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Should IT Unionize?
snydeq writes "Sixty-hour work weeks with no overtime or comp time, a BlackBerry hitched to your belt 24/7, mandates from managers who have no clue what you actually do — all for a job that could be outsourced tomorrow. 'Is it finally time for technology workers to form a union and demand better working conditions?' InfoWorld's Dan Tynan asks. To some, the odds against IT unions are long, in large part because the 'lone gunman' culture is pervasive. Diversity of skills and job objectives is another hurdle for rallying around common goals. But that has not dissuaded several union-minded groups from cropping up across the industry as of late, Tynan reports. In the end, the best bet for IT may be a professional organization modeled after the American Bar Association or the American Medical Association, one that could give IT professionals a single voice for speaking out on issues that affect everyone — such as H-1B visa limits or tax incentives to keep IT jobs onshore."
IT people tend to be of the political slant where "Unions = Bad". (Which they are.)
The only way this would work is if it was implemented like the way effing lawyers do it.
"No I will not fix your computer for free."
"It's $1000 a hour and the clock starts ticking now."
"No I will not give you free computer advice."
"Oh, and we need to get that retainer agreement signed before we proceed further."
Now if we could figure out a way to make the IT equivalent of ambulance chasers, we'd be on to something. "Did you or any member of your third-cousin twice removed family get the Britney Spears virus? Call the IT offices of James Suck-A-Glove. And we only speak english, dammit."
Trouble is that it's way too late for this. There are too many people willing to prostitute their geekdom for free.
I understand. You found paradise in America, you had a good ping times, you made a good connections. The firewalls protected you. And you didn't need a friend like me. But uh, now you come to me and you say - 'Give me bandwidth.' But you don't ask with respect. You don't offer friendship. You don't even think to call me System Administrator. Instead, you come into my house on the day my daughter is to be married, and you, uh, ask me to take down some servers for money.
Can he be our Jimmy Hoffa style chairman?
Depends... How long would we have to wait before we get to make him disappear?
You mean that I'd finally be able to afford a house there?
"I consider myself an IT professional, and I got my degree in Japanese Literature."
That explains the hentai pinups in the server room.
You know, you sound just like a battered wife. You're being robbed, and instead of rebelling you insist on defending the people who rob you. Ever hear of Stockholm Syndrome? You're a poster child for it.
By the way, I'm posting this from Montana. I just harvested a nice big crop of dental floss.
I write sci-fi for metalheads
From the reactions, I would say that most people here are against unions. I say, let us all take a stand together against unions.
Unite against Unification!
We'll form the Anti-union Union!
All those that don't wish to be part of a Union are now part of the Anti-union Union. Union dues are payable to me.
Great civilizations have lived and died on false theories. Don't mess up mine with a few facts.
I mostly agree with parent and GP, unions seem to be unfair to their members when pay/seniority is based on number of years of membership rather than skill or experience... and unionization does seem to drive productivity to a bare minimum. On at least 2 occasions I've turned down positions that require that I join a union (illegal, btw, to require this, though it is common... but there is hardly any law enforcement in labor short of injury). At the same time, however, I hate Walmart for their slimey practices... and I must acknowledge the mysterious devaluing of IT skills since ~2001 (Microsoft's marketing for Active Directory is partially to blame: "use AD, no need for FT IT!"). It sickens me to see jobs that in 2001 paid 65K that are now advertised as $12/hr part-time (and CS degree required, WTF!!). I've read where experts say IT salaries will continue to fall until 2011... Why should skilled IT pull the same pay a non-skilled day laborer makes? I thought unions were a necessity of robber-baron days, but maybe it is time to unionize to stablize our dwindling salaries....
For Parent: thanks for the insight, however, be careful... very few people have sympathy for the wealthy:
A surgeon hires a plumber, and when he sees the bill exclaims "OMG, you make more that I do!" -- to which the plumber responds "Why do you think I quit practicing Medicine?"
The Admin and the Engineer
The last time i checked my team was working 14 hours a day.
Pfft. That's like, what, 27 minutes with the Exchange rate? 22 if you compare to Europe...
I'll work and get paid on my merit. If I don't like the work environment, I'll find a new position. There are plenty of opportunities if you have the skills.
Exactly. Unions mean that you get equal pay for unequal work. It's called Communism. Joe Bob thumb-up-his-ass makes the same as his most skilled and hardest working co-worker.
On the other hand, I could spend way more time on Slashdot while my co-workers picked up the slack for me.
I am Jack's complete lack of surprise.
As someone who talks a good game, knows the right people, and is utterly incompetent, I take offense. We *know* we'll screw up 90% of the things we touch, so that's why we convince socially inept geniuses eager to find a friend to touch things for us. Then we take credit when we meet with the 'right people' for drinks after work.
Slashdot: Where people pretend to be twice as smart as they really are by behaving like children.
I agree 100%. Unions inflate wages for those who are unqualified and deflate wages for those are overqualified. For example, if you are a very good carpenter, you should be able to demand more money, but you are union so you get the same as everyone else.
Another thing about building codes, I am a HVAC consulting engineer. I work around Chicago, which is the biggest union city (or New York, its close). The Chicago Building Code is written to protect union workers. It inflates the cost of construction not for the benefit of safety, but for the unions. No PVC waste piping in Chicago, you know why? It would take plumbers half the time to install.
I'm not not licking toads.
Conversely, a mechanic and a surgeon are sitting in a bar. The mechanic says, "Hey doc, I do the same stuff you do. I take apart the valves and parts of this engine and when I'm done it works like new. Why is it you get paid so much more than I do when we're basically doing the same work?" The surgeon put down his drink, turned to the mechanic and said, "Try doing that with the engine running."
Random Thoughts From A Diseased Mind (Not For Dummies)
EFF for IT? Kind of a catchy name...
"Fuck it! I'm calling for someone from EFFIT!"