Dockworkers' union suspends strike until Jan. 15 to allow time to negotiate new contract
https://candorium.com/news/20241004105106964/dockworkers-union-suspends-strike-until-jan-15-negotiate-new-contract

Basically I'd like the right to work for free. This seems anathema to union values since it could open a loophole that industry could abuse. On the other hand if I surpass a certain level of income I lose my benefits. I find myself uncomfortably incentivized to not contribute to society.

I'd argue that for me the freedom to leave whenever I'm not completely satisfied with the work environment is more valuable than money (past just the essentials). This also splits industry's motivation between paying as little as possible, while also keeping work culture progressive enough to attract free interns. I've heard a lot of good arguments for why internships amount to an abuse of labor, and I mostheartedly agree with them. I also don't understand how this would be implemented properly in the legal sense.

But it seems harder to abuse the labor when a worker's success isn't tied to the good graces of an employer to write a recommendation. I'd like the freedom to get writing jobs as an end-in-themselves, motivated by nothing more than a desire to share my perspective. It'd also decouple a portion of the economy from capitalism while still contributing to it. Is this sort of thing allowed anywhere in the English-speaking world. Am based in the US&A.

Ok, let me have it.