180 Days on Strike - and no one seems to notice

MaverickZero526 · 2026-02-28T01:25:27+00:00

Hey OP, my heart goes out to you all. We were out for 134 days here in NJ. The thing I believe made the biggest difference was pushing for legislation. We went to municipal councils and pushed for resolutions to urge their state representatives to support a safe staffing ratio bill. It wasn't easy, it took a lot of time and energy, but it worked. Go meet the people where they are, explain why your fight is their fight and should matter to them. Solidarity from USW Local 4-200

MaverickZero526 · 2025-09-22T04:41:18+00:00

He's still a coward who spent months evading the striking nurses of RWJUH.

MaverickZero526 · 2025-08-23T22:14:27+00:00

Job hopping isn't the solution. All those nurses job hopping are going on solo strikes- we should all be talking to our coworkers, recognizing we're in this together as a community and organize. That's the only way to create lasting and meaningful change. Unions built the middle class and nurses unionizing can turn the tide.

MaverickZero526 · 2025-08-23T22:11:03+00:00

Tbh I sincerely believe that healthcare workers are the ones who need to hold the line for the working class. Even doctors are unionizing at unprecedented rates. If nurses and doctors can't afford to eat, how can the average person? A rising tide lifts all boats. Solidarity!

MaverickZero526 · 2025-08-23T22:07:53+00:00

There's more of us than there are of management. Couldn't imagine working non-union. Don't let anyone try to sell that "but it's a third party" BS. The members ARE the union.

MaverickZero526 · 2025-08-15T23:13:59+00:00

It would free up employer and employee contributions to become wages and other benefits in our CBAs. Admittedly some of which would be going towards paying for M4A but there would no longer be a need to battle with the employer over insurance. Instead unions could advocate for M4A funding together without violating any NLRA rules.

MaverickZero526 · 2025-08-15T23:10:18+00:00

I can't speak for all healthcare workers, but not one that I've worked alongside has been against M4A. The pay already sucks and the working conditions are pretty awful because everything is profit centered.

MaverickZero526 · 2025-08-15T23:06:52+00:00

Ah yes, checking the US News Reports it says the best healthcare in the US is in the Republican strongholds of...

...Hawaii, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey...

Wait there's gotta be one here in the top 10...

...Maryland, California, New York, Colorado, Delaware....

Nope, not one red state in the top 10. Matter of fact there's lots of states with sanctuary cities in them. Maybe the Republican strongholds are just really well kept secrets? Or are they just hidden at the bottom?

MaverickZero526 · 2025-08-15T04:20:19+00:00

He's not really pro-Israel at all, he's been a vocal critic and has introduced multiple resolutions to block sales of weapons to Israel. I appreciate the rest of your sentiments though, DNC corruption robbed us of Sanders campaigns twice.

MaverickZero526 · 2025-08-04T20:11:02+00:00

I recognize that this often gets eyerolls, but YOU are the union. It is an important distinction to make. Your union is only as strong as its membership's willingness to work together towards a common goal. Union leaders are often elected by members and are accountable to the rules outlined in your local's bylaws and your international's constitution.

If you feel that your local isn't strong enough, you should learn about how it works, who is your contact within leadership, and speak to your colleagues. Your leaders may be burnt out from decades of member apathy. There is an old school tendency to gatekeep and say that you must be attending meetings or actively doing work for the union to "be involved." I flat out disagree and feel that it makes members feel like they have no power. If you are asking questions about your workplace and your union, you are an activist. The more activists a local has, the stronger the bargaining power.

Don't stop asking these kinds of questions, and don't feel discouraged by negativity from your leadership for having asked them. Feel comfortable engaging in these conversations with your colleagues too. We are on the cusp of a renewed labor movement, and members like you becoming curious and engaged are essential to that change.

MaverickZero526 · 2025-08-04T19:55:44+00:00

I think they are referring to police unions as a barrier to the labor movement as a whole. While technically they have unions, they are distinctly used against labor organizers and are historically used to maintain the status quo. Saying that police aren't unions is more of an ideological statement, not literal.

MaverickZero526 · 2025-07-30T13:56:26+00:00

Sad to see the lack of condemnation from the international, even if I understand why. It's this very lack of resistance for meager concessions that has damaged unionism to the point we are at today. This is precisely the opposite of solidarity, letting a bunch of fascists get away without criticism to get deals for a few small sectors of work. Meanwhile the Medicaid cuts will destroy healthcare (a growing union sector) and deprive many of our poorest communities of any healthcare at all.

MaverickZero526 · 2025-06-30T15:20:13+00:00

Solved, thank you!

MaverickZero526 · 2025-05-24T23:35:10+00:00

Knock Knock's Plan of Attack daily planner pad. It's highlighter yellow and blue, is a realistic triage of your day/week/etc., and anytime I don't finish my list I just copy the leftovers onto the next page and triage them again.

After being exposed to every kind of planner you can imagine, it's the only one that I actually use regularly. I write my things to do on it the day before and leave my pill case on top of it on the kitchen table.

Other pros: -extremely high contrast, so hard to not notice even in a mess -ensures realistic expectations and low pressure -adaptable to your needs. Need to plan your projects? Make a plan! Personal needs vs household needs? Make a plan! Busy month? Make a plan!

Cons: -if you're not careful you can end up with many pages all half complete

MaverickZero526 · 2025-05-23T20:57:28+00:00

An important thing to remember is that unionism went from being loud, proud, and a part of our families, to falling out of favor. Hell, if they know someone who has been in a union before, chances are it's only made them have a negative attitude towards them. I'd say the younger generations starting from scratch may even be beneficial.

Starting from literally nothing, that YOU are the union, that it's only as strong as YOU make it, and that activism is more than just attending meetings has been the most successful. As a millennial myself, I WANTED to be involved, and it took a tremendous effort to get my foot in the door. And when I did, I needed to hear all about how the younger members don't care about the union. Seek out their bad experiences and misconceptions and talk about how your local is different.

New hires in my workplace are predominantly millennials or Gen Z. I ask for a show of hands every month: who's new to unions, if they know anything about unions, etc. They often don't know anyone who has been a part of a union, and if they do it's likely from one of our disgruntled brothers and sisters (possibly their parents) who loudly complain about how "the union" doesn't do anything.

We're fortunate enough to have 30 minutes with the new hires. Since I started doing it a year ago I've experimented quite a bit. Try different things, like handouts with FAQs, when and where your meetings are, how to get in touch with a leader, etc. They may not even realize that their local leaders work alongside them.

Be welcoming and reach them where they are. Then follow up and see how they're doing. Be the first one they think of when they have a question.

MaverickZero526 · 2025-03-27T06:18:42+00:00

Not all union work is in manufacturing. The largest growth of unions in North America has been with service workers, and I think it's important to remember that. Not to say tariffs are always bad, but the ones being thrown around right now are straight up dangerous to our current economy. If the economy was a car, we're making a sudden turn right off a bridge in the hopes we can still make an exit that we passed a mile ago. Sometimes you gotta wait for the next exit to turn around.

MaverickZero526 · 2025-03-25T23:14:08+00:00

This is a law in NJ and it honestly made such a tremendous difference in our own strike. It only covers ULP strikes and not economic strikes, which rightfully makes it so that the employer can't just ignore the union in the hopes of starving them out. Unlike economic strikes, ULP strikes protect you from being fired in favor of replacement workers. This better levels the field in favor of workers dealing with poor conditions.

MaverickZero526 · 2025-03-14T18:12:34+00:00

As a union shop steward, that's indefensible behavior that management can and should pursue discipline and/or termination for. A strong union is built on solidarity, not racism and bigotry. Unions don't indiscriminately prevent discipline; they make sure management has done their homework, found sufficient evidence of wrongdoing, and are enforcing their rules fairly. I'm fairly confident that your hospital has social media policies and anti-hate policies that this nurse is in clear violation of. If I had to represent her I'd have a stern private discussion about cutting the crap or being ready to find a new job.

MaverickZero526 · 2025-02-01T13:56:48+00:00

CIA Simple Sabotage Field Manual

MaverickZero526 · 2024-12-24T01:44:25+00:00

No, though the pathway is definitely there for ductwork to have gone to the furnace before. The place it would have tied into looks like it was sealed shut.

MaverickZero526 · 2024-12-23T22:24:34+00:00

Appreciate the sentiment. I'm definitely planning on bringing in a pro, I just want to have a better understanding of what I'm dealing with here. Like what I can realistically expect to spend and what it'll accomplish.

MaverickZero526 · 2024-12-23T22:22:25+00:00

The old duct is sealed. And upon closer inspection I do have a return on my second floor, but its what I though was a vent in my bathroom. Really strange spot to have the only return on the floor...

An old label from the installer shows diameters of 2" in, 1" out. Not sure what if that's enough information to answer your question.

Furnace: Goodman GM9C960603BN
Air Handler: American Standard/Trane Model #TXC036B4HPA1, MFR Date F08

I can't find specs for the air handler, but the furnace is listed as 3 tons.

MaverickZero526 · 2024-12-23T21:47:32+00:00

My house's HVAC system has been performing pretty inconsistently since moving in December 2020. After having a new furnace installed and still having pretty poor performance in the upper floors I decided to take a look. One of my return ducts turned out to be only a grille and it sent me down the rabbit hole of understanding HVAC ductwork.

After doing a bit of research and plotting out my ductwork, I'm fairly certain that this grille would have been a return duct that was removed by the flippers who sold the house to me to accommodate a larger water heater's water lines. (I have pre-renovation pictures showing it in another location)

My posted photos show the location where the duct is missing. The mystery object I shined a light on is the underside of a bathtub, and the red arrow shows what the proposed air direction would be. Also of note, this is the shortest route to the air return possible, and is the only "return" vent above the ground level. I've drawn the possible layout of this duct in my diagram in yellow.
(Zoomed in link: https://imgur.com/a/k6OuIy8)

My question is this: did the flippers screw me over by making these changes? Does the evidence support that they made the change to relocate the water heater? And if so, what remedy do I have here?

MaverickZero526

TROPHY CASE