4 ms·

We need a tech union to help prevent this sort of thing. It would be nice if it could also help prevent bad practices in the industry (like building backdoors i

• AnthonyMouse 12y ago
  Traditional unions only work when they're negotiating with monopolistic industries, because the company then has to hire the majority of the available labor pool itself and has no substitute workers to replace them if the union makes significant demands. Any kind of operation that only needs a dozen developers is never going to need union workers. As soon as the union makes some nontrivial demand the employer can just let them walk out and hire other people. This is why modern unions are disappearing. Moreover, the issue in question is about politics. The idea that unions have any real political power is a joke; the only exception is public sector unions and that isn't because they're a union, it's because government employees are a large bloc of single-issue voters and public sector unions are their de facto lobby group. Which, because the public sector unions are providing votes in favor of spending other peoples' money, has led to corruption and pandering much more than it has to the union keeping the government honest. Exercising political power in the same way can be achieved with a lobby group that isn't a union but which lobbies Congress with the support of members willing to vote the way of the group consensus. Tech workers could certainly use that.
  • therealwill 12y ago
    Good thing the largest tech companies don't collude to lower wages... /s http://www.wsj.com/articles/judge-rejects-settlement-in-silicon-valley-wage-case-1407528633 http://www.wsj.com/articles/judge-rejects-settlement-in-sili...