Unions do have a place and need in certain industries... it's just that tech isn't one of them. Anyone sufficiently competent in the tech industry can improve him/herself and get a better income over time - far faster than the typical Union could ever get you. There is a sufficient amount of work to be had out there for those who know what they're doing and can prove it... I think that only a brief 2-3 year period during the dot-bust was the main exception, in a field that has technica
Unions do have a place and need in certain industries... it's just that tech isn't one of them.
Tech is special, because we're tech workers and we're special.
Tech jobs are being outsourced faster than shit through a goose. Working conditions are suffering, job satisfaction is suffering, their work week is getting longer, pay is lagging, and we don't need to organize, dammit! Because we're special.
So you'd rather have US technology sector look like Detroit. Union jobs ensure that the union bosses live well and the workers still get screwed as the jobs move overseas anyways. Only difference is the risk of taking the entire company down to foreign competition instead of individual roles within the company because the company gets locked-in to whatever staffing model existed when times were good.
If your job can be done cheaper elsewhere, it will be. It's only a matter of time, and protectionism and unions will only delay the inevitable and harm the particular company or industry overall. The key to having a successful career in a specific locale is to continuously prove increased value as the company and markets naturally change, or to have a job that requires physical presence.
Even surgeons are going to start facing pressure as remote-controlled robotic operations are becoming a reality. The expensive ones with subpar work will cry when they no longer can afford the lease on their BMWs, and the ones that are at the top of their fields will be in even more demand than they are today, but will be operating in more than just the one city where they have their current practice.
So you'd rather have US technology sector look like Detroit.
No, I'd rather have US workers in a system more like Germany's. a country of 80 million people that exports about as much as the United States w/ 350 million.
Don't let right-wing media delude you regarding organized labor. It's the main reason workers anywhere have a decent standard of living.
That's a bit misleading. German trade to Austria and Denmark is export. Microsoft sales from Washington to California are domestic. Germany is exporting so much *because* it's smaller !
That said, German labor relations are a lot healthier than most. Not a European thing, though: French unions are even worse than US unions, and don't shun violence. Ask Air France; strikers (with union backing) physically attacked managers.
Aaaaand.. (Score:2, Insightful)
Corporate shills claiming victory and deriding unions as evil in 3.. 2..
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Actually, it's a wash.
Unions do have a place and need in certain industries... it's just that tech isn't one of them. Anyone sufficiently competent in the tech industry can improve him/herself and get a better income over time - far faster than the typical Union could ever get you. There is a sufficient amount of work to be had out there for those who know what they're doing and can prove it... I think that only a brief 2-3 year period during the dot-bust was the main exception, in a field that has technica
Re: (Score:5, Insightful)
Tech is special, because we're tech workers and we're special.
Tech jobs are being outsourced faster than shit through a goose. Working conditions are suffering, job satisfaction is suffering, their work week is getting longer, pay is lagging, and we don't need to organize, dammit! Because we're special.
Re:Aaaaand.. (Score:2)
So you'd rather have US technology sector look like Detroit. Union jobs ensure that the union bosses live well and the workers still get screwed as the jobs move overseas anyways. Only difference is the risk of taking the entire company down to foreign competition instead of individual roles within the company because the company gets locked-in to whatever staffing model existed when times were good.
If your job can be done cheaper elsewhere, it will be. It's only a matter of time, and protectionism and unions will only delay the inevitable and harm the particular company or industry overall. The key to having a successful career in a specific locale is to continuously prove increased value as the company and markets naturally change, or to have a job that requires physical presence.
Even surgeons are going to start facing pressure as remote-controlled robotic operations are becoming a reality. The expensive ones with subpar work will cry when they no longer can afford the lease on their BMWs, and the ones that are at the top of their fields will be in even more demand than they are today, but will be operating in more than just the one city where they have their current practice.
Re:Aaaaand.. (Score:5, Insightful)
No, I'd rather have US workers in a system more like Germany's. a country of 80 million people that exports about as much as the United States w/ 350 million.
Don't let right-wing media delude you regarding organized labor. It's the main reason workers anywhere have a decent standard of living.
Re: (Score:1)
That's a bit misleading. German trade to Austria and Denmark is export. Microsoft sales from Washington to California are domestic. Germany is exporting so much *because* it's smaller !
That said, German labor relations are a lot healthier than most. Not a European thing, though: French unions are even worse than US unions, and don't shun violence. Ask Air France; strikers (with union backing) physically attacked managers.
Re: (Score:3)
And the US's exports are from an entire continent-sized country, not just a relatively-small country the size of Germany...