4 ms·

I get the advantage of collective bargaining for workers, but I still can't help but think that unions also add a lot of inertia and generally just have a dampe

by umvi 6y ago

I get the advantage of collective bargaining for workers, but I still can't help but think that unions also add a lot of inertia and generally just have a dampening effect on agility, individual contribution, risk taking, etc. which is opposite of what you want for a software shop. Maybe I'm wrong, and perhaps abusive megacorps really do need unions in place as a check against corporate power (never worked for one). I guess time will tell.

SamoyedFurFluff 6y ago
I’ve experienced a dapening effect on all those things due to shitty management too, and I can’t vote my manager out!
mylons 6y ago
I work at a startup and have no ability to take risks, or be agile, or any of those neat things you said because of management.
hawkice 6y ago
To be fair, if you've been in business more than a century (and are facing weird pressures probably best weathered by staying true to your Paper Of Record history), you probably don't want to be agile and risk taking.
xhkkffbf 6y ago
One friend of mine was extolling unions after we discussed some pattern of microaggressions that ruined his latest job. He also hated HR which did nothing. A union, he claimed, would have saved him. Perhaps, I said, but private sector unions can't handle workplace friction as easily. Often the other side of the complaint is also in the union and the union is just like a shadow HR. It has to choose winners and losers. Of course collective bargaining is another thing. It can be useful, especially when the jobs are pretty standardized.
paxys 6y ago
Implying that more stability, less risk at a tech corp would be a bad thing. If a union mandated that its members must be allowed to fix bugs before being put on a new project everyone I know would join in a heartbeat.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
DC1350 6y ago
> a dampening effect on agility, individual contribution, risk taking, etc. which is opposite of what you want for a software shop. These are company problems and not employee problems. The employees have no incentive to care about this so unions are a way to get more power over the things that matter.

by umvi 6y ago

SamoyedFurFluff 6y ago

I’ve experienced a dapening effect on all those things due to shitty management too, and I can’t vote my manager out!

mylons 6y ago

I work at a startup and have no ability to take risks, or be agile, or any of those neat things you said because of management.

hawkice 6y ago

To be fair, if you've been in business more than a century (and are facing weird pressures probably best weathered by staying true to your Paper Of Record history), you probably don't want to be agile and risk taking.

xhkkffbf 6y ago

One friend of mine was extolling unions after we discussed some pattern of microaggressions that ruined his latest job. He also hated HR which did nothing. A union, he claimed, would have saved him. Perhaps, I said, but private sector unions can't handle workplace friction as easily. Often the other side of the complaint is also in the union and the union is just like a shadow HR. It has to choose winners and losers. Of course collective bargaining is another thing. It can be useful, especially when the jobs are pretty standardized.

paxys 6y ago

Implying that more stability, less risk at a tech corp would be a bad thing. If a union mandated that its members must be allowed to fix bugs before being put on a new project everyone I know would join in a heartbeat.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

DC1350 6y ago

> a dampening effect on agility, individual contribution, risk taking, etc. which is opposite of what you want for a software shop. These are company problems and not employee problems. The employees have no incentive to care about this so unions are a way to get more power over the things that matter.