4 ms·

Many reasons: - The typical 'pains' felt in the lopsided power relation between employer and employee were and often still are cushioned by the adequate compen

Many reasons: - The typical 'pains' felt in the lopsided power relation between employer and employee were and often still are cushioned by the adequate compensation in a market where the sought after skills were in short supply - Tech attracts an atypical more autism spectrum biased employee pool. This correlates with meritocratic believes. - Tech culture is one that has always idolized 'passion', so objecting to bad working conditions and habits was not just seen as rocking the boat, but a character flaw of those that lacked passion. - Tech workers very often see their employee status as temporary, just putting some bread on the table while they will create their own SaaS business 'real soon now' and be on the other side of the relation - Tech has a habit of inducing very young workers, and churning through them. This is no just HR strategy but group enforced by incorporating youth (and single/ non-family) oriented spaces symbolically in the workplace (Foosball tables, slides ...) Note that on the Employer side of the spectrum tech companies have no qualms about joining their collective bargaining and lobbying associations

pjc50 6y ago
> Tech attracts an atypical more autism spectrum biased employee pool. This correlates with meritocratic believes. This made me wince; while it's not straight up wrong it's a collection of generalisations about humans jammed together that deserves a slightly more delicate unpacking. Like opening an Amazon box and finding your electronics just fall out with no foam peanuts or other protection.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- PeterStuer 6y ago
  You are right that that is a delicate issue and could deserve a long treatise on its own. I tried to qualify it sufficiently, but it is easy to caricature as the first reply to my post already seems to do in a callous way. It was most certainly not meant in any way to be derogatory, as I myself don't think of any of this in a negative way at all.
brushfoot 6y ago
That's quite a strawman. You're saying that those who disagree with tech unions are: - Autistic - Uneducated and naive ("real soon now," presumably said with a folksy twang) - "Very young" - Too cowardly or ethically naive to object to bad working conditions Here's a more charitable possibility: Opponents may just not see the need at this point. Or they may dislike union culture. Unionizing isn't all positive. There are costs that go beyond union dues. You're establishing what in many ways is a more exclusive culture. And you may end up stifling innovation. That shouldn't be a tool to be used indiscriminately.
- bsenftner 6y ago
  I was "that guy" at EA during the "EA Spouse" era that tried unsuccessfully to get any union effort started at all. The strawman list above only needs one proponent per developer group and no one in that group joins the effort. I'd say the "ethically naive" trait is the strongest.
  - PeterStuer 6y ago
    The gaming industry is most certainly rife with exploiting passion.
- qsort 6y ago
  > That's quite a strawman. It's quite a popular strawman, unfortunately. Tech workers are almost universally despised in leftist circles. (disclaimer: I work in tech, hold left-leaning views and I actually believe some form of unionization in tech would be beneficial)
  - PeterStuer 6y ago
    I work in tech and most certainly do not despise tech workers. I don't see what political leaning would have to do with this issue. I am in favor of some form of collective bargaining, but at the same time aware of some of the potential abuses that sometimes come with that as well.
- PeterStuer 6y ago
benmller313 6y ago
Maybe I'm just super autistic (Or as you say, atypical and more autism spectrum biased), but what are arguments against a meritocracy in the workplace?
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]

pjc50 6y ago

> Tech attracts an atypical more autism spectrum biased employee pool. This correlates with meritocratic believes. This made me wince; while it's not straight up wrong it's a collection of generalisations about humans jammed together that deserves a slightly more delicate unpacking. Like opening an Amazon box and finding your electronics just fall out with no foam peanuts or other protection.

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
PeterStuer 6y ago
You are right that that is a delicate issue and could deserve a long treatise on its own. I tried to qualify it sufficiently, but it is easy to caricature as the first reply to my post already seems to do in a callous way. It was most certainly not meant in any way to be derogatory, as I myself don't think of any of this in a negative way at all.

brushfoot 6y ago

That's quite a strawman. You're saying that those who disagree with tech unions are: - Autistic - Uneducated and naive ("real soon now," presumably said with a folksy twang) - "Very young" - Too cowardly or ethically naive to object to bad working conditions Here's a more charitable possibility: Opponents may just not see the need at this point. Or they may dislike union culture. Unionizing isn't all positive. There are costs that go beyond union dues. You're establishing what in many ways is a more exclusive culture. And you may end up stifling innovation. That shouldn't be a tool to be used indiscriminately.

bsenftner 6y ago
I was "that guy" at EA during the "EA Spouse" era that tried unsuccessfully to get any union effort started at all. The strawman list above only needs one proponent per developer group and no one in that group joins the effort. I'd say the "ethically naive" trait is the strongest.
- PeterStuer 6y ago
  The gaming industry is most certainly rife with exploiting passion.
qsort 6y ago
> That's quite a strawman. It's quite a popular strawman, unfortunately. Tech workers are almost universally despised in leftist circles. (disclaimer: I work in tech, hold left-leaning views and I actually believe some form of unionization in tech would be beneficial)
- PeterStuer 6y ago
  I work in tech and most certainly do not despise tech workers. I don't see what political leaning would have to do with this issue. I am in favor of some form of collective bargaining, but at the same time aware of some of the potential abuses that sometimes come with that as well.
PeterStuer 6y ago

benmller313 6y ago

Maybe I'm just super autistic (Or as you say, atypical and more autism spectrum biased), but what are arguments against a meritocracy in the workplace?

deleted 6y ago
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