I have a hard time with this pitch because I've watched people burn out working alongside me, on the same team, for the same boss, on the same problems, for entirely personal reasons. I've also been in shitty situations with shitty bosses that caused me a lot of stress, and it's hard to point to any clear lines that were crossed. I haven't heard any proposed union rule that would protect me in those situations, just promises that if a union existed, things would be better. It needs to be more specific.
We see what unions do for working class people, but our level of compensation, education, and cultural capital gives us everything that a traditional union gives to blue collar workers. Literacy, internet access, and money go a long way. We don't need a union to tell us what our legal rights are or help pay for a lawyer for us. We don't need a union to tell us what workplace conditions are legal or illegal. We don't need a union to tell us when and how it's safe or unsafe, effective or ineffective to report corporate malfeasance. Again, we have literacy, internet access, and money for legal representation.
Maybe a union could benefit me somehow, but I'm going to need much more concrete examples than just hey, your job is unpleasant sometimes, join a union!
The primary power of a union is the capacity to collectively bargain. It doesn't matter if you personally can't think of anything that you'd like to use that power for. If unionization is right for tech, others will. In the abstract debate it will always be abstract answers. Maybe those organizing a concrete workplace would be able to give you concrete answers.
> Maybe those organizing a concrete workplace would be able to give you concrete answers
Maybe that's why I've never seen anyone trying to unionize a workplace I've been in.
The abstract idea of a union has been enough to spark a lot of unionization efforts because workers knew exactly what they wanted to ask for. Safety equipment, overtime pay, health benefits, etc. Things they were already asking for but didn't have the power to demand.
So... we'll see, maybe someday someone will figure out what a union could do for me.
If factory workers could delete the processes and equipment they work on with the press of a button, they would be bought off too
Paying tech workers high wages reflects the need for them to side with capital when it comes to protecting assets
I had an Ask HN last weekend that did not get any responses but I would still love to learn what governance prevents workers from deleting key software products and their backups because I can't believe boards of directors are not responsible to guarantee product continuity to shareholders
What prevents them is sane compartmentalization. Even in accounting it's understood that you cannot defend again things like embezzlement if multiple employees cross different functions conspire, but you can defend against individuals by compartmentalizing their functions making every step further from their function more difficult to execute.
Same with tech. In a mature agency, if random dev has the ability to delete the repo and the back ups, you're doing it wrong. That said, your entire department is a threat you can't avoid. That is what a union brings to the table.
That makes sense. Treasury and Cash Management have been business functions forever.
The novelty of software engineering from an employee risk standpoint from my perspective was its control over product but in an insurance company, funds are the product too.
Strong worker protections can help in all kinds of situations. Case in point, I have a friend in Switzerland. He burned out and had a panic attack at work. The reasons were plausibly personal, but work stress always takes its toll as well. Switzerland has very strong worker protections and with a doctor’s approval he was able to take 6 paid months off while he recovered from the burnout. That was years ago and he has been back to work productively ever since.
We recognize physical impairment such as a broken leg but seem to have very little sympathy for the mental and emotional wellbeing of others.
We see what unions do for working class people, but our level of compensation, education, and cultural capital gives us everything that a traditional union gives to blue collar workers. Literacy, internet access, and money go a long way. We don't need a union to tell us what our legal rights are or help pay for a lawyer for us. We don't need a union to tell us what workplace conditions are legal or illegal. We don't need a union to tell us when and how it's safe or unsafe, effective or ineffective to report corporate malfeasance. Again, we have literacy, internet access, and money for legal representation.
Maybe a union could benefit me somehow, but I'm going to need much more concrete examples than just hey, your job is unpleasant sometimes, join a union!