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The unions I have heard about or seen in action (in Poland or from news) either (1) demanded flat payment increases for all workers based on seniority etc. Whi
by matkoniecz 1y ago
The unions I have heard about or seen in action (in Poland or from news) either
(1) demanded flat payment increases for all workers based on seniority etc. Which may make sense for factory workers but I am not enthusiastic about flat rates for programmers not taking into account actual experience/availability/output etc.
Factory workers in many cases do job that can be easily rated and measured and do some specific amount of it.
While measuring output of programmers is notoriously hard.
I expect that union agreement of this kind would in fact benefit only lazy freeloaders not doing any work but having seniority.
(2) are guilds that existed to keep jobs for members and to outlaw or ban hiring outsiders.
I strictly prefer for exclusionary guilds to not exist and one of my big worries is that one would be setup, in area affecting me. One way or another, not necessarily an obvious self-naming itself as a guild.
(3) are gangs existing to steal public money - for example, see coal miners in Poland. Main union achievements was to steal billions of public money to help lazy freeloaders doing work that was not worth doing or outright harmful.
I do not support theft, also in terms of parasiting on public resources. Even if I would get some of proceeds of theft.
(4) intended to achieve more free days, flexibility etc. On my freelancing agreements I sacrificed large part of earning to get about 100+ free days a year, very significant flexibility where and how and on what I work.
So this part is achieved for me - and I am not sure how many other tech workers would actually prefer more free time over being paid more.
I am not automatically against unions for tech workers but my first reaction and assumption is not that it will be positive or useful for me.
- constantcrying 1y agoThe union at my workplace is of the opinion that engineering jobs should be outsourced so that factory work can be kept onshore. Do you think I would join an organization like that? There is a clear conflict of interest between blue and white color workers and the more numerous blue color workers push the union to prioritize them.
- cruzcampo 1y agoThere should be a separate white collar workers union.
- constantcrying 1y ago[flagged]
- cruzcampo 1y agoWhy is it a zero-sum game to you? Why not advocate for all workers in the name of solidarity? There's no enemy but the class enemy.
- constantcrying 1y agoBecause there are conflicts of interest. Factory workers create the products which create profits. I am paid with these profits, if the profits go down engineers loose their jobs. If Factory workers longer and more efficiently my job becomes more secure. So obviously I want a union which advocates that factory workers work longer hours, it is clearly in my interest. The same goes for strikes, if factory workers strike they endanger my job and reduce the size of the engineering department, reducing my chances to get promoted.
- cruzcampo 1y ago[flagged]
- constantcrying 1y agoTheir unions want my job to get outsourced and my working conditions to be made worse (RTO) why should I have the tiniest shred of solidarity with them? >Get rid of them and there'll be plenty of money for both of you. The unions? Sure, if they were gone things would become better.
- cruzcampo 1y ago[flagged]
- 1y ago
- parpfish 1y agoif they're not fighting for you, they're no your union. it's a union.