4 ms·

The way I heard it best explained is no one would try to start a union if it made them less money. Better pay and benefits - my maximum out of pocket was lower

The way I heard it best explained is no one would try to start a union if it made them less money. Better pay and benefits - my maximum out of pocket was lower than most deductibles. Democratizes the workplace - really helps keep management in check. You get real job security - firing is much less arbitrary with a steward fighting for you. However, if people aren't active in union elections, bargaining etc. it can get really stale really fast

justaman 8y ago
Software developers are so "in demand" right now, it seems like it would be better to not become a union worker and instead just shop around. It's really a sellers market for talent.
chrisseaton 8y ago
> The way I heard it best explained is no one would try to start a union if it made them less money. People could start a union so _they_ make more money, but _you_ could make less money. For example pay by seniority. Great for the senior people in the union, not so great for you.
- gamblor956 8y ago
  Pay by seniority is a thing that developers keep bringing up and not understanding the basic concept that seniority-based pay is a decision that unions can adopt or reject. Hollywood unions, for example, do not use a seniority-based pay scale.
  - chrisseaton 8y ago
    If there’s an industry-wide closed-shop union and it votes for seniority pay then I’m out of luck. It’s replacing tyranny of the employer with tyranny of the majority.
    - gamblor956 8y ago
      I don't think you understand how unions work... Closed-shop unions are illegal in the US, for starters, so you can't have a closed-shop industry-wide union. The only industry-wide unions that exist set workplace protections and salary floors but no salary caps...and no indutry-wide union has ever embraced seniority-based pay because, being an industry-wide union, that regime wouldn't work across the very different economic environments of 50 states and their thousands of cities.

justaman 8y ago

Software developers are so "in demand" right now, it seems like it would be better to not become a union worker and instead just shop around. It's really a sellers market for talent.

chrisseaton 8y ago

> The way I heard it best explained is no one would try to start a union if it made them less money. People could start a union so _they_ make more money, but _you_ could make less money. For example pay by seniority. Great for the senior people in the union, not so great for you.

gamblor956 8y ago
Pay by seniority is a thing that developers keep bringing up and not understanding the basic concept that seniority-based pay is a decision that unions can adopt or reject. Hollywood unions, for example, do not use a seniority-based pay scale.
- chrisseaton 8y ago
  If there’s an industry-wide closed-shop union and it votes for seniority pay then I’m out of luck. It’s replacing tyranny of the employer with tyranny of the majority.
  - gamblor956 8y ago
    I don't think you understand how unions work... Closed-shop unions are illegal in the US, for starters, so you can't have a closed-shop industry-wide union. The only industry-wide unions that exist set workplace protections and salary floors but no salary caps...and no indutry-wide union has ever embraced seniority-based pay because, being an industry-wide union, that regime wouldn't work across the very different economic environments of 50 states and their thousands of cities.