tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5006663874099631371.post905688507092265631..comments2023-04-23T00:17:28.060-07:00Comments on Fires never extinguished: A blog of the Phoenix Class War Council: Safeway and Fry's workers threaten strike: Some thoughts on the coming fight.Jon Rileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17299802548928505223noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5006663874099631371.post-81421475060825851152009-09-27T18:49:45.699-07:002009-09-27T18:49:45.699-07:00The problem is that capitalism will deliver one of...The problem is that capitalism will deliver one of two things to a worker replaced by a self-checkout: the anxiety of an unemployment or another boring job. That's the truth. Boredom does not result from the lack of self-checkouts. Indeed, workers do not become workers out of boredom. Taking out self-checkouts returns power to the workers at the point of production and that's why it's an important move in order to win the strike. <br /><br />Further, recognizing that it's the hand of Capital lurking behind that checkout, not liberation, would be an important advance for a workers movement that doesn't criticize technology. Ending dead times happens when capitalism is destroyed, not when a self-checkout machine gets a worker canned. <br /><br />Lastly, I believe the practical answer to your question is that workers demand more control over their work and better compensation because they live in capitalism and such things are necessary. The end result of your critique sounds awfully similar to the reactionary shit I've seen on many forums, which basically boils down to "fuck the workers". <br /><br />Anyhow, post-rev, I can't imagine why there would be any checkouts at all! Destroying the automatic ones is a step towards destroying the others.Phoenix Insurgenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07312328294843841459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5006663874099631371.post-3724819629606376312009-09-27T17:16:49.173-07:002009-09-27T17:16:49.173-07:00Why on earth would we encourage the workers to tak...Why on earth would we encourage the workers to take power by demanding that more of their lives be useless and boring? Self-checkout is a step in the right direction!Noah Luckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09711014458632779021noreply@blogger.com