.com/vox_union/status/1251174537120616454

> While we appreciate Vox Media talking to us in good faith, we don’t agree with the company’s decision to furlough employees — especially after hundreds of us told the company we were willing to take wider pay cuts to save all jobs.

> We won a guarantee of no layoffs, no additional furloughs, and no additional pay cuts through July 31, along with enhanced severance for any layoffs that occur in August-December. The company also agreed to reduce the number of furloughs.

[ajross]

I made this point earlier, but contrast the difference in tone between Vox workers and Amazon workers in what is really a very similar dispute. Cultivating a healthy working relationship with your unions means that when the world blows up, making hard choices doesn't get covered as an existential disaster.

[samename]

Also notice how Vox workers have a union, while Amazon workers don’t.

[ajross]

Which is sort of the point. Amazon resisted unionization (in the US), almost to a fault. And in the process they ended up offering things like salary and benefits that were quite generous within the relevant industries, precisely to prevent unionization.

And yet it's all blown up. Because while sure: they offer a $15 wage and retraining and all that, what they don't have is a union organization on the other side of the table who they trust to act in mutual self interest.

So when Vox runs out of money, their unions are willing to accept that and broadly trust the management to do the right thing for everyone, Amazon's workers are faced with trying to Get Theirs before their employer runs out of cash, because they don't trust Bezos.

And this was all avoidable.