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Unions are formed, and are profitable for the members, when the work is the same for everyone and they are easily replaceable, since in that case, the workers c
by unionta 8y ago
Unions are formed, and are profitable for the members, when the work is the same for everyone and they are easily replaceable, since in that case, the workers can be easily exploited. The best engineers would not want to join a union since they'd have no reason to. Unions can help mediocre engineers who are replaceable code monkeys (Many of us are, including myself I think). But the thing is, why would I want to associate myself with that group? I'd rather try to be one of those awesome engineers. This dynamic doesn't exist in other well-unionized jobs. For example, all plumbers can do the same work in mostly similar way. So nobody is losing out by unionizing.
- sonnyblarney 8y agoI don't think the dynamic of 'stigma' as you allude to will be a concern - if a company 'goes union' effectively everyone will be a part of it anyhow. FYI - there is a vast difference in quality and talent between good and bad plumbers/carpenters.
- Impossible 8y agoA game industry union might look like a Hollywood Guild (SAG-AFTRA, etc.) instead of a trade union. SAG-AFTRA already negotiates with the game industry in support of voice actors and performance capture actors. You can make the argument that actors are replaceable, but I'd argue that star performers are less replaceable than rockstar engineers. The majority of game industry workers are also not software engineers, so even if engineers don't unionize, because of their ability to get hired in other industries and the overlap between games and tech, it might benefit artists, animators, sound designers and game designers.