Slashdot Mirror
Are Silicon Valley Workers Abandoning Libertarianism For Socialism? (salon.com)
Salon writes that Silicon Valley tech workers are "defying their overlords," arguing that recent unionization attempts by Kickstarter employees may be only the beginning:
The workers' Kickstarter campaign is not the first attempt, though, or even the first time rumblings of unionization, have circulated among programmers. In 2018, software engineers at the startup Lanetix announced their intent to unionize -- and were promptly fired by management (It is illegal to fire employees for trying to unionize). The National Labor Relations Board intervened, and ultimately forced Lanetix to pay the 15 fired engineers a total of $775,000. The show of worker power at Lanetix may have paved the way for Kickstarter's workers. Similarly, workers across the video game industry -- generally among the most overworked, underpaid workers within the tech industry -- have been making steps towards unionization. Game Workers Unite, profiled by Salon last year, is building a grassroots movement to organize the ranks of video game makers.
Together, this suggests that a small but visible movement for white-collar software engineers unionizing has been gaining steam in the Valley over the past few years -- suggesting that the people who make up the tech industry, once a bastion of libertarianism, are starting to understand the often subtle ways that their employers exploit them... For decades, libertarianism was part and parcel to the tech industry. Despite a grueling work culture and a high-profile collusion scandal among major tech corporations to suppress software engineers' wages, tech workers were more likely to see themselves as future founders than an exploited underclass -- a point of view encouraged by employers through high wages and generous, often absurd office perks. Recent developments suggest such endearing tactics are no longer working.
Together, this suggests that a small but visible movement for white-collar software engineers unionizing has been gaining steam in the Valley over the past few years -- suggesting that the people who make up the tech industry, once a bastion of libertarianism, are starting to understand the often subtle ways that their employers exploit them... For decades, libertarianism was part and parcel to the tech industry. Despite a grueling work culture and a high-profile collusion scandal among major tech corporations to suppress software engineers' wages, tech workers were more likely to see themselves as future founders than an exploited underclass -- a point of view encouraged by employers through high wages and generous, often absurd office perks. Recent developments suggest such endearing tactics are no longer working.
...introduced govt. support for unionisation as a way to save capitalism from itself. Without some form of constraint from the govt. or the workers or both, corporations were set to start a Bolshevik revolution. In other words, unions are what keep the Bolsheviks at bay.
It seems that every new generation of capitalists have to learn this the hard way: In the longer term, unions are the least bad option they have.
Debate is a form of harassment. Do not question my truth.
Rarely have I seen such a short post make three points and get all three so very, very wrong.
Yes, that is socialism. But when young people say they want "socialism" that is not what they mean. They mean they want to be like Denmark: Capitalism with universal healthcare.
Well, perhaps if the GOP stopped demonizing a social safety net, perhaps the term wouldn't be so muddled.
That sounds great until the company has a bad quarter and your paycheck is $0. Ownership has a negative side as well.
The suits get a base pay plus options and bonuses, why not the workers? Ownership is not a novel idea, even in the US:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_employee-owned_companies
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worker_cooperative
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_worker_cooperatives
* https://hbr.org/2018/08/why-the-u-s-needs-more-worker-owned-companies
Or at least having workers represented on boards:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codetermination_in_Germany
Immigrants, yes. Now do illegal aliens.
Most of the people in question aren't illegals, regardless of what Trump calls them. They're following the legally-defined process for seeking asylum.
Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
Workers would be like temporary shareholders, gaining voting rights while joining a company That sounds great until the company has a bad quarter and your paycheck is $0. Ownership has a negative side as well.
If in doubt, make shit up based on how you want the world to be. Worker cooperatives are actually a thing and don't simply stop paying workers the instant profits are down. They are still companies so they still pay salaries.
SJW n. One who posts facts.
You are the oppressor, not the victim. Your backwards reference to Nazi behavior proves it.
Why is Snark Required?
How fucking detached from reality are you?
You're competing for work with people earning $8k/year. Even in the US over half of households have less than $60k/year income. That's households, not individual salaries.
$100-200k/year is a great salary. If you can't afford to live on that the issue is not the fucking salary.
"people at the bottom of the economy are better off then those in the same situation in the US"
Aside from likely-covered healthcare, that's not actually true. The "poor" in the US are far more likely to have air conditioning, own their home, 1 or 2 cars, a computer, internet connection, and a number of other life pleasantries as well as a larger average living space than the European "middle class".
And remember, this is with a heavier tax burden and a country which has likely under-spent four decades on defense so when it matters....good luck with that.
-Styopa
Really? You're using the spectacularly dysfunctional American healthcare system as an example of capitalism _working well_? Really?!
National Debt Under Trump Rises to $21.7 trillion. And the right's only answer is more tax cuts. Say again who believes money grows on trees?
I'm a Yank; but, I spent a lot of time in Europe a couple of years ago -- spending the better part of a year in various Eastern and Western nations. In my opinion, Required Snark is correct.
Getting to know the locals, I noticed how much less cluttered their lives often seemed to be. This was true in both the East and the West. There were lovely apartments and lots of fancy cars, along with middle-grade housing and plebeian autos, flat panel televisions, computers, and smart phones. But, it was very apparent that my American lifestyle, by comparison, was just crammed with crap.
One thing that was consistent: the Europeans I met were just plain puzzled by the United States. In particular, our brutal form of capitalism, and our perverse fascination with guns.
The new slashdot handlers need to come up with better headlines.
The answer is No.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
No.
"in the vast majority of cases, that the story is tendentious or over-sold. It is often a scare story, or an attempt to elevate some run-of-the-mill piece of reporting into a national controversy and, preferably, a national panic. To a busy journalist hunting for real information a question mark means 'don't bother reading this bit'"
** Marr, Andrew (2004). My Trade: a short history of British journalism. London: Macmillan. p. 253. ISBN 978-1-4050-0536-4.
~ People that think they are better than anyone else for any reason are the cause of all the strife in the world.