5 ms·
> Come on, AWS. Do better than this. The advantages are too significant. If a company of sufficient size isn't doing this, they're doing something else. Stat
by rectang 7y ago
> Come on, AWS. Do better than this.
The advantages are too significant. If a company of sufficient size isn't doing this, they're doing something else. Statistically, employees cannot win; there may be outliers where an employee prevails, but in the aggregate, the company will win — and that makes these draconian policies worthwhile.
Companies enjoy economies of scale when it comes to negotiating employment, because they hire over and over and over again. Meanwhile, individual employee candidates must reinvent the wheel with each negotiation.
If you ever end up in court or arbitration, the unfathomable resources that the company can bring to bear means you're not fighting a fair fight. Our court system is by and large for the purchase of victories by those who can afford enough lawyering to exploit every advantage.
The only way to fix this is through government statute to change the labor market. The way the market has been constructed, employees will forever be on the losing end.
- GoodJokes 7y agoThere is also a thing called unions.
- cameronbrown 7y agoThe tech industry has the best horizontal mobility of any other right now. Why do we need the downside of unions when we can just move company and have only the upsides?
- guitarbill 7y agoBecause not everybody will be in a position to "just move" for various reasons, and you care about your co-workers? Or you simply have the sense to realise that you may be in an unfavourable position sometime in the future that may not be your fault?
- frenchyatwork 7y agoI've never been a union member, or worked as a white collar worker at a unionized place, but I'm curious what you think the downside of unions are? I'd personally be quite in favor of the transparency that unions bring to things like pay scales and HR processes. Is it just the dues you don't like? Edit: the only story I've heard in tech that involved unions was the strike at the Eugen gaming company, and as far as I can tell, they had pretty good reason to strike.
- hnaccount141 7y ago> best horizontal mobility of any other right now I think you just answered your own question. Unionize while you have leverage to protect yourself for a future where you might not.
- 420codebro 7y agoHoly shit the unions are out in force today on HN. Back to your holes, OUT OUT OUT.
- kevin_b_er 7y agoAs it turns out: You cannot "just move company" unless you live in California.
- RHSeeger 7y agoThe entire east coast seems pretty well situated for job switching, too.
- sincerely 7y agoI think theyre referring to how noncompetes can be enforced everywhere except California.
- cameronbrown 7y agoIt's still a hell of a lot cushier than what others have to deal with.
- balls187 7y ago> The tech industry has the best horizontal mobility of any other right now. Until you age out. And you will age out.
- goatinaboat 7y agoThe tech industry has the best horizontal mobility of any other right now. Why do we need the downside of unions when we can just move company and have only the upsides? Think of it like ageism. The time to do something about it is when you have the leverage. Not when you’re over a barrel.
- blaser-waffle 7y agoDamn. Never thought of it that way. It's like how they say the best time to jump jobs is when you're doing alright, and not when things are desperate or you're clearly on the way out.
- sokoloff 7y agoA sane company will only employ workers to the extent it’s advantageous for them. For that reason, I think it’s wise to go cautiously when making it less advantageous for companies to hire. Much of that ends up being taken out of labor rather than companies.
- rectang 7y agoUltimately, there is a balance to be struck. Labor and Capital need each other even though they have competing interests. But the proliferation of absurdly exploitative non-compete clauses illustrates just how far we are from that balance.
- mooreds 7y agoCapital seems to need to keep relearning the message that Ford got loud and clear: Labor (aka consumers) is what buys output.
- sokoloff 7y agoIn aggregate yes, of course. It doesn’t have to be their labor though. I spend about 0.05% of my pre-tax salary at my company. If they gave me a $10K raise, they would expect to see an extra $5 in revenue per year; hardly compelling.
- mooreds 7y agoSure, it's a tragedy of the commons. As a company I want to drive my labor costs down (all input costs, actually). But I want to be able to sell into a market where enough people have income (up to now typically from selling their labor) to buy my goods. The pool of consumers with disposable income is the commons that no one maintains.
- wolco 7y agoBut the goodwill muliplier effect when you tell your mom and she brags to her friends who then apply pressure on there kids to apply there because they pay well. Friends, social groups, churches.. now those people are more likely to buy.