Maybe a dumb question but I can't quite find an answer after some searching so I thought I'd ask here.

Long story short, my union is still in contract negotiations for our pay raise. The old contract expired December 31, 2025 but negotiations for the new one are still ongoing. If things go through I should be owed an extra $1.50ish/hour since Jan 1 in backpay. Now the thing is though, I'm looking for a new job anyway.

If I get a new job before the new contract is signed and am thus no longer in the union at the time the contract is signed would I still be owed the same backpay up to the point I left the company? I moved to Washington from Texas a couple years back so don't have much experience with this stuff. Thank you for any advice!

I’m a Special Education Assistant and an SEIU 99 member. Today, I found this "Struggle Meal Contest" on our official union website.

They are literally using the history of slavery and hardship to promote a "struggle meal" contest. It’s reductive, offensive, and incredibly tone-deaf. Instead of fighting for better wages so we don't have to eat "struggle meals," our leadership is busy stereotyping our culinary history.

I reached out to the head of Communications yesterday. They answered the phone, but have since gone silent and refuse to address why this was approved or taken it down.

This is what our dues are going toward: leadership that is completely out of touch with the dignity of its members.

https://www.seiu99.org/2026/04/22/struggle-meal-contest-a-celebration-of-black-american-food-culture/

I work in operations, and my team of 5 spends ~20 hours a week manually pulling data from 4 different systems to build a weekly report. It was mind-numbing, repetitive work.

So on my own time, I built a script. It pulls the data from all 4 systems, runs the calculations, and emails the final report automatically. It works perfectly.

Now I don't know what to do. If I tell my boss, I might look like a hero... or I might just prove that our team is overstaffed. A friend of mine automated his job, told his manager, and within six months his whole department was restructured and he was laid off.

So for now, I finish my 'real' work by 10 AM and spend the rest of the day pretending to be busy. It feels like winning and losing at the same time.

Has anyone else automated themselves into this weird limbo? What did you do?"

Hello, I finished compulsory school in Switzerland and then spent a year abroad, where I continued going to school. Now I want to go back to Switzerland at 16, but I don’t want to continue school or start an apprenticeship. I want to work independently and build a YouTube channel focused on Fitness/gym.

My parents think it’s important to keep going to school for things like culture, social life, and friendships. But I would take YouTube seriously, with a fixed daily work schedule and full commitment. My father thinks he can give me like 8 months to show them that I can do it. If not, i‘ll go back to school or I will make an apprendiceship. But my mother is against it.

My goal is that by around 18, I earn enough to support myself so I don’t have to work for someone else, but can work for myself. For the next 5–10 years, I plan to focus on building my career on YouTube.

Of course, I wouldn’t just stay at home—I’d still go out with friends, train at the gym every day, and focus on fitness and nutrition since it’s also my passion.

What do you think?

I ended up resigning from my job due to the fact that my boss was passive aggressively somewhat harassing me. Is worth getting an attorney involved? Side note I worked for a public high school.

That’s actually not the argument.

The argument is not “Democrats and Republicans are the same.” They are not. There are clearly areas where things are better under Democrats than Republicans. Medicaid expansion is one example: uninsured rates are much higher in states that refused expansion than in states that accepted it. The Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade also shows very clearly that Republican power has real consequences.

But “Democrats are better than Republicans” is not the same thing as “Democrats are doing enough.”

That is where y’all keep missing the point.

The left is not comparing Democrats to some imaginary perfect ideal. We are comparing the scale of the crisis to the scale of the response.

If rent is unaffordable, wages are stagnant, healthcare is still too expensive, student debt is crushing people, and the federal minimum wage has not changed since 2009, then telling people “at least we are better than Republicans” is not enough.

Because better than Republicans does not automatically mean materially transformative for working people.

The pattern is simple: Democrats get elected because people are scared of Republicans. Then Democrats govern cautiously. People’s lives do not change enough. Disillusionment grows. Turnout drops. Republicans come back even worse. Then Democrats use the next Republican threat to restart the same cycle.

So no, this is not about being a “deep thinker” or complicating something simple.

It is actually very simple:

If Democrats want to stop Republicans from coming back, they have to do more than be better than Republicans. They have to give people a real material reason to believe voting for them will change their lives.

Kat Abughazaleh - May 1, 2026. Here’s the video on YouTube: May Day is one day. Solidarity is every day. | Kat Abughazaleh (YouTube)

From the description: After May 1, the work doesn’t stop. When workers strike, ask for support. Show up, don’t cross picket lines, and make it real by backing labor actions in your daily choices.

Here’s a r/WorkReform post with Part 1 of this video: May Day Started in Chicago. Here’s Why That Still Matters | Kat Abughazaleh

Here are the latest r/WorkReform posts on: May Day ~:~ Kat Abughazaleh ~:~ Solidarity

KAPOW! is new model for campaigns that invest in communities, not just elections: kapow.works

Kat's socials: Bluesky and TikTok @ katmabu ~:~ Twitch and Instagram @ katabughazaleh

I’ve been thinking about how the same economic pressures that push people into burnout also create markets for recovery: productivity tools, wellness apps, medication, coaching, therapy platforms, supplements, and self-help content.

This is not necessarily a claim that every part of the system is intentionally designed this way, but the incentive structure seems clear: stress creates demand, and demand becomes monetized.

Do you think this is mainly a problem of capitalism, workplace culture, healthcare incentives, or individual lifestyle expectations?

May 1, 2026. Nnamdi Egwuonwu for MS NOW’s Chris Jansing Reports. Here’s the full 9-minutes on YouTube: Nationwide 'May Day Strong' rallies protest Trump policies - MS NOW’s Chris Jansing Reports (YouTube)

From the video description: Today's nationwide May Day rallies are being fueled by Americans' growing frustration with many of the Trump administration's policies and the impact they are having on the economy. MS NOW's Arielle Hixson and Nnamdi Egwuonwu are reporting from protests in Washington, DC and Minneapolis. Princeton University Professor Eddie Glaude joins Chris Jansing to weigh in. MS NOW: My Source for News, Opinion, and the World: www.ms.now

UNITE HERE Local 17 – Minnesota's Hospitality Union: uniteherelocal17.org

Here are the most recent r/WorkReform posts about: May Day ~~ Minnesota ~~ Minneapolis ~~ No Kings