A group of Google workers have announced plans to unionize

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Jan 04, 2021, 6:41 PM UTC

ThrowawayR2 wrote: post #705

onlyrealcuzzo wrote: post #428

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I work at Google, and when I started, I thought the idea of unionizing there is ridiculous. They already have a very well defined leveling system. The promotion and hiring system - people hate - but it is as un-nepotistic as possible and (I think) fairer than pretty much anywhere else. The compensation is already higher than basically everywhere - as you mentioned - ESPECIALLY considering expectations for your work.…

> " employees having a voice in corporate decisions than compensation " Should your waiter, your dentist, your auto mechanic, your daycare worker, your landscaper, etc. have a say in your decisions? They're your employees, albeit temporarily, so why not? The shareholders are the owners of the company, not employees. The right to set the direction of the company belongs to its owners. The profits belong its owners, ju…

Post by ddingus » Mon, Jan 04, 2021, 6:43 PM UTC

esoterica wrote: post #703

ddingus wrote: post #373

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The better organizers will have a priority discussion. What terms improve things for everyone? How should work be? From there, they build solidarity around those terms. When the vision maps to 80 / 90 percent of labor at that enterprise, the effort to unionize can win.

> What terms improve things for everyone? How should work be? There is no such thing as "improving things for everyone" because different people have different preferences. Some people want job stability, some people want work life balance, some people just want to get paid, fuck everything else. If a union tries to pursue some priorities over others they are screwing over all the employees who have different prefere…

Post by drstewart » Mon, Jan 04, 2021, 6:46 PM UTC

ericol wrote: post #75

objclxt wrote: post #38

When I talk to colleagues in tech about unions I hear a lot of misconceptions, seemingly based in stereotypes about what unions are for and who they serve. People often seem to think of unions as being purely blue-collar operations, and this just isn't true. For example, I've had people tell me that they don't support unions in tech because they'll be "paid less", or less competent engineers will be promoted faster.…

I find really, really baffling the general position in the US regarding unions. It is like there's a general discourse that they are a bad thing, just like with "that other" thing (cough socialism cough). This is even more strange when you find out about police unions - that are widespread -, and what their power is. From my point of view actions of police union are usually borderline "mob-like" (as in, I mostly hear…

Post by saalweachter » Mon, Jan 04, 2021, 6:52 PM UTC

giantg2 wrote: post #192

londons_explore wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With their current membership of just 230 people, the ~$500k annual memberships probably won't get anywhere near to paying for the protracted legal battle they're surely about to enter...

I didn't realize the number was so low. I thought they usually have to reach a specific percentage of workers on the petition before they unionize.

Post by nice_byte » Mon, Jan 04, 2021, 6:57 PM UTC

Bresenham wrote: post #403

appleflaxen wrote: post #172

The recurring theme in the comments against unions can be captured by a simple truth: Unions don't protect your interests; they protect their interests. Which is fundamentally true, and cannot be changed. So if your employment situation is so bad that you need a second, massively powerful, self-interested entity to negotiate with the massively powerful, self-interested entity in the hopes that your interests may happ…

> massively powerful, self-interested entity The difference is the union at some level ultimately has to answer to the workers who comprise the union, whereas the corporation is ultimately responsible to the majority stockholders who are expropriating surplus labor time from those working at corporations.