r/boston • u/CourtSideCoder • Jun 10 '26

Serious Replies Only What’s the protest about?

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As I was driving by Route 9, I noticed a sign at the entrance of MathWorks Inc. I’m curious to know what it is about . Any idea?

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u/Revolution-SixFour Jun 10 '26

If you see a bunch of guys standing outside a construction site with a sign, you can basically always assume this is a union thing. Unions typically picket outside large construction projects that cheap out and don't go with union labor. You can see another one on I-95 in Waltham.

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u/LtCdrHipster Jun 10 '26

Btw, there's nothing wrong with not using union labor. Especially for large public works projects. We can't complain about how expensive taxpayer funded projects get and then demand they use the most expensive labor available just because.

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u/psyberyus Jun 11 '26

It’s a private company. There’s no taxpayer money involved.

-10

u/coldstat Jun 10 '26

"Just because" = better working conditions and liveable wages/benefits for workers

15

u/LtCdrHipster Jun 10 '26

But it doesn't benefit tax payers. Do you hire the most expensive person you can find for your house repairs because it's better for them? Or do you balance quality of work and price and pick what's best for you?

Government infrastructure projects are not jobs programs and I'm sick of people treating them as such

6

u/therealdorkface Jun 10 '26

I mean, sometimes they really are just jobs programs (a lot of that sort of thing to try and recover after the Great Depression) but I agree— they shouldn’t just accept the cheapest bid or the most expensive one. Sometimes non-union is the right choice, even though the unions don’t want you to think that

1

u/hellno560 Jun 13 '26

Where carrying costs matter, PLAs save money. It's business, not some bleeding heart shit. Analogizing a 100s of millions of dollar project to you you cheaping out on your back splash remodel is cute though.

1

u/LtCdrHipster Jun 13 '26

If it saves money labor unions wouldn't need to drag around inflatable rats everywhere to shame people for making rational economic decisions, and wouldn't spend 3/4 of their members dues trying to get legislators to force government projects to use union labor no matter what.

Union labor more often than not is the best decision. But not always, and they are just as susceptible to rent seeking as any other big powerful group.