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Kickstarter employees vote to unionize

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Re: Kickstarter employees vote to unionize

#881

Post by bobwaycott »

nelsnelson wrote: post #504
paulddraper wrote: post #489

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unions can negotiate things other than salary, like health benefits, paid leave, policy issues, etc. (Though in practice you're correct: unions rarely exist for jobs with more individualized pay.)

It is worth mentioning that if the Senate bill version of Medicare for All becomes the law of the land, then previously employer-funded healthcare becomes one less thing for union leaders to have to negotiate with employers.

Not immediately. Universal health coverage means employers lose the ability to use health plans as a benefit and/or part of an employee’s total compensation. So unions will likely then be negotiating to see that turned into cash.

Although, universal health plans also mean employees, unionized or not, win the freedom to change jobs because they’re no longer tied to jobs they hate just to remain insured. I don’t think many people are considering or discussing this at large in the conversation about MfA. This will be a huge social and employment benefit for people with families/children, as well as those with existing—especially serious and costly—conditions. It could be something unions will temporarily grapple with in defending their importance.

I have no doubt, however, that something will replace healthcare at the negotiating table. Capital and labor are forever locked in conflict.

Re: Kickstarter employees vote to unionize

#882

Post by RhodesianHunter »

8note wrote: post #819
sokoloff wrote: post #794

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many of the most talented or hardest working engineers might rationally be opposed to equal pay measures.

*engineers who are the best negotiators, rather than most talented or hard working

Being talented and/or hard working can provide leverage in negotiations.

Re: Kickstarter employees vote to unionize

#883

Post by dragonwriter »

bobwaycott wrote: post #881
nelsnelson wrote: post #504

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is worth mentioning that if the Senate bill version of Medicare for All becomes the law of the land, then previously employer-funded healthcare becomes one less thing for union leaders to have to negotiate with employers.

Not immediately. Universal health coverage means employers lose the ability to use health plans as a benefit and/or part of an employee’s total compensation. So unions will likely then be negotiating to see that turned into cash. Although, universal health plans also mean employees, unionized or not, win the freedom to change jobs because they’re no longer tied to jobs they hate just to remain insured. I don’t think…

> Although, universal health plans also mean employees, unionized or not, win the freedom to change jobs because they’re no longer tied to jobs they hate just to remain insured. I don’t think many people are considering or discussing this at large in the conversation about MfA.

Really? From where I sit it's been a central point in discussions about universal coverage as a goal, regardless of mechanism being debated, at least since it was an issue in the Clinton campaign in 1992.

Re: Kickstarter employees vote to unionize

#884

Post by hannasanarion »

MPSimmons wrote: post #861
yumraj wrote: post #706

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 1. Why do tech workers need a union? 1. Fight ageism (every 20 year old today will grow up someday) 2. Fight open office layout (my opinion, may not be shared by everyone) 3. Fight for equal pay, discriminations of various sorts 4. Fight for reasonable share in success and against the massive differential between CxO and others' pay 5. Resist outsourcing where it makes sense ....... the list goes on ....

> 2. Fight open office layout (my opinion, may not be shared by everyone) This is, I believe, the biggest strike against unions. If the unions decide you don't get open offices, then that decision binds everyone, whether they wanted an open office or not. You just have to hope that the many tradeoffs you make are worth the things you get in return.

The difference is that, if you have a union, you get to vote on whether you want an open office or not. Without one, you have to do whatever the boss says.

Re: Kickstarter employees vote to unionize

#885

Post by hannasanarion »

totaldude87 wrote: post #474
namdnay wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or even better: your employees are unionizing? Great! It means you have an organized structure to discuss employee satisfaction with!

or it could be even worse, the “us versus them” has gone to the next level.. its all up-to the mentality of management , if everyone flexes their muscle nothing good can come out of it.

Better "us vs them" than "me vs them"

Re: Kickstarter employees vote to unionize

#886

Post by quickthrower2 »

_jal wrote: post #827
TylerE wrote: post #651

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are buying more than the snacks. They are buying you time, since you never need to make office grocery runs to stock your desk. Might not be a huge deal, but elimination of chores really is a perk.

So close, but not quite right. You get free snacks at the office for the same reason people sitting at slot machines get free drinks - because someone wants you to stay there.

And get diabetes

Re: Kickstarter employees vote to unionize

#887

Post by bobwaycott »

dragonwriter wrote: post #883
bobwaycott wrote: post #881

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not immediately. Universal health coverage means employers lose the ability to use health plans as a benefit and/or part of an employee’s total compensation. So unions will likely then be negotiating to see that turned into cash. Although, universal health plans also mean employees, unionized or not, win the freedom to change jobs because they’re no longer tied to jobs they hate just to remain insured. I don’t think…

> Although, universal health plans also mean employees, unionized or not, win the freedom to change jobs because they’re no longer tied to jobs they hate just to remain insured. I don’t think many people are considering or discussing this at large in the conversation about MfA. Really? From where I sit it's been a central point in discussions about universal coverage as a goal, regardless of mechanism being debated,…

I absolutely recognize it has been a goal for those who support universal coverage. I have yet to hear anyone against or unsure about MfA even bring it up. I probably could have worded that much better.

I’m referring to what media coverage I’ve seen—and perhaps it’s heavily related to the area I live (US South) and the media coverage that dominates here—but whenever I mention it and try to discuss that point with others, people often stare blankly. It takes time to even get the concept to click. And there’s a lot of, “I never even thought about that!”

Re: Kickstarter employees vote to unionize

#888

Post by triceratops »

notyourday wrote: post #704
triceratops wrote: post #687

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If they meet eligibility requirements. Most don't. You have to earn $15k/year to qualify for the lowest tier health plan. At the minimum rate you quoted, that's about 12 weeks of work. That doesn't seem unreasonable - hard to call yourself a professional actor yet if you can't book 12 weeks of work. Dues are only $220/year, so it's not like you're giving a ton of money to the union while you wait for a break. > Sag…

> You have to earn $15k/year to qualify for the lowest tier health plan. At the minimum rate you quoted, that's about 12 weeks of work. That's work on a set. 12 weeks/year on a set is a huge number. To get to that point, one probably spent 2x the time on non-paid activities such as pounding pavement going on castings and auditions. > That's still better money than waiting tables. About 2x California minimum wage. Exa…

> To get to that point, one probably spent 2x the time on non-paid activities such as pounding pavement going on castings and auditions.

You make a fair point, have an upvote.

> That would be a massive downgrade for tech workers who are full time. Options and RSUs would definitely go bye-bye.

Why are you assuming that a hypothetical tech union would negotiate the same rates as SAG-AFTRA? There's no shortage of people wanting to become rich and famous as actors, singers, or other on-screen performers - and they've still managed to negotiate 2x minimum wage. Whereas there's a shortage of people wanting to be programmers.

Re: Kickstarter employees vote to unionize

#889

Post by lopmotr »

elicash wrote: post #379

1. Why do tech workers need a union? If you want to improve your workplace, you have additional leverage to fight for changes if you're in a union. There's often very little you can do alone. This might be things like pay, or it might be something else entirely. 2. But aren't tech workers elite coddled rich kids who are lucky to make what they receive? I mean, no. But even if so, high pay doesn't stop athletes from j…

It's not clear that these are really tech workers who voted for it. Half of Kickstarter's employees are designers/coders and the other half work with the community [1]. Since one of the unionization organizers worked on Trust and Safety, I wonder if that's also how the vote was split.

[1] https://www.kickstarter.com/team

Re: Kickstarter employees vote to unionize

#890

Post by katbyte »

three_seagrass wrote: post #656
thu2111 wrote: post #468

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That was discovered and busted by the government. It appears unions aren't necessary to end wage fixing cartels. And especially, note that unions are wage fixing cartels!

This is survivor bias. That example is only known because it was caught and fixed - there are a myriad of other issues that are unseen by the public that a union could address.

such as ?
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