I think we're fine with organizations... IEEE, LOPSA, SAGE, USENIX, etc... I bet the average sysadmin is a member of more professional organizations than the a

I think we're fine with organizations... IEEE, LOPSA, SAGE, USENIX, etc... I bet the average sysadmin is a member of more professional organizations than the average public school teacher. The difference is that we use these organizations to make contacts, learn things, etc... basically to become better programmers or sysadmins, to find new mentors, co-workers, employees or employers. Teachers use their union to set wages. I don't think you will find technical people using a union to set wages any time soon just 'cause we have little tolerance for incompetence (and because our market is efficient enough that good people, to some extent, get rewarded. maybe not as well as they should, but there is some correlation between skill and pay.) Most of us are perfectly okay with seeing our less-competent peers getting left in the dust. Really, most of us prefer it that way. This is what the organizers will have to overcome if we are to unionise.