4 ms·

> The power of a Union is entirely in it's ability to negotiate with the company. I often hear this misunderstanding in the US. Of course it's a within the pow

> The power of a Union is entirely in it's ability to negotiate with the company. I often hear this misunderstanding in the US. Of course it's a within the power of a union to hire lawyers who can help defend its members against the cooperation within the rules of the law. In fact, to highly paid employees like tech workers, this kind of legal support is much more valuable than wage negotiation. Having somebody you can reach out to, who know the company well, and don't charge you a lot of money, is super valuable and why I wish more tech companies had unions.

smsm42 4y ago
That'd be essentially a group legal insurance plan - something many employers offer anyway - and you don't really need a union to join one (or offer one, if you wanted to).
- throwaway2048 4y ago
  I very much doubt companies are going to pay for your lawyers to sue them with.
  - smsm42 4y ago
    Legal plan is usually provided by the third party and paid by the employee. The company essentially just rents out the placement in their HR system - but the same plan may be also available independently, there's nothing forcing it to go through the HR specifically.
- whimsicalism 4y ago
  completely different purposes.
zaphar 4y ago
Sure, any organized group can hire a lawyer to defend it's members. We are basically saying the same thing. But that is not where the power of a Union comes from. If it were then any class action against a company by it's employees would be a "union". Unions have power because they can negotiate as a group. Those negotiations allow them to do things like get an employment contract for all their members in a company which then affords those members legal rights they would not have under regular employment. If your union doesn't have that legal contract and does not have a practical way to negotiate one then your union only has the power of a larger voice than a single individual and no more legal rights than a single individual at the company does.

smsm42 4y ago

That'd be essentially a group legal insurance plan - something many employers offer anyway - and you don't really need a union to join one (or offer one, if you wanted to).

throwaway2048 4y ago
I very much doubt companies are going to pay for your lawyers to sue them with.
- smsm42 4y ago
  Legal plan is usually provided by the third party and paid by the employee. The company essentially just rents out the placement in their HR system - but the same plan may be also available independently, there's nothing forcing it to go through the HR specifically.
whimsicalism 4y ago
completely different purposes.

zaphar 4y ago

Sure, any organized group can hire a lawyer to defend it's members. We are basically saying the same thing. But that is not where the power of a Union comes from. If it were then any class action against a company by it's employees would be a "union". Unions have power because they can negotiate as a group. Those negotiations allow them to do things like get an employment contract for all their members in a company which then affords those members legal rights they would not have under regular employment. If your union doesn't have that legal contract and does not have a practical way to negotiate one then your union only has the power of a larger voice than a single individual and no more legal rights than a single individual at the company does.