4 ms·

Software engineering is a global market. Unions are local to the US. If unionizing becomes a thing, it will be a huge boost to developers in Eastern Europe, Chi

by krasin 6y ago

Software engineering is a global market. Unions are local to the US. If unionizing becomes a thing, it will be a huge boost to developers in Eastern Europe, China, India, Mexico, but a big blow to the US. And it's not about offshoring a-la 1995 or 2005. It's about building the whole company outside of the US, only having minimal presence here for fundraising / legal / whatever. There is already a number of startups executing this strategy; unions will immediately make it a no-brainer for all new companies.

jkaplowitz 6y ago
The salaries paid to skilled US tech workers in the tech hubs without unions are already so much higher than anywhere else in the world, even after adjusting for cost of living, that I don't see the impact happening the way you say it. The workers who have skills and experience would unionize at some tech workplaces so that they don't have to job hop for fair treatment, but in any case they already make more in the US than elsewhere, because employers know they have to go to the US tech hubs to have a high concentration of great tech workers, and unions wouldn't change this. (I know there are many great tech workers elsewhere, but not nearly as concentrated.) Most of the high-skilled tech hubs I'm aware of outside the US are in countries with stronger worker protections than the US, and often more unionization too. (This does vary, absolutely - worker rights are greater in Berlin or Paris than they are in Zurich or London.) Now, for low-paid low-skilled workers, the situation might be different, but those aren't determinative of where a tech company is based long-term, and the union would be best if it spans all skill levels. Unions aren't just a US thing, by the way. Hello from Quebec where unions are far more common than anywhere in the US. Even undergraduate university students are typically unionized here, complete with strikes and cross-university federations with elected leadership. Much of Europe is also far more unionized than the US, though certainly not the part of it you referenced by Eastern Europe (maybe aside from Finland).
raxxorrax 6y ago
I doubt it. Since it is a sellers market, devs might be drawn to places where they have benefits. I doubt that many US or European devs would want to work for wages common in India and I don't think these particular startups are too relevant.

by krasin 6y ago

jkaplowitz 6y ago

The salaries paid to skilled US tech workers in the tech hubs without unions are already so much higher than anywhere else in the world, even after adjusting for cost of living, that I don't see the impact happening the way you say it. The workers who have skills and experience would unionize at some tech workplaces so that they don't have to job hop for fair treatment, but in any case they already make more in the US than elsewhere, because employers know they have to go to the US tech hubs to have a high concentration of great tech workers, and unions wouldn't change this. (I know there are many great tech workers elsewhere, but not nearly as concentrated.) Most of the high-skilled tech hubs I'm aware of outside the US are in countries with stronger worker protections than the US, and often more unionization too. (This does vary, absolutely - worker rights are greater in Berlin or Paris than they are in Zurich or London.) Now, for low-paid low-skilled workers, the situation might be different, but those aren't determinative of where a tech company is based long-term, and the union would be best if it spans all skill levels. Unions aren't just a US thing, by the way. Hello from Quebec where unions are far more common than anywhere in the US. Even undergraduate university students are typically unionized here, complete with strikes and cross-university federations with elected leadership. Much of Europe is also far more unionized than the US, though certainly not the part of it you referenced by Eastern Europe (maybe aside from Finland).

raxxorrax 6y ago

I doubt it. Since it is a sellers market, devs might be drawn to places where they have benefits. I doubt that many US or European devs would want to work for wages common in India and I don't think these particular startups are too relevant.