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Maybe 1.5 or 2 out of 3, but > unionizing workers does not sound like SV today. You're also missing the main reason, superior products from Japan and Germany.

Maybe 1.5 or 2 out of 3, but > unionizing workers does not sound like SV today. You're also missing the main reason, superior products from Japan and Germany. We don't really see that as of now. China and EU have a handful of competitive companies.

option 6y ago
please, what kind of competitive advantage EU has in tech? Sure, China has some advantages but it also has huge disadvantages as well.
- jdminhbg 6y ago
  I think you misread the parent. They're saying the EU and China only have a handful of companies competitive with the SV giants.
deleted 6y ago
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inglor_cz 6y ago
Today no, but the gig economy is probably not sustainable without some pushback. So, not core tech workers, but the worker bees at Amazon ... ?
normaljoe 6y ago
It's not that SV is union workers but that union workers have a higher labor cost. Kind of goes to why GM started Saturn in TN and why Saturn cars where cheap in the late 80s, no unions thus cheaper labor. SV labor is expensive compared to other markets (see below). I have worked in SV and elsewhere and mostly elsewhere is 1/2 the pay as SV and without the things like free lunch / coffee bar / shuttle service. SV doesn't need unions because the turnover rate is so high that the companies are basically providing what unions would negotiate just to compete (free lunch / coffee bar / shuttle service). It's still a buyers market from the employee standpoint. I do think SV is not quite at the inflection point just yet, but it is moving in that direction. The irony in this is actually that the cost of labor is high because the cost of living is high. The cost of living is high because of the NIMBY folks preventing multiunit housing. If the ballon collapses those NIMBY folks would see their precious house values decline. Finally as to superior products most Japanese and German cars sold in the US are still built in the US, just not Detroit because of.... Wait for it.... Union Workers.
krschultz 6y ago
Every major tech company is grappling with the balance between their leadership and employee base right now. It may not look exactly like the UAW in Detroit, but that tension definitely echos into our time. It's quite a bit different than 5-10 years ago.

option 6y ago

please, what kind of competitive advantage EU has in tech? Sure, China has some advantages but it also has huge disadvantages as well.

jdminhbg 6y ago
I think you misread the parent. They're saying the EU and China only have a handful of companies competitive with the SV giants.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

inglor_cz 6y ago

Today no, but the gig economy is probably not sustainable without some pushback. So, not core tech workers, but the worker bees at Amazon ... ?

normaljoe 6y ago

It's not that SV is union workers but that union workers have a higher labor cost. Kind of goes to why GM started Saturn in TN and why Saturn cars where cheap in the late 80s, no unions thus cheaper labor. SV labor is expensive compared to other markets (see below). I have worked in SV and elsewhere and mostly elsewhere is 1/2 the pay as SV and without the things like free lunch / coffee bar / shuttle service. SV doesn't need unions because the turnover rate is so high that the companies are basically providing what unions would negotiate just to compete (free lunch / coffee bar / shuttle service). It's still a buyers market from the employee standpoint. I do think SV is not quite at the inflection point just yet, but it is moving in that direction. The irony in this is actually that the cost of labor is high because the cost of living is high. The cost of living is high because of the NIMBY folks preventing multiunit housing. If the ballon collapses those NIMBY folks would see their precious house values decline. Finally as to superior products most Japanese and German cars sold in the US are still built in the US, just not Detroit because of.... Wait for it.... Union Workers.

krschultz 6y ago

Every major tech company is grappling with the balance between their leadership and employee base right now. It may not look exactly like the UAW in Detroit, but that tension definitely echos into our time. It's quite a bit different than 5-10 years ago.