posted in Technology
Tech Workers Have Long Resisted Unions. Will AI and Politics Change the Equation? | KQED
www.kqed.org/news/12095749/tech-workers-have-long-resisted-unions-will-ai-and-politics-change-the-equationReplying to @chobeat@lemmy.ml
It would be nice.
Most of my complaints about unions are:
- Seniority is a terrible system to build a foundation from. It just is. I don’t give a fuck who got there first, seniority systems grow complacency, punish competence, and lower labour mobility. I was in a union as a teenager, the company offered lump sum payments for the older union members to literally sell out the younger ones with delayed wage increases, and they all voted for it since it was harming someone else.
- There are many unions that are just greedy pigs. You pay dues in, the union gets fat, but they spend all their time defending the wrong people.
- Unions can add a lot of extra process to things that don’t require it
However, that does not mean we shouldn’t have unions. We should maybe try to improve how we do them, so they work better for everyone.
I just want a union that looks out for unfair labour practices, forced unpaid overtime, keeps the company competitive on salary and benefits, and is willing to fight for workers who are unduly fired or sidelined.
Replying to @panda_abyss@lemmy.ca
Seniority is a terrible system to build a foundation from.
There’s nothing inherent in union membership that forces seniority to be a requirement. It made a certain amount of sense in commodity trades, but the volatility of skill requirements in software and high tech invalidate that assumption.
Unions can add a lot of extra process to things that don’t require it
That can happen. And then there are the things that do require it. Better to have dismissal for a legitimate cause than at-will employment and an arbitrary kick out the door.