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Disappointed but not surprised that folks are down voting instead of replying. The unionization discussion focuses way too much around compensation instead of
by bhawks 8y ago
Disappointed but not surprised that folks are down voting instead of replying.
The unionization discussion focuses way too much around compensation instead of on union-employee relations. People just assume unions are all roses in this department (the author likens them to some street fighting Batman) when in reality they're flawed and have incentives that work against workers too. If you don't think there's nepotism and favoritism in unions then you've probably never worked in one. Unions pick and choose the workers they stand up for, it's not some romantic all for one and one for all story.
In my experience you should trust the union just about as much as hr or management. If you're not on the same side as them in whatever issue, watch your back.
- bjourne 8y agoThe "As a child of two union parents ..." argument in relation to unionization is the equivalent of the "As a mom of two children ..." argument in relation to child psychology. I also have two parents who are members of a union but that doesn't make me an expert!
- yellowapple 8y agoPerhaps not, but it does give you exposure to a wealth of first-hand information. I don't think the mother-of-two-children's opinion is worthless relative to a child psychologist, either; both have insights that are valuable in different ways.
- bjourne 8y agoNo, it gives you a lot of anecdotal evidence that is impossible to decouple from the specific circumstances of the situation. E.g my experience with my union has been the completely opposite of everything stated by bhawks. So + 1 - 1 = 0, words have been exchanged but nothing learned.
- yellowapple 8y ago"Nothing learned" only if you don't care about those "specific circumstances". The anecdotal datapoints are useful specifically because Earth's population of 7+ billion humans is remarkably efficient when it comes to running across corner cases and confounding variables. We're talking about something that does indeed have very-situationally-dependent impacts and effects. The anecdotes require filtering, sure, but they're vital if you want aggregate data that reflect the real world instead of theoretical conditions. If it's impossible to decouple something from the specific circumstances of the situation, then that "something" is insufficiently understood.