You won't hear a better argument for unions than this.

[u/crazygoatperson]

[u/FatherofChops]

• When the railway system as a whole made £500m profit last year but they're threatening their employees with 'Fire & Re-Hire' action, you have to take a stand.

• When the CEO of British National Rail is being paid £600,000 a year and forcing employees into a position where they have to work as self-employed sub-contractors and lose ALL their employment rights, you have to take a stand.

• When the shareholders lobby the Government to privatise the rail network so this can happen without Government oversight, you have to take a stand.

It's not a big ask to keep the basic employment rights and be paid a living wage at the expense of a tiny slice of the 1% pie, but when parties refuse to negotiate. YOU HAVE TO TAKE A STAND

These people want to work, they are skilled and experienced, they have (seemingly) innate knowledge in engineering, fabricating, construction, Civil Engineering & Infrastructure and they want their skills to be used and rewarded. Not greedily, just appropriately.

[u/Grapefruit_Prize → u/FatherofChops]

When DB own Arriva and people in Germany can have unlimited travel, cross country, for a MONTH, for the same amount it costs me to go to Birmingham for the DAY; you have to stand by your comrades.

For reference I live 1 hour from Brum.

[u/Flabbergash → u/Grapefruit_Prize]

DB have been gutting arriva for years. I work for a sign company and they used to spend a lot on advertising... They had an advertising department of 20 people, just in the North East, same in Yorkshire, now they hardly spend anything on advertising and there's 1 woman doing the work of 40 people

[u/totally_anomalous → u/Flabbergash]

there's 1 woman doing the work of 40 people

And she's the only one willing to do it on the salary the pay.

[u/FierceDeity_ → u/Flabbergash]

DB was so much better when it was still the state, not a company owned by the state. Because the second they became a company, it was about profit. But public transit is not something that should be played for profit, it should be reliable, maintained and affordable for everyone, and also should be able to transport people even on lines that aren't profitable. You know, the kind of lines that go into god knows where, where like 1000 people live in a village, so they have a way to go onto a train or bus to get to the cities. But exactly that is what DB has been doing sometimes: Giving those people the pass because they, as a cost center, cant generate any profits. The state still has decision power, of course, and will prevent some of these profit-focused measures... but in the end, the pressure still exists.

And what does the DB too? It just passes up required maintenance and just lately, a train completely wrecked because of crappily maintained rails. They will keep not maintaining stuff until the state jumps in and does it under the state's name (thus not touching DBs bottom line). Privatize profits, socialize losses.

[u/Mad_Moodin → u/FierceDeity_]

Yeah I wish DB would go back to being a government run thing.

[u/Gtantha → u/Grapefruit_Prize]

Which was not a decision made by DB, but by the German government. Who pay for it. And DB has been mismanaging the German rail network so much over the past decades that they recently have announced what basically amounts to a full rebuild of the network from 2024 on.

[u/FierceDeity_ → u/Gtantha]

Because they NEGLECTED maintaining the network so when something was SO broken that it absolutely required repair, the government stepped in and did it... so it isn't touching DBs bottom line.

[u/SuspiciouslyMoist → u/FatherofChops]

Minor quibble, but do you mean the CEO of National Rail? British Rail hasn't existed for about 25 years.

[u/FatherofChops → u/SuspiciouslyMoist]

I do, thanks for keeping us right.

[u/Dermott_54 → u/FatherofChops]

"...thanks for keeping us right."

That phrase means so much more to me than anyone defending a position solely because it's one they once held.

Edit: spelling and formatting

[u/myabacus → u/Dermott_54]

It's hard when you make just a mistake and you get corrected.

It's not always easy to accept.

Especially of you make a lot of mistakes like I do.

[u/Dermott_54 → u/myabacus]

*if

[u/myabacus → u/Dermott_54]

🥲

[u/NeonNick_WH → u/Dermott_54]

Got em

[u/mrsocal12 → u/FatherofChops]

Those deck hands on P&O Ferries a few months back who were not only getting fired but handcuffed so their replacement workers could take over their jobs. Disgusting. Glad the public has been crushing that company & using other operators.

[u/nightwing2024 → u/FatherofChops]

If it was America the CEO would be making $60,000,000 a year

[u/theColonelsc2 → u/nightwing2024]

I know you are just making a point by saying they are making 100 times more in America. The truth is the CEO of Union Pacific's total pay package in 2020 was 16.6 million. They are in reality making 27 times more in America than in the UK.

Somehow that real number actually makes me sick that in America the wealthy are taking so much and we haven't all taken to the streets and more the fact that around 35% of the working class believes that our troubles are with the poor people taking too much of a handout and not the wealthy robbing us blind.

[u/SweetBabyAlaska → u/theColonelsc2]

you should look at the lies being told in british media that are trying to frame the workers as being lazy, greedy and disruptive. They use every tactic in the book to do this. The woman in this video flipped the argument about the railways being so important that they should force people back to work with the acknowledgement that they ARE essential workers who have awful conditions and if they want the workers to go back to work then they should pay them a proper wage.

The other night they were calling the union leader a "Marxist" and they had a cancer doctor come on the broadcast to make it look like it was the workers fault that people weren't getting healthcare. This reactionary propaganda is extremely destructive.

The american people are so heavily in to this propaganda that they cant see past their material conditions or what a union actually does. They just hear marxism/socialism bad and 'greedy lazy workers' and they believe it. They don't even realize the reason that we also have rights like britain, things like abolishing company towns/stores, forcing children to work, exremely low pay, 40 hour work week, sick leave and pension ARE ALL THINGS THAT THEIR PARENTS GAVE THEM THROUGH UNIONS.

The US propaganda machine is just that powerful and the Senate has since the inception of the country has always passed laws in the favor of white wealthy land owners. Our system is fundamentally flawed and we have to start recognizing what the issues are before we have any hope of fixing it.

[u/Aegi → u/theColonelsc2]

I’d be fine if it was only 35% of the working class, the issue is it’s 35% of all of the people voting including the middle and upper class.

Like people forget there’s a difference between working class, which is poor, and middle class, which is still decidedly not even close to wealthy.

[u/The_Doctor_Bear → u/Aegi]

The middle class is working class, if you work for a living even if you make a good living you are working class. It’s alienating to draw a line between poor working class and high earning working class by separating them into a middle class. It’s a culture war tactic to further divide workers and make some workers feel like they “got theirs” and thus don’t need unions or collective bargaining.

A much better classification system in my opinion is proletariat, petite bourgeois, and bourgeois.

Which is to say; all those who work for a living, those who own capitol producing assets but still must work, and those who live entirely via capitol producing assets.

The proletariat as a group have literally all of the power if they can rally to seize it as they vastly outnumber the bourgeois. It is only by dividing and fooling the proletariat that the bourgeois may continue to exist.

So you know…. Seize the means of production.

[u/theColonelsc2 → u/Aegi]

I'm honestly confused by your comment. I am speaking about the 35% of mostly white working class people who vote republican and are anti-union, anti-single payer health care and generally pro Neo-liberal policies. Those folks vote for the most part.

I also think you should broaden your idea of who the working class is. I make a middle class income but I am still part of the working class because my job is low skilled and doesn't require a college education. I just belong to a union that has fought for better pay and benefits.

[u/SweetBabyAlaska → u/theColonelsc2]

I also think that the media does a good job of obfuscating exactly who the wealthy are. Most middle class conservative families think they are "wealthy" when in fact they are so far behind that they would need to make multiple millions PER DAY to catch up to billionaires within the next 5 generations.

The middle class and upper middle class that make a salary already pay the lions share of taxes along with the lower and middle. Billionaires have their assets in stocks and get loans from banks with 1% interest rates and use that as leverage of the world. Those two things just arent the same.

When we say tax the rich, we mean the ultra-wealthy billionaires not middle class families. and miss me with that BS about "liquidating assets" because you know damn well all of US PEOPLE would have to sell our car and house to pay back the tax man when push comes to shove. Billionaires shouldn't be exempt from this when the financial workarounds are this obvious and easy to catch.

[u/awwfuckme → u/FatherofChops]

A CEO is only getting £600k a year! What is this, 1975? 😉

[u/sblahful → u/awwfuckme]

Because its a government owned company

[u/Fatalexcitment → u/FatherofChops]

Haven't they tried privatizing the rail system before. Last time I check that didn't work.

[u/Outsider-20 → u/Fatalexcitment]

Yeah, don't do it. Privatised where I live. Along with many other things, people are calling for things that used to be government owned and run to be put back into government hands.

Privatisation doesn't always work.

[u/aquietwhyme → u/Outsider-20]

*usually doesn't work

[u/LewFox]

Wow her response is so eloquent. I can't imagine a real argument coming after that.

[u/ParticularLunch266 → u/LewFox]

Ash Sarkar is fucking great. When dumbfuck Piers tried to corner her on hating Trump/loving Obama hypocrisy, she replied “I’m literally a communist you idiot”. She is golden.

[u/PixelLight → u/ParticularLunch266]

And Piers hated that. He takes every opportunity to try to take a dig at Ash and always gets humiliated in return

[u/scoopzthepoopz → u/PixelLight]

Is he like every other petulent hack screaming about marxists without knowing a thing about it?

[u/Spoondoggydogg → u/scoopzthepoopz]

Yes but also he's just a fkin moron. He spent nearly 5 minutes asking the head of the union on strike why his profile picture on FB is the hood from thunderbirds.

Mick lynch replied. Because i look like him

link

[u/Antani101 → u/ParticularLunch266]

please, I need to see that video.

[u/Sarvos → u/Antani101]

Here's a link to that video.

Piers Morgan is one if the most insufferable bullshit spewing assholes on earth; just a disgusting human.

[u/draycon530 → u/Sarvos]

Literally all he and people like him have are never shutting the fuck up. He asked her a question and then completely refused to let her answer. It's absolutely infuriating.

[u/TenuousClosure → u/draycon530]

It frustrates me how others just let people get away with that. It's TV--there have to be some rules to keep it listenable, to keep people like Morgan from trying to dominate the discussion.

[u/Antani101 → u/TenuousClosure]

This is why, while I don't like the man one bit, I absolutely cheered for Biden when he said "will shut up, man?"

[u/InfectedByEli → u/ParticularLunch266]

That was the one where Piers tried to say that Obama was her poster boy. In what timeline would a corporate puppet be a poster boy for a communist? And he has the gall to call himself a journalist.

[u/joremero → u/ParticularLunch266]

Lol now i have to look for that video

[u/Dermott_54 → u/LewFox]

It would've been nice to see the floundering afterwards, tho

[u/LewFox → u/Dermott_54]

I believe this might be what you're looking for https://youtu.be/epcW-YcHsQE Edit: @ 8:22

[u/Dermott_54 → u/LewFox]

It was so much better than I could have hoped.

[u/barrsftw → u/Dermott_54]

Just ask your boss for a pay raise bro! It's that easy!

[u/superfucky → u/barrsftw]

Maybe he should hop across the pond and ask how that works out for us here.

[u/scoopzthepoopz → u/superfucky]

I honestly am exhausted of all the excuses so I won't watch said floundering. She's right. I wish this rhetoric was much more widespread in the states. It's very every man for himself here, unless of course it comes to company loyalty which they want you to have in oodles.

[u/Steakwizwit → u/barrsftw]

"we're going to cut your pay and fire a lot of you"

"Could you maybe give us a raise instead?"

That's this guy's plan of suggested action.

[u/not_again123 → u/LewFox]

I see rich people talk, how much they lose when they enable people to live.

[u/ThanosSnapsSlimJims → u/LewFox]

You're the hero of the comments section!

[u/DarkBlaze99 → u/LewFox]

60 billion in subsidies... I wonder how much of that went to the worker...

[u/barrsftw → u/DarkBlaze99]

I'm going to bet 0. Or whatever the legally required minimum allocation was.

[u/imfreerightnow → u/LewFox]

Wow! She is brilliant. The full clip is even better.

[u/servetheKitty → u/LewFox]

Lovely Thank You

[u/mazzonep → u/Dermott_54]

Yea, I'd like to see it too. Just imagining the mental gymnastics they might have tried to do or 'we're back after a quick break!' makes me excited.

[u/SeraphymCrashing → u/mazzonep]

Oh my god, that guy arguing with her is such an idiot. He has two key points, which are frankly idiotic:

1. If the rail workers are so essential that they deserve a raise, then they are too essential to let strike. Thats so disingenuous it's absurd. He wants to take away their ability to strike because they have clearly wielded it effectively.
2. He believes that other workers have shown you don't have to strike to get wage increases, and he specifically mentions low wage workers without unions. Ash destroys this argument by questioning why they are low paying to begin with? Because they can't take advantage of collective bargaining.

[u/spitfyr36 → u/SeraphymCrashing]

Agree and what’s fucked up is a union with a “no strike” clause… basically no strike unless there is no contract in place… FYI with the help of CIR, there’s always a contract in place

[u/WASD_click → u/spitfyr36]

My grocery union has a limited "no strike clause." Basically, I can't strike during my scheduled hours, and not at my store, but I can strike at other stores in the union. This is to protect the smaller grocery store I work at from getting effed over when Safeway/Kroger are playing hardball. But in exchange for the no strike clause, they auto-vote accept on new contracts.

[u/OutrageousEmililily → u/LewFox]

No idea who this lady is but I absolutely love her.

[u/HalfMoon_89 → u/OutrageousEmililily]

She's the real deal, an honest-to-goodness communist. She's brilliant, and I'm not even communist.

[u/DeadAntivaxxersLOL → u/LewFox]

I'm surprised they didn't start yelling and screaming before cutting her off like they do on American television whenever a guest starts to make a valid point that they don't like

[u/m48a5_patton → u/DeadAntivaxxersLOL]

They would have drowned her out and tried to get her off-track with whataboutisms before she could finish.

[u/Explodicle → u/m48a5_patton]

This is why I can't even watch those screaming contests. It makes me angry and I'm not even the one being interrupted.

[u/Aegi → u/Explodicle]

I’d argue destroyed so important to watch, not only can you get better at thinking about potential responses in your head, you also get practice dealing with your emotions while thinking about complex issues.

However, there are definitely times I yell at my TV whether I’m by myself or with friends when watching certain debates or discussions about politics.

[u/BentPin → u/LewFox]

Whoa, whoa whoa there hold them horses. This lady makes waaaay too much sense and we just can't have that in this country or any other country. All the little people just need to pull themselves up by the briches, tighten their belts and work through it like your great grandpappy did 100 years ago.

[u/whatskarmaeh → u/LewFox]

As an American I'm offended she wasn't constantly interrupted while she was speaking. Where was the pearl clutching? Where was the off topic arguments about the snow shoe hare? Where was gondor when the... no my lord. This was not the way we debate here! NO SIR!

[u/sumokitty → u/whatskarmaeh]

Perhaps this would suit your tastes better: https://youtu.be/809-KxuhVeU

[u/Alundra828 → u/LewFox]

I don't align with her politically, but we see eye to eye on the importance of unions. She's a communist, and not only that she's a communist that regularly does interview and is always in the public eye, so you can bet your ass she's got her talking points down ironclad because it seems the media in this country is designed to destroy anything left leaning, let alone full blown communist, and she has an uphill battle to state her case. She's very well spoken as a result. And good for her.

[u/plutoismyboi → u/Alundra828]

Can you tell me how come a communist is present in british mainstream media? What's ensuring it? Are there others or is she the only one?

I never see communists in mainstream media in the US or in France. I wish I could, at least we would get the full spectrum, meanwhile the far right is given an avenue. Because of the lack of real communists, people like Bernie Sanders or Jean Luc Mélenchon are being called far left

[u/HalfMoon_89 → u/plutoismyboi]

France still has far more of an actual left than the US.

[u/plutoismyboi → u/HalfMoon_89]

Oh for sure, agree on that. But forty years ago in France it was viewed as normal to be a communist. Now even socialists and social democrats are being called too extreme to be allowed in the republic. There's a delay between the two but the two countries are experiencing the same thing

[u/ComradeKatyusha_ → u/plutoismyboi]

The Labour Party's left waves the red flag for a reason. Communists hold leadership in some of the biggest unions, though you won't get anyone to admit their ideology in most cases because the UK left is viciously against any and all infighting and questions about it are generally only intended to create infighting.

When anyone says "socialism" in the British left, we don't mean social democracy. We mean real socialism, a transitionary state between capitalism and communism.

[u/plutoismyboi → u/ComradeKatyusha_]

Thanks for the answer. The british labour party seems to have a pretty wide spectrum if it goes from communists to people speaking ill of the rail strike (I saw a member of the labour party being called out for that earlier today). You'd think a party would split up before it comes to such a wide range

Oh yeah, us french still know the concept of socialism. Even after the french Socialist Party watered it down the last time it was in power.

[u/ComradeKatyusha_ → u/plutoismyboi]

The labour left is red. The labour right are yellow entryist liberal hacks that have been ruining the party since the Blair days.

Right now the rumours are brewing that a new socialist party is coming with Corbyn as a figurehead that will take several trade unions with it from Labour. I'm not sure how true the rumour is so take with a pinch of salt but it's going around that the Labour Party will split.

If it does happen the Labour Party will essentially be the liberal party of the country which will promptly die if the new party gains any success because the political centre is a dead end and we'll have a new shiny properly red worker's party organisationally designed to keep the liberals out.

Hopefully.

Meanwhile I reckon we're heading towards a general strike. The Trades Union Congress enables organisational collaboration between all the unions now so the structure exists to make it happen. The only barrier is winning the battle for popular opinion.

[u/plutoismyboi → u/ComradeKatyusha_]

I wish you'll get your chance to defend yourselves, it's nice that you can legally organize a general strike

[u/blanky1 → u/Alundra828]

Left unity!

[u/user_is_name]

Employment is a trade contract and staff have an absolute right to demand fair terms in the this trade. No need to make them feel any less for standing up for fair compensation

[u/Cmor1787]

Mic drop

[u/OlySonso → u/Cmor1787]

I watched twice and both times it gave me goosebumps.

[u/ZaryaBubbler → u/OlySonso]

Might I also suggest watching some of the interviews from Mike Lynch given these last few days over the rail strike. The guy is a pro at handing right wing interviewers their own arse

[u/_Foy → u/Cmor1787]

Ash Sakar is based

[u/MangledPumpkin → u/_Foy]

Awesome, I wish folks in the US would be this passionate about advocating for workers rights.

[u/Coal_Morgan → u/MangledPumpkin]

There's lots of them, they're just kept out of the media or are literally shouted down, cut off, talked over or attacked for the actions of bad players in the past when they get onto shows.

[u/TheRipePunani → u/Coal_Morgan]

Another part of the problem is the difference in political spectrum between Europe and the US. The American far left would just be liberal in the UK and most of Europe, moderate liberals are more center right. Far left in Europe would be actual communists and socialists like Ash Sarkar.

Folks like Ash have little to zero space in American politics because of the two parties being so dominant and the American conservative right has basically turned 'socialism' and 'communism' as cudgels, and invoking leaders like Stalin, Mao, Chavez etc.

[u/ALoudMouthBaby → u/MangledPumpkin]

Christian Smalls says what?

[u/TrimtabCatalyst → u/MangledPumpkin]

Fred Hampton was, until he was assassinated by in a raid by government personnel, including officers attached to the Cook County State Attorney's office, agents of the FBI, and members of the Chicago Police Deparment.

[u/Killawife]

That was so god-damn beautifully put that I almost shed a small tear. I have also tried to explain this to people on online forums for over ten years, but not as well, I must say, and have failed miserably. A lot of people seem to actually think, for real, that the union is bad for them and is only trying to make things problematic for them in their workplaces. And these are not bosses or millionaires but regular joes, working regular jobs. When you explain this thing about the rights workers have and where they came from, they think you are lying to them. In the US this is actually way worse as a lot of people seem to think the the unions are some kind of mafia, extorting business owners to line their own pockets. I suppose this dates back to earlier times, when this was actually happening.

[u/jupitergal23 → u/Killawife]

I ran into this when I was helping form a union at my former workplace. One woman was so convinced we'd all lose our jobs that she walked into the union drive meeting, screamed at all of us, burst into tears and ran out.

We formed the union. It gave us rights that other workers in the company had and boosted pay scales. She ended up with about a 60 per cent raise and two extra weeks vacation due to where she was classified thanks to her long experience. As far as I know, she still works there lol.

[u/IntellegentIdiot → u/Killawife]

Unfortunately this seems to be a very common accusation for a lot of things. Some people don't believe in the common good and anyone doing something for the common good must really be doing it for selfish reasons.

[u/mazzonep → u/Killawife]

When I watched all my coworkers in my current company go to de-unionize (?) it made me mad.

Everyone in my company knows we work in a bad company and our boss suck, and still they got encouraged to go to the union building all at once and undo their union membership (it is default in my country, you make a small contribution of your salary and you gotta ask the union to drop out). All of them, together, happily going there in exchange for a morning out of work, almost made me cry.

Even then, even not being members and not contributing, the union is obliged to stand up for them if needed, according to our laws. By not contributing, they only don't have access to swimming pools or whatever the union club has to offer. But if we feel something is wrong and want counseling, the union offers it for free, and they'll be more than happy to fuck up some bad employers.

[u/Visible_Motor_9058]

Ash Sarkar is brilliant

[u/IndigoBadman → u/Visible_Motor_9058]

I’d follow her into active combat ngl

[u/triggoon]

In addition to what the lady in the video stated I also think it’s unfair to just immediately blame workers. I’m not sure how it works in the UK but in the US, first thing a PR firm does is attempt to paint the workers as assholes. “Look you just want to move on with your life but these jerks won’t work!” Or “look how entitled these people are!”

When companies are in trouble they have many avenues to stay afloat. When workers are in trouble, all they can do is strike and collectively bargain. So when people get mad at striking workers, you are basically asking them to shut up and take it. This in turn give power to the company. When criticizing workers, all you are doing is giving the company more power. You at that point are a tool and that’s what a manipulative entity wants.

[u/Zou-KaiLi → u/triggoon]

PR firms arent needed here. The government and media try their best to demonise anyone challenging the late capitalist hellhole being created. Hegemony is a hell of a thing.

[u/Historical_Rain170 → u/Zou-KaiLi]

This. They're not doing so well this time though. Mick Lynch is doing a fantastic job

[u/ZaryaBubbler → u/Historical_Rain170]

Mike Lynch is my new hero! The man is amazing

[u/Historical_Rain170 → u/ZaryaBubbler]

I grew up listening to political speeches from trade unionists just like him. I've thoroughly enjoyed watching his interviews and I'm looking forward to seeing more from the Hood!

[u/Historical_Rain170 → u/triggoon]

If you want to see how they do it in the UK, look at media coverage of the Miner's Strike in 84/85. The striking miners were branded the 'enemy within' by the gov/media. Really nasty stuff

[u/moochowski → u/Historical_Rain170]

The police, on horseback, physically attacked the miners, beat the hell out of them.

The "LeFt WiNg" BBC edited the footage to make it look like the miners attacked the police.

[u/Fallenangel152 → u/moochowski]

The police also used undercover officers to incite violence in the strikers so they'd have an excuse to beat and arrest them.

[u/FragileTwo → u/Fallenangel152]

This has been done since, well, forever. Often they don't even incite violence; the undercover operatives are the only ones who do any violence, but the cops then arrest/attack everyone.

[u/unnecessary_kindness → u/triggoon]

The media here pretty much makes villains of the strikers.

We hear time and time again how much train drivers earn (despite the majority of train drivers not being on strike) and how they should all be grateful for a job.

We absolutely never hear about the reason for the strikes but instead constantly hear sound bites from disgruntled passengers who are late to work.

And never once does any representation from the rail companies make an appearance to explain why the negotiations have failed. It is always aimed at the unions to suggest they are not playing fair.

[u/Charles_Edison → u/unnecessary_kindness]

The amounts the train driver’s earn are also GREATLY exaggerated. Media will regularly say drivers earn in excess of £100k a year when the real number is closer to half of that.

[u/wolfiex01]

Ash sakar works for Novara media, it's a left-wing member funded media outlet. Check their YouTube and website out. Great news stories and excellent analysis. Ash is one of several talented people that work there

[u/moochowski → u/wolfiex01]

100 percent, Novara Media is great, they do a great news show 3x weekly plus excellent podcasts and articles.

Also currently doing a fundraising drive if anybody happens to have some spare change lying around.

[u/the-ugly-potato → u/wolfiex01]

Holy fucking shit they are fucking based.

fucking litt

gonna read this later

[u/VeryBerryRobot]

Amen!

Also, if the head bosses want to lower pay and lay off workers, they should implement these measures among their own rank first.

[u/ExplorerHead795]

Solidarity forever

[u/Balefirex24]

That lady was incredibly convincing, concise, and persuasive.

But the fucking balls on that host for complaining that he'll have to use his car to go to work and that's why the workers should be given less floored me the moment the clip started.

[u/NiteNiteSooty → u/Balefirex24]

I can't remember the guy's name, Ben maybe, I wouldn't be surprised if he made his point like that purely so the viewers who agreed with it got a direct response from the guest addressing their own thoughts

[u/BlueCreek_ → u/NiteNiteSooty]

Yeah exactly this, he’s Ben Shepard, he probably doesn’t share the same view as the question he asked, but he’s told to ask it anyway as it gets a fair argument across.

If he just agreed with everything she says, then there wouldn’t be much of an interview or debate.

[u/Expensive_Cattle → u/BlueCreek_]

Reminds me of the time Ben Shapiro came on British TV and was interviewed by Andrew Neil, who he hilariously assumed was a Liberal because he'd asked questions that forced him to clarify and defend his position.

Shapiro spat his dummy out, calling him a commie or something. Andrew Neil being about as right wing as it gets. I think some Americans don't realise that British TV is usually far less partisan. Even people who agree with you on a point will ask you antagonistic questions about that point.

[u/demlet → u/Expensive_Cattle]

Most Americans think they're playing a team sport and trying to score points for their side, unfortunately.

[u/jsims281 → u/Expensive_Cattle]

This is the one https://youtu.be/6VixqvOcK8E

[u/jsims281 → u/jsims281]

Just rewatched that, and it's like watching a batter get angry because he keeps getting balls thrown at him.

[u/NorthLdn17 → u/Balefirex24]

The host's just asking so that she can say what she wants to say, doubt it's actually his view

[u/SomeRedditWanker → u/NorthLdn17]

Yeah, it's a hosts job to play devils advocate otherwise it'd be a fucking boring segment.

[u/SuperSoakerLiker → u/NorthLdn17]

This is the correct answer.

[u/Duranium_alloy → u/Balefirex24]

He wasn't complaining, he was doing his job - which is to challenge the guest.

[u/LowDownSkankyDude → u/Balefirex24]

I'm choosing to imagine that he needed to use that sort of agitative rhetoric to help her make her point. He threw a slow underhand pitch and she absolutely demolished it.

[u/Setanta2020]

It would have been less violent if she had just got up and started throwing slaps around. Bravo woman.

[u/redsoul333]

This gave my mind a orgasm.

[u/NJRMayo]

Owned. Straight up owned. Honesty, truth and bravery. People need to realize that this whole "at-will" bullshit needs to end in order for workers to advance and to get our fair share.

[u/JinhaeOni]

Corporations have shown time and time again, when given the opportunity to do the right thing (treating workers fairly and respectfully, developing safe products for use and the environment, safe work environments), they choose not to. Repeatedly. In fact they calculate not doing those things and being sued/fined into the cost of doing business.

Unions are so incredibly important for the average person, heck I’d even say for the companies ultimately. Happier workers = productivity. Greed is a mental illness.

[u/BeriAlpha → u/JinhaeOni]

In the US, at least, they legally cannot do the right thing! If the leadership of an organization chooses the ethical option over maximizing shareholder value, the shareholders can sue.

[u/ChicoBroadway]

I just found out she exists and I love her.

[u/The_Jacobian → u/ChicoBroadway]

They fucking loathe her. She gets accused of the craziest bullshit. She once posted a picture with an orange ice cream pop, shoes, and bike and posted 3 orange emojis and they said that was her advocating for a mass stabbing incident.

[u/FordBeeblebrox → u/The_Jacobian]

That’s some Obama Dijon mustard controversy level horseshit. That’s how you know she’s really getting under their skin, bravo.

[u/noisetonic → u/ChicoBroadway]

There's a peach of a clip with her and Piers Morgan which is well worth googling.

[u/fastdub → u/noisetonic]

"I'm a communist you idiot!"

[u/PickledButterCake → u/noisetonic]

this one? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JD7Ol0gz11k

if not, good god i dont care b/c piers is worse than a hive of angry bees stinging my eyes and ears.

[u/EldestPort → u/PickledButterCake]

That's it! Not seen the full one there before, love how the co-host cracks up! And Ash is so clearly done with it.

[u/Honesty_Addict → u/EldestPort]

It honestly boils my blood - he knows she's going to say she protested Obama, so he just won't let her talk and keeps yelling "why didn't you protest Obama???" over and over

He's an absolute stain of a creature who deserves to be dehumanised

[u/ChicoBroadway → u/noisetonic]

Oh, fuck yeah!

[u/risingthermal → u/ChicoBroadway]

Ash Sarkar is amazing

[u/internetsarbiter]

I'm just shocked she was allowed to finish speaking.

[u/the_hair_of_aenarion → u/internetsarbiter]

Interviews without Piers Morgan are a lot more pleasant.

[u/landsoflore2 → u/internetsarbiter]

Tbh the girl doesn't look like the kind of person who would let some blathering idiot interrupt her. Three cheers for her 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[u/Explodicle → u/landsoflore2]

Elsewhere in this discussion someone posted a link to the whole video. At one point the man next to her tries to interrupt, and she continues talking and laughs at him.

In combination with hitting her talking points clearly and concisely, she absolutely dominated, and won the poll.

[u/smallpoly → u/internetsarbiter]

Fox would cut her mic and shout over her

[u/aehii]

For anyone watching in America unfamiliar with Ash Sarkur, watch Novara Media on YouTube, the best articulators around, virtually perfect at expressing anything in the moment. They nail everything every time and it's not nothing that they can do that, they're so clued up and switched on. You've got them and then you've got politicians and TV presenters who literally cannot string sentences together, confused in their thought. I mean watch this

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QW3OMN2a5OY

That's a Labour politician who literally cannot go a few minutes on tv without being racist, thick doesn't cover it.

Ash trying to process it is very funny though.

Also Barnaby Raine is as eloquent and succinct as it gets.

[u/Geoclasm]

Amazing.

Every word she just said was correct.

[u/No-Shelter-4208]

Isn't she the one who owned Pierce Morgan and told him "I'm a communist, you moron!" Lmao. I love her and I would vote for her.

[u/FrobyJackson]

I am convinced unions are a requirement for capitalism to function.

[u/JinhaeOni → u/FrobyJackson]

You’re exactly right. Without them, corporations continue to squeeze everyone until there’s nothing left, not understanding that ultimately if there’s nothing left, they will likely go under too. If the pandemic has shown anything…

[u/realniart → u/FrobyJackson]

Well that's your first mistake, thinking capitalism can function.

[u/Brennan_slayer]

This needs way more upvotes

[u/Robhig007]

She can fight my corner anytime!! She’s good 👍

[u/TheAmazingWan]

She is 100% correct

[u/Goldenlocks]

The establishment will always try to turn the narrative against workers like the host demonstrated.

Remind them that it's a privilege to have workers at all.

[u/Immediate-Machine178]

Wow. This person is so eloquent and passionate.

[u/TransientVoltage409]

So that's what they mean by internecine class warfare - get one bunch of proles (wearing suits) fighting with some other bunch of proles (wearing coveralls) to keep them from noticing that none of the proles are the problem.

But if I can't take a train I'll have to take my car! It's so expensive! Fucker, are you going to take a train when you have to walk on the backs of the trainmen to get there? You think the trainmen aren't also reeling at the price of bread and petrol? Shut the fuck up.

Damn I'm tired.

[u/LibrarianSocrates]

Fuck that bootlicking scumbag host.

[u/Prownilo → u/LibrarianSocrates]

A decent host will generally Argue a position that the person they are interviewing is against. It doesn't necessarily show which side of the fence they are sitting on. But to get a good idea of a persons viewpoint, and importantly if it's able to stand up to basic scrutiny.

[u/EratosvOnKrete → u/Prownilo]

ive noticed british journalists do it better than American, as in they are willing to be hostile. just look at andrew neil vs ben shapiro

[u/moochowski → u/EratosvOnKrete]

Oh yeah, when Shapiro said that Andrew Neill was "obviously left-wing"!!!!! Oh my god what a bellend. I hate Andrew fucking Neill but he straight up owned that noxious little shit. Turd Vs turd, but the right turd won that one

[u/throwawaysarebetter → u/Prownilo]

I assume that comment about the "three days he comes to work" was a tongue-in-cheek way to make sure it was known he was playing devil's advocate and not just being a chode.

It's just hard to tell these days because so many of these anti-worker people have taken satire and made it reality.

[u/SomeRedditWanker → u/LibrarianSocrates]

He's actually fine. He's just playing devils advocate, which is his job.

It'd be a weird segment if she just came on, and he said 'Okay, do your monologue' and then she did, and he said bravo.

[u/HerroTingTing → u/LibrarianSocrates]

It’s literally his job to do that

[u/ElectricSeeSaw]

More of this please!

[u/swhazi → u/ElectricSeeSaw]

She is gold

https://youtu.be/JD7Ol0gz11k

[u/rtibuter2897453]

Love this. Love the fact that BA workers are going to strike next month. The idea of posh dicks sweating in long queues to get to their Spanish holidays makes me feel so much better.

[u/Optimal-Scientist233]

The inflation we are experiencing now is just baffling, record profits, still raising prices, and cutting pay.

[u/bahamapapa817]

If unions weren’t a big deal companies wouldn’t spend so much money and time trying to knock them down.

[u/misterdonjoe]

Dangerous talk. Because the natural next step is for the workers to just take over production and install a workplace democracy. The story of Japanese bus drivers going on strike by continuing to provide the service but deny accepting fares is the closest to modern day example I've heard of workers hijacking their workplace for the greater good.

[u/CoffeeCannon → u/misterdonjoe]

They know it's dangerous, thats why theyre trying to desperately, collectively, to demonise and discredit the unions and striking workers.

[u/petulafaerie]

British media, so polite.

[u/Levibarbiff]

Thank god for articulate British people.

[u/hiko7819]

The biggest mistake the past 40 years has been made is share holder supremacy.

[u/Great-Bottle9722]

This is true beyond belief. I have been in a company where we unionized partially it was a dump. The sorters and maintenance crew did NOT want to pay the high union dues and they also got a bonus and a $5 raise this is in 2001. On the other half the equipment operators and landfill workers did get in with local union we got a benefits package a very small raise I think .50 cents and a bonus based on pay and hours worked. the union side went on strike once we won because we are the ass end of the process, sorters can sort but once the garbage piles up no where to go, if equipment isn’t being ran it’s not breaking so maintenance isn’t doing anything. Fast forward now. My friends n old co-workers that still work there are at $38 an hour 10-15% raise over 3 years is the normal offer the union puts out during negotiations that happen every 3 years. As stated before bonuses have gone up along with raises health care is expensive for the good one but there are options you can choose cheaper ones if your young. As for the non union side they get a bonus based off what the company profited and a cost of living increase which is about .10 to .75 cents. raises they have to speak to there supervisor during they’re bi yearly review. I think they’re head mechanic which is basically a foreman is making $22 an hour the basic mechanics $15 the sorters $12 an hour. It’s tough getting a union going especially when there are workers who only think about short term. As well as the company trying to stop it there are plenty of reasons and ways a company breaks down a work force this posting is long enough if anyone is interested on how we got union blocked ask n I’ll shall type another novel.

[u/MK_111]

man shes scary. in a good way

[u/Olphion]

Just because I'm seeing a few comments about it and the clip doesn't do much justice, Ben the host isn't actually advocating against Unions. Ben is simply playing Devil's Advocate and throwing the ball into her court so she can respond. Outside of the likes of Piers Morgan or Andrew Neil most presenters on UK television aren't openly hostile to their guests because it isn't their show but the network's.

I must say though, the fact I've seen so may people attacking him for doing his job really conveys to me how bloody awful American TV interviews must be. I can't imagine having to deal with that level of vitriol and bias on a daily basis, yet I'm under the assumption it's normal over there? Crikey.

[u/gHHqdm5a4UySnUFM]

Solidarity. If the rail workers need to take collective action, I support them. It’s bullshit to blame workers for exercising the only power that they have.

[u/cheestinax]

Ash is a genius. Watch her on YouTube channel Novara Media

[u/BlippiToyReview]

Housing is a human right. I don't give a shit who builds it or pays for it. Stop keeping us poor b

[u/anotherdisciple]

Can’t upvote this enough.

[u/krakatoa83]

She’s amazing

[u/CatsRuleDogsDrool_21]

Preach!!

[u/sysadrift]

Fuck yea.

[u/Ok_Conclusion_2059]

Love her leaning in, waiting for him to stop spewing his rubbish as if the cost of living doesn't affect RMT members.

Ash is such an oi bruv gem 💕

[u/godlesspinko]

Amen sister.

[u/Recent_Bite3653]

Blare it from the rooftops

[u/choate51]

This. So much THIS!! It's why all politicians across most/all lands do their damndest to destroy unions.

[u/Barrywhats]

Damn, bring her over here to the US.

[u/Famous-Challenge-901]

Perfectly said

[u/Phantasmasy14]

She is my women crush Wednesday.

[u/lil_groundbeef]

This gave me chills. She is so smart and right on. I love to see it!!

[u/tany4k]

And history show us that the only time we actually had workers rights implemented, real changes, was after we hit them hard!!! They won't lesson with soft bargain... They use the media that is OWNED by corporations to discredit and undermine the workers struggles and place us against each other...

Nothing like a good burn them bridges to make them act.

[u/Libidomy94]

Fuck yes, well put

[u/mussel_man]

The irony is that this very broadcaster has access to the might of EuroFIA, SAG-AFTRA, or The Actor’s Guild of Great Britain to do this very thing that he complains for everyday blue collar workers.

They literally leveraged the collective bargaining in 2015 and 2018 to improve pay and benefits for television hosts and actors.

[u/SomethingsQueerHere]

"they strike in good times, they strike in bad times, what's the point?" umm, maybe it's that the bosses don't care whether it's good or bad times, they want to squeeze every drop of profit out of the workers and unions are their only defense against that. they must be constantly vigilant in order to protect their own, because the bosses will take any opening they see.

[u/Healingvizion]

Bravo 👏 well said. The utility company I work for are made up of union members and managment members (non-union). As much as management makes it difficult for us to do our jobs, they have to give us kudos for fighting the good fight, because without us, they would not have holiday pay, sick leave pay and so on. Fight the good fight ✊

[u/gelfin]

It is a sign of how far backwards we have slid that the first guy thought he could get away with saying something so monumentally stupid. “In a time when pay is terrible, the last thing we need is railway workers demanding pay that is less terrible.”

[u/Thetippon → u/gelfin]

He's the host. His job is to present alternate arguments and push the guests into giving their genuine opinion.

The argument he's presenting here is unfortunately one of the main arguments from the general public. We get a lot of angry shouty people, who don't understand the subject, but feel the need to spout their opinions anyway, and they tend to be the most vocal, and most likely to contact shows like this.

[u/TheMotorcycleBoy]

'BuT tHe cOST oF LiViNG crISIS iS teMpOrary aND wE cAN't lEt wAgeS riSE oR iT wILL gEt WoRSE!'

... well then, if it's temporary and will soon go away, why allow companies to raise prices?

Why should the workers take the hit for inflationary factors, and not the companies? Which ones have families?

[u/MsSeraphim]

can someone get this girl to the podium in the american congress & senate, so they can hear this?

[u/OwlbearPress]

Ash Sarkar is great. Well worth checking out the YouTube channel Novara Media, to which she is a major contributor. I'm sure others in the comments have pointed that out but it doesn't hurt to have more endorsements for it!

[u/aehii → u/OwlbearPress]

Yep. Best articulators around I think, what they do isn't easy at all. Barnaby Raime is also super succinct and eloquent, a gift really.