Re:Every hear of the IEEE Computer Society and ACM
on
Should IT Unionize?
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· Score: 1
I, too am am member of the IEEE, IEEE CS, and (until last year) the ACM. First, do not confuse the IEEE with IEEE USA - the former is an international body that promotes standards and acts as a professional society for its members; the second is a lobbying group that attempts to promote the profession. Second, because both the IEEE and the ACM are generally international in scope, neither do a particularly good job of protecting the working conditions or professional status of their members here in the US. They are very good at organizing academic conferences and publishing journals (at ever more inflated prices). They are in no way a replacement for a real professional group like the AMA. But, if we ever get national health care, I'm sure they'll go by the wayside, too.
Don't worry. The system is rigged so that eventually you'll hand over the greatest amount of your time, talent, and life for the barest minimum of reward, regardless of what you do. A capitalist system rewards efficiency - nothing else. You may think that it rewards innovation or effort or skill - it doesn't it rewards those things only because, in most cases, they produce more efficiency. Any organization, social more, or philosophy standing in its way will be crushed - ground to dust on the altar of efficiency. So enjoy this briefest period and the small number of creature comforts you enjoy - it's only downhill from here...
Unless, of course, you believe that social mores and philosophies are just as much of a human society as an economy. That we institute governments and organizations to fight this efficiency-powered race to the bottom, the race that ends in feudalism and despair for the many so that the few can enjoy the fruits of this efficiency. Yes, spreading the rewards of increased efficiency may in itself be less efficient than concentrating its benefits in a small number of hands, but we can do it - we can build organizations and governments that fight inequity and that work to see that the benefits of society are distributed to all that work for that society. And unions, for better or worse, are one of those kinds of organization.
So the choice is simple - go it alone and eventually be ground down to nothing - or join together with others and build groups, unions, professional societies, political parties, governments, communities, power blocks that will keep you from being trampled upon or be ground down. Because your being ground down is almost always more efficient than keeping you around.
Re:Technology Workers of America Together!
on
Should IT Unionize?
·
· Score: 1
Give all your people good pay, a solid retirement, and help them keep their jobs and you'll have earned all the things you listed. Don't, and you'll be voted out. OK, maybe not the latter, but at least members have some chance of doing that.
Ah... So your plan is the same as Boxer's: "I will work harder" (or smarter, in the end, it matters not). Just remember what happened to him in the end.
I'm sure it's just leaving for its Summer holiday and it will be back in a couple of weeks. God knows it couldn't be a result of global warming, because according to that noted authority, the Governor of Alaska and Republican VP pick Sarah Palin, there's no such thing. And for those of you who want to say that Al Gore is right - well, who looks better in a skirt, huh? And you just hate women, anyway.
And now that I've settled that debate, I'm off to show that evolution is a fraud! Toodles...
However, it took over six months to get the actual domain transferred because of the idiocy of my registrar (Network Solutions, I'm looking at you). Figure in some money for your time involvement.
I'll start believing in the possibility "special rights" the day after I see every woman and non-white getting equal rights. Tell me when you want to become black or female in this country. Until then, you're just regurgitating Republican spin.
That's because it is? How concerned have you ever seen the Republican party over women's rights? Hell, they have a hard time caring about anything other than wealthy, property owner rights.
Wins no states, panders to the base he has to pick up to have any chance, and hopes to peel off a few stray HRC supporters. Plus, no wireless, less memory than the Nomad... Lame.
I don't know, maybe the same old thing - get out and talk to people. I mean, that's really outside the channel for most "nerds" isn't it? Yes, it means you'll have to stop preaching to the converted on your blogs, and come out of Mom's basement, and actually go talk to people... in person!!! It's OK, most of them don't bite - many of them will actually be friendly! And don't worry about that big round burny thing up in the sky - it won't kill you if you remember to wear your +50 ointment of protection (your Mom calls it "sunscreen"). If enough of you nerds go out and do this, I think that it will have a big impact - maybe not on the election, but on you... And, frankly, that's probably a good thing.
I am planning their destruction, a VM that runs on Intel hardware but responds just like a mainframe, it is software that could be sold for nothing and then all the mainframe apps could be moved to it and IBM would be finished, dead toast.
Check out Hercules. It still hasn't killed the mainframe, though.
Perhaps your organization's problem is not the hardware, but the people. If that's the case, I would suggest that you try to fix that problem first, as that one's a lot more insidious. If you really look at mainframes (absent the people in your organization), you might find that they have their charms.
But, IT workers will never have a powerful advocacy agency, because most IT workers are too stupid to shed their prejudices about unions or their incorrect notions about rugged individualism to do anything about it.
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I, too am am member of the IEEE, IEEE CS, and (until last year) the ACM. First, do not confuse the IEEE with IEEE USA - the former is an international body that promotes standards and acts as a professional society for its members; the second is a lobbying group that attempts to promote the profession. Second, because both the IEEE and the ACM are generally international in scope, neither do a particularly good job of protecting the working conditions or professional status of their members here in the US. They are very good at organizing academic conferences and publishing journals (at ever more inflated prices). They are in no way a replacement for a real professional group like the AMA. But, if we ever get national health care, I'm sure they'll go by the wayside, too.
Don't worry. The system is rigged so that eventually you'll hand over the greatest amount of your time, talent, and life for the barest minimum of reward, regardless of what you do. A capitalist system rewards efficiency - nothing else. You may think that it rewards innovation or effort or skill - it doesn't it rewards those things only because, in most cases, they produce more efficiency. Any organization, social more, or philosophy standing in its way will be crushed - ground to dust on the altar of efficiency. So enjoy this briefest period and the small number of creature comforts you enjoy - it's only downhill from here...
Unless, of course, you believe that social mores and philosophies are just as much of a human society as an economy. That we institute governments and organizations to fight this efficiency-powered race to the bottom, the race that ends in feudalism and despair for the many so that the few can enjoy the fruits of this efficiency. Yes, spreading the rewards of increased efficiency may in itself be less efficient than concentrating its benefits in a small number of hands, but we can do it - we can build organizations and governments that fight inequity and that work to see that the benefits of society are distributed to all that work for that society. And unions, for better or worse, are one of those kinds of organization.
So the choice is simple - go it alone and eventually be ground down to nothing - or join together with others and build groups, unions, professional societies, political parties, governments, communities, power blocks that will keep you from being trampled upon or be ground down. Because your being ground down is almost always more efficient than keeping you around.
I am all for the T.W.A.T. union.
And, being here, you'll never get one...
Give all your people good pay, a solid retirement, and help them keep their jobs and you'll have earned all the things you listed. Don't, and you'll be voted out. OK, maybe not the latter, but at least members have some chance of doing that.
Ah... So your plan is the same as Boxer's: "I will work harder" (or smarter, in the end, it matters not). Just remember what happened to him in the end.
I didn't really care for unions before that, but afterwards earned a healthy hatred for them...
Wow! That seems really petty for not being able to put a plug in a socket. But I remember my three year old getting upset about the same thing.
I'm sure it's just leaving for its Summer holiday and it will be back in a couple of weeks. God knows it couldn't be a result of global warming, because according to that noted authority, the Governor of Alaska and Republican VP pick Sarah Palin, there's no such thing. And for those of you who want to say that Al Gore is right - well, who looks better in a skirt, huh? And you just hate women, anyway.
And now that I've settled that debate, I'm off to show that evolution is a fraud! Toodles...
Why didn't they just name it Jeebuz?
However, it took over six months to get the actual domain transferred because of the idiocy of my registrar (Network Solutions, I'm looking at you). Figure in some money for your time involvement.
Maybe it's "dynamically typed and either interpreted or runs on a virtual machine"?
Damn. There goes Lisp. It's usually complied these days (even if it is being run interactively).
Nice typical, old-school cliches from the "Party of Change."
Sometimes stereotypes are true. As far as "Party of Change" goes, I'm more in the "Party of Kicking Dumbshit Republican's / Libertarian's Asses" wing.
There are not any special rights for anyone.
I'll start believing in the possibility "special rights" the day after I see every woman and non-white getting equal rights. Tell me when you want to become black or female in this country. Until then, you're just regurgitating Republican spin.
That's because it is? How concerned have you ever seen the Republican party over women's rights? Hell, they have a hard time caring about anything other than wealthy, property owner rights.
Wins no states, panders to the base he has to pick up to have any chance, and hopes to peel off a few stray HRC supporters. Plus, no wireless, less memory than the Nomad... Lame.
... she looks strikingly similar to Laura Roslin.
Who, let it not be forgotten, is a non-democratic (small d) authoritarian with a militarism fetish.
I don't know, maybe the same old thing - get out and talk to people. I mean, that's really outside the channel for most "nerds" isn't it? Yes, it means you'll have to stop preaching to the converted on your blogs, and come out of Mom's basement, and actually go talk to people... in person!!! It's OK, most of them don't bite - many of them will actually be friendly! And don't worry about that big round burny thing up in the sky - it won't kill you if you remember to wear your +50 ointment of protection (your Mom calls it "sunscreen"). If enough of you nerds go out and do this, I think that it will have a big impact - maybe not on the election, but on you... And, frankly, that's probably a good thing.
Windows is pants
Where's the "+1 Hilarious/Pathetic" mod when you need it?
You want wind power!?
You can't handle the wind power!!!
I am planning their destruction, a VM that runs on Intel hardware but responds just like a mainframe, it is software that could be sold for nothing and then all the mainframe apps could be moved to it and IBM would be finished, dead toast.
Check out Hercules. It still hasn't killed the mainframe, though.
Perhaps your organization's problem is not the hardware, but the people. If that's the case, I would suggest that you try to fix that problem first, as that one's a lot more insidious. If you really look at mainframes (absent the people in your organization), you might find that they have their charms.
Nah, mainframes don't go down...
That Ogg didn't give Gork a haunch of meat in exchange for decorating his cave?
Probably not. If Gork really was Ogg's interior decorator, Gork was probably a vegetarian. And he went around with his "partner" Steve.
yes I said NEGATIVE 23...
So what's 46 orders of magnitude among friends?
But, IT workers will never have a powerful advocacy agency, because most IT workers are too stupid to shed their prejudices about unions or their incorrect notions about rugged individualism to do anything about it.
There. Fixed that for you.
"hardware is not people".
Yes, but Soylent Green is!
Why is moderated Funny, rather than Insightful?