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Does Silicon Valley Need More Labor Unions? (salon.com)
Salon recently talked to Jeffrey Buchanan, who two years ago co-founded a labor rights group "that highlights the plight of security officers, food-service workers, janitors and shuttle-bus drivers in the region." An anonymous reader quotes their report:
The situation among Silicon Valley's low-wage contract workers has become so perilous that in January, thousands of security guards working at immensely profitable companies like Facebook and Cisco followed the shuttle-bus drivers and voted to unionize in an effort to collectively bargain for higher wages and better benefits. The upcoming labor contract negotiations between the roughly 3,000 security guards (represented by SEIU United Service Workers West) and their employers is one of the biggest developments in Silicon Valley labor organizing to happen this year. Buchanan says there's also a broader push this year to get tech companies to be proactive in ensuring these workers can make ends meet, even if these companies have to pay more for the services they procure...
A paper published last year by University of California at Santa Cruz researchers Chris Brenner and Kyle Neering estimates between 19,000 and 39,000 contracted service workers are employed in the Valley at any given time... An additional 78,000 workers are at risk of becoming contract employees, according to the study, a number which includes administrative assistants, sales representatives and medium-wage computer programmers. This is part of a larger societal shift in which salaried workers are converted to contractors -- a transition that benefits business owners, in that they don't have to pay benefits and can hire and fire contractors at will.
Buchanan's group represents contractors typically earning "as little as $20,000 a year." But Salon's headline argues that "programmers may be next" in the drive to organize contractors.
A paper published last year by University of California at Santa Cruz researchers Chris Brenner and Kyle Neering estimates between 19,000 and 39,000 contracted service workers are employed in the Valley at any given time... An additional 78,000 workers are at risk of becoming contract employees, according to the study, a number which includes administrative assistants, sales representatives and medium-wage computer programmers. This is part of a larger societal shift in which salaried workers are converted to contractors -- a transition that benefits business owners, in that they don't have to pay benefits and can hire and fire contractors at will.
Buchanan's group represents contractors typically earning "as little as $20,000 a year." But Salon's headline argues that "programmers may be next" in the drive to organize contractors.
Is more housing projects so that prices sink to a bearable level.
In the employers favor there are endless new people fresh willing to get sucked in to replace those that figure out that a lot of silicon valley these days is a venture capitalist money laundering scheme. The recent book Chaos Monkeys draws the argument out in stark detail. Convince IT and Dev folks that they are wolves and only that sheep need collectivism. Keep up the illusion and that way you can keep fleecing them.
Anyone who is not senior management needs to be in a union. Don't expect your bosses to be concerned about what is in your best interest - the sole function of a private business in a capitalist society is to return the maximum amount of money to the company's investors (stockholders). You, as a mere worker drone, are just fodder
What does keeping bad employees to do with unions? Union are there to ensure companies cannot fight competition by lowering wages, but have to be innovative.
We have strong unions in Germany and the productivity of our car companies is way better than those in the US. Also we have 30 days paid vacation, healthcare and a general retirement system. All things unions fought for in the past.
Imagine if actors couldn't live in Beverly Hills, that's what's happened. Greedy landlords think x% of someone's salary belongs to them as rent. If programmers can't live in Silicon Valley, what's the point of Silicon Valley?
Just have a look at European countries (not the UK, real Europe). Labour rights protect people from abusive management. They even help to improve company performance.
You've swallowed the purple flavor-aid. Union members don't like slackers any more than anyone else. Nobody wants to have to work harder to make up for lazy turds riding on their coat-tails. Union members are no exception.
"Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
As someone who was a union member about a decade ago, you sure couldn't tell it by my union's actions.
Benford's Corollary to Clarke's Law: "Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced."
I earn $55k doing IT in Silicon Valley with bonuses. I am doing pretty well.
Maybe it's time to consider that proto-companies that generate no profitability shouldn't have to be established in some of the most expensive cities in the world.
Maybe it's time to consider that mid-sized companies that are in pretty strong competition in order to remain profitable don't need to be located in some of the most expensive cities in the world.
Maybe it's time to consider that large companies that are continually looking for ways to reduce costs don't need to retain the vast majority of their operations in some of the most expensive cities in the world.
There seems to be a point where a city has gotten so expensive that it is not possible for workers in the service jobs needed to afford to live there, or to even live within reasonable commuter distances. In theory this should lead to a natural cap on the cost of living or a natural floor to wages simply because cities need workers in these jobs, but as has been pointed out in this thread that doesn't mean that landlords won't look for ways to increase their profits, or that the numbers of people that need these unskilled jobs can readily find work closer to where they can easily afford to live.
If the service workers decide to unionize, fine. Good for them.
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
Coming from a decidedly not communist country where labor unions are de rigueur, no it isn't.
What is more capitalist than negotiating a fair and equitable price for a service? Individuals negotiating with companies are almost always at a massive disadvantage: they generally need the job more than the company needs them; they don't usually have information on what other people at the company or in the industry make; they aren't aware of the future plans that their management might have; they have no real say in corporate direction. All of these are ameliorated by collective bargaining.
We have our share of bad employees here too, and a lot of them are in unions. The union makes sure the company follows the law and its own disciplinary procedures - that's it. If the company is doing something harmful in the long term for short term gain (like off-shoring IT to a developing nation) the union will make a fuss and maybe call a strike. The union has no interest in destroying the company; if anything they have more at stake in the long-term health of the firm than the managers, who may come and go within a few years.
It seems to be that Americans in skilled jobs almost all believe that they are irreplaceable superstars and will receive above average treatment from their employers. It doesn't phase you that your colleagues are getting screwed, but when it happens to you it's a ridiculous injustice that will surely doom the company.
1) Low pay/benefits.
In some situations, Silicon Valley will offer low pay and no benefits, but only to new hires. This is particularly common in start ups. Competent, Experienced people get god pay and can demand their own benefits. But new people have the right to reasonable pay.
2) Dangerous working conditions.
Silicon Valley does not do this.
3) Ridiculous hours/work.
Silicon Valley is known to do this consistently.
That is two out of three for new/bad workers. Yes, Silicon Valley needs Labor Unions.
excitingthingstodo.blogspot.com
I work in the US for a German company that is partially unionized in the EU. The US unions are nothing like the German ones.
People sleep on the job,.
I guarantee you that there isn't a single Union labor contract in history that doesn't explicitly list "sleeping on the job" as a valid reason for termination.
sabotage production,
Forget Union contracts, you are decidedly in criminal law territory on this one
and generally don't care about their job or the company.
Trust and respect is not a given, it must be earned both by people and Corporations
They have no repercussions because the union protects them.
The contract signed between the Corporation and the Union requires that sufficient proof be provided for alleged infraction. If it comes to a managers word against a worker then figuring out who is telling the truth is impossible without resorting to a gut-feeling based judgment call
As a person who works in IT and teaches, I am in a union (former president) in one world, but not in the other. The wisdom that I can share with you is this:
The first and foremost benefit to being in a union is collective bargaining. This not only determines wages and benefits, but also creates an equitable system for minorities. If you are wondering why there is a lack of women and black people in IT it is because they are systematically undervalued and discriminated against.
The second benefit of being in a union is due process. Contrary to popular belief, this does not protect bad workers. It does, however, guarantee a fair process when applying discipline up to termination.
The third benefit of being in a union is insurance and legal access. In the education world, when a principal threatened the employment of my wife for not volunteering to stay after school hours because she was lactating and needed to feed our child, the lawyer stepped in. Strangely enough, the school had been violating State mandated workplace time rules that the lawyer had actually written. His fees were paid for through insurance paid for with member dues.
Now, to dispel any FUD about unions:
Unions are prohibited, by law, from spending any dues money for political purposes. They do, however, solicit contributions for political purposes.
Unions do not prevent employers, such as GM from closing manufacturing facilities and moving production to other countries.
Unions are a victim of their own success. When asking yourself what have unions ever done for the general public, consider laws passed regarding:
maternity leave
overtime pay
40 hour work week
minimum wages
workers compensation
employer based healthcare / healthcare for all (ACA in U.S., Universal in other countries)
sick days
outlawing discrimination
child labor
workking conditions
OSHA
whistleblowers
People take these things for granted now, but businesses are either trying to weaken these laws or move labor to parts of the world that do not have these laws. Unions are therefore not a thing of the past, but something that are always needed to secure the future.
The bottom line is that H1B visas would not be an issue if IT workers had strong unions. IT workers would not always be on call or working 60 hour weeks if they had strong unions. IT workers would not suffer age discrimination if they had strong unions.
Last year, I filed 5 W-2 forms and a Schedule S (IT Consulting) on my taxes. I have the opportunity to work with lots of employers, including some that outsource work to India. I have perspective, and agree that IT workers are sheep who are convinced they are wolves.
The reality is that IT workers have no protection, and are blind to the fact that they need it until it is too late. With experience comes wisdom. Unfortunately, your colleagues are replaced before they acquire it. Don't be stupid. Unionize your workplace before you are replaced too.