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IT Unions?
aristotle2000 writes: "CNN.com has an article about IT unionization. I have generally been against the idea but the article raises some interesting issues, like training and development standards." Netslaves had a piece about the history of unionization a few days ago, good reading.
Additionally, most programmers I know care very deeply about how their skills are perceived (myself included). Most of us like to think we are the top 25% of programmers (myself included)--although it isn't possible for 75% of programmers to be the top 25% :-) That being said, why would programmers want to unionize, to protect, in many posters' words, the lazy and the inept?
No, it won't happen. There will not be an effective programmers union.
BUT, I strongly believe there will be a network support/IT tech union. Those poor schlobs have it rough. Being on call and never getting paid (or whether they get paid or not is a point of debate with the employer), working long hours over outtages, not being able to take vacations. Those people will probably unionize. Especially with MCSE certification programs churning out so many, their jobs are probably in jeopardy. Whenever they start to get paid decent money for decent training, they could get fired for some fresh MCSE who is willing to be paid anything.
"Doubt your doubts and believe your beliefs." -- Switchfoot, Ode to Chin
I'm no fan of traditional Unions. I'm constantly trying to take control of my own career, not have some Union decide for me when I can get my next promotion/raise/whatever. They also tend to protect deadwood in a company, which makes it harder for the rest of us. Plus, I'm at times privy to corporate info that would produce a definate conflict of interest. I really don't think a Union, in the traditional sense anyway, would serve my interests in any way.
That being said, there are times when I've wanted to speak with many voices (which is one of the reasons for my Slashdot account), and have no real recourse. I think that a real, legally sanctioned _professional_ organization would go a long way to help some of my problems (like being here since 3:00am this morning). Something like what the denstists or doctors have - not really a Union that has barganing units and such, but an org that can sanction shops that don't treat their IT workers properly.
This is meant for businesses, not for thier employees. I want something independant of any one special interest. (Oh well, might happen before I retire in 20 years. Right.)
"Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm." - Anonymous
"I'm so skilled/important/eL337 that the company will treat me with respect/pay me what I'm worth/never fire me."
"All unions are filled with thugs and crooks who just want to take your union dues and are effectively useless."
etc. . .
(sigh)
To begin with, being skilled does not guarantee you proper treatment by the company.There are a number of circumstances where your skills will not save you, for example:
- You get a new boss who is:
- the industry you are in suffers a panic in the stock market. To keep the stock price from tanking, Upper Management hands down the diktat, "Lay off 10%! So let it be written, so let it be done!"
- Oh heck, I could go on and on . . .
. . . but the point is there are lots of circumstances where if you are being mistreated by management, you will be unable to defend yourself despite your Mighty Coding Prowess. The company is bigger than you. It has more money than you. It does *not*, I repeat *Not!* give a Flying Fiddler's F**** about you.- Stupifyingly dumb (It happens.)
- a sadist
- a technological illiterate (and therefore doesn't understand how Very Important you are.
and is therefore quite willing to let you go/treat you miserably/etc.In which case, it would be nice for you to have a nice big organisation backing you up.
As to the point about the honesty of unions, they vary. I speak from my own experience. When I was fired by one employer (because of my political activities), the union I belonged to at that time said, effectively, "Tough luck!" The next union I belonged to had the motto, "Nobody Goes For Free!" (Which meant that if you were fired, and wanted the union to take your side, they would automatically go as far as second step grievance. After that, the union would have to spend money on lawyers, so there was an evaluation on how likely we were to win before we went to the next level of the grievance procedure.) Some unions are good and some stink -- sorta like corporations that you work for.
That's the key word, "unskilled". The movie Matewan has been discussed many times on Slashdot. Anyone who is completely opposed to unions should watch the film. Basically, it shows that without unions, companies will do anything and everything to make an extra buck. You don't like a pay cut? Fine, you're fired and someone else more desperate will be in your spot tomorrow. The tactic only works if management can replace you quickly and easily. That disqualifies most of the jobs Slashdotters have. But I think that as IT becomes larger and larger, more jobs will fall into the "replacable" category and unions may become needed.
I don't have links, but I know Amazon is at the front of the IT unionization battle. There is a guy named Mike Daisey who is behind most of the organizing. I'll leave the Google searching to the reader.
-B
The signing of the treaty ending the vi/Emacs wars
Gates and Ellison bury the hatchet and go camping together
RMS decides to switch to Solaris
DrLunch.com The site that tells you what's for lunch!
Why do you blame teachers when they strike? Why don't you blame the school boards who will not pay them what they deserve? Why don't you blame the citizens in that district that vote down pro-school referendums, and then complain why schools suck....and then have the nerve to blame teachers for the lack of "morals" in our teens (maybe parents should take time off of work to parent!!).
As for IT professionals.....I am a union IT pro. Two hours of pay a month goes to my union dues. In return I get a benefits package worth an additional 35% of my pay and includes full paid medical, dental and life insurance for the whole family and a generous retirment contribution that is vested immediately. Also, any overtime I work results in 1:1 comp time. All of this and our union has never had to strike! YES, unions work without strikes! Unfortunately, the only time you hear about unions in today's media is during strikes...you never hear about all of the good things they do for the employee (day care, same-sex partner rights, etc).
Finally, just becuase you are a union member does not guarantee job security....a common union myth. I can be fired just like everyone else in the world, however, there must be a reason for it. If my employer wanted to can me because I am doing a poor job, first they would have to notify me that I am doing poorly and give me a chance to improve (usually a month), and if I don't me their satisfaction I am a goner.
Being a union member does not make me a lazy, do-nothing employee. It makes me a happy, appreciative, hard-working employee....one that works to live, not lives to work.
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I'm a union member, and no, I'm not lazy and don't sit around doing nothing all day. I do replace lots of Mickeysoft stuff with linux and BSD, however :) . I am a public sector employee, so I don't make as much money as in the private sector; however, I get better benefits.
But here are the important things, things that get even more important as you young geeks grow into middle-aged geeks and have families. 1) As I mentioned-- medical, dental, pension. 2) Overtime for working beyond 40 hours. 3) My pager stays on my desk when I go home at night; i.e., I can have a Real Life(tm) with my family (and my compilers). 4) I'm not an at-will employee-- I can't be fired just because the boss can hire someone for less money. 5) I can't be fired for my continual, unabashedly militant leftist political and union organizing activities. 6) I don't have to kiss suits' asses.
All you anti-union dittoheads need to pull your heads away from your monitors for awhile (yeah, I know 2.4 is out, but...) and read some labor history. If it wasn't for unions we'd all be working 80-hour weeks and be at the bosses' beck and call 24-hours a day-- oh, wait, this is IT, that's the way it is....
Get the connection? And you know what the really sad thing is? You know why you've got your 80-hr/wk, no overtime job? Are you ready? It's because the boss is too fscking stoopid to do your job!!!
That is a very arrogant and uninformed attitude. So you think machinists, electricians, teachers, police officers, firefighters, craftspeople, and nurses are unskilled? Come on, many working people are much more skilled than the average office worker. If fact, most unskilled laborers aren't in unions anyway, they're the guys you see in the morning hanging around 7-11 waiting for someone to pick them up for a day's work.
Unions exist to protect workers from exploitation from their employers and to promote a more equitible split of the fruits of their labor, pure and simple. And if you think unions are bad because they let working people earn a reasonable living, well, think of the alternative where our middle class evaporates and we have a somewhat sizeable well-to-do group and a HUGE poor population. Doesn't bode too well for the future, does it?
Even if you aren't in a union you benefit from their existance because they tend to normalize the employment market and keep corporations from acting too avariciously. Do you enjoy only working 5 days a week? How about getting medical insurance and retirement support? Do you like paid vacation? Thank the union movement.
When I first started working with my current employer I looked at the union as a necessary evil. I was going to work for a very well respected company in my city and should get some good experience out of it so I figured I would stick with it for at least a while. Then the realization hit me. No matter how hard I worked I was not going to get much based on merit. Every year every employee gets the same percentage raise and the same perks. It made me start thinking why should I work hard? It doesn't pay off. /. readers seem to be the single male variety so they would probably prefer the Big Bucks, more hours, more pay option over a union. To each his own I guess, but I love being home by 5:00 every day.
Like the article states, it's not all about money with a union. In IT we hear so much about switching jobs and making the Big Bucks. Yes, with a union you don't get the Big Bucks. But, I work 40 hours a week, I am guaranteed training, I have great benefits, I get paid overtime, and most importantly, I see my family much more than at previous jobs.
I could go on about the pros and cons here but what it comes down to is preference. With a union you tend to have more job security and more guaranteed perks and benefits. You may get paid more at a non-union shop but you don't have much solidarity if management mandates forced overtime (which would probably be unpaid if you are salaried) or other similar negative policies.
From what I have read in the past it appears many