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Wikimedia Foundation refuses union recognition, hires union-busting law firm

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Re: Wikimedia Foundation refuses union recognition, hires union-busting law firm

#221

Post by unknownfuture »

bitshiftfaced wrote: post #214
cool_dude85 wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>What’s a union going to do if (doing a lot of work there) AI significantly reduces the demand for software engineers or tech workers generally? Aside from general job protection stuff, the general answer would be that they can ensure that some of the productivity gains go to employees rather than employers. Let's say the company has been so much more efficient thanks to AI that they earn an extra 100 million in reve…

Isn't Wikimedia a non profit? Who exactly are the employers on the other side negotiating with the union here? They're higher on the hierarchical structure, but they're not actually stakeholders the same as there are in private for-profit companies.

Uh, non-profits absolutely may have unionized employees:

https://npeu.org/

I... wonder if you don't know what a non-profit corporation is or how they work?

Re: Wikimedia Foundation refuses union recognition, hires union-busting law firm

#222

Post by jasonvorhe »

dannyw wrote: post #135

Some people here think Wikimedia Foundation's mission is to keep Wikipedia up. That's a subset of their mission. I attribute nearly all of the blame to WMF, because their donation ads are quite deceptive. The actual, public mission of Wikimedia Foundation: > The mission of the Wikimedia Foundation is to empower and engage people around the world to collect and develop educational content under a free license or in th…

So donating to Wikipedia actually funds commercial events? wtf.

Re: Wikimedia Foundation refuses union recognition, hires union-busting law firm

#223

Post by matchbok3 »

cogman10 wrote: post #170
amazingamazing wrote: post #43

Good. Most tech unions are worthless and only accelerate outsourcing. Unions can be good though, like in construction where the work is inherently dangerous.

Here's the union's demands. [1] Which of them do you find particularly unreasonable? [1] https://wikiworkersunited.org/focus-areas/

> Hold management accountable to promises made to staff

This is just silly. Management are the most accountable people in any organization. This makes no sense.

Re: Wikimedia Foundation refuses union recognition, hires union-busting law firm

#224

Post by cool_dude85 »

bitshiftfaced wrote: post #214
cool_dude85 wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>What’s a union going to do if (doing a lot of work there) AI significantly reduces the demand for software engineers or tech workers generally? Aside from general job protection stuff, the general answer would be that they can ensure that some of the productivity gains go to employees rather than employers. Let's say the company has been so much more efficient thanks to AI that they earn an extra 100 million in reve…

Isn't Wikimedia a non profit? Who exactly are the employers on the other side negotiating with the union here? They're higher on the hierarchical structure, but they're not actually stakeholders the same as there are in private for-profit companies.

The union is negotiating with management, i.e. those with hiring and firing authority who direct the work of others. Same as a for profit.

Re: Wikimedia Foundation refuses union recognition, hires union-busting law firm

#225

Post by matchbok3 »

inigyou wrote: post #22
matchbok3 wrote: post #4

[flagged]

Given your other, completely insane comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49143931 I am inclined to assume that you are paid to oppose unions online. Also your recent comment history consists entirely of angry contrarianism.

Insane? Please stay on topic and avoid personal attacks. Disagreement is not insane.

Believe it or not, not everyone who disagrees with you is some paid shill. Like... really? Hilarious. Grow up.

Re: Wikimedia Foundation refuses union recognition, hires union-busting law firm

#226

Post by bob001 »

jordanb wrote: post #5

SV is a cancer. Even its charities are like this.

Wall Street: We're making the most money no matter the consequences.

Silicon Valley: We're making the world a better place by making the most money no matter the consequences.

Re: Wikimedia Foundation refuses union recognition, hires union-busting law firm

#227

Post by applfanboysbgon »

nearlyepic wrote: post #220
juleiie wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You guys don’t get it apparently but once the thing became corrupted, got a whiff of power and money, there is no chance they are going to be persuaded into anything long term. They may appear to do so short term to appease but money corrupts permanently. Don’t be afraid of destroying things. Wikipedia isn’t unique or precious really. Some extended pressure would really rejuvenate the idea of such site in one way or…

> Don’t be afraid of destroying things. Wikipedia isn’t unique or precious really. Surely you’re joking?

Before LLMs, Wikipedia was the greatest source of misinformation in all of human history. It is at best good for satiating an idle curiosity with some plausible-sounding fun facts to amuse oneself with without care for whether they're really true or not, but so many people rely on it for so much more, and I have little doubt it causes more harm than good. Real encyclopedias with professional standards exist.

Re: Wikimedia Foundation refuses union recognition, hires union-busting law firm

#228

Post by matchbok3 »

fn-mote wrote: post #31
inigyou wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Given your other, completely insane comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49143931 I am inclined to assume that you are paid to oppose unions online. Also your recent comment history consists entirely of angry contrarianism.

GP posting account is 4 months old, 40 karma. Recently became active. Check comment history. Does not seem to engage in productive dialogue.

Imagine seeing a comment you disagree with and find the urge to dig into someone's history and try to tar and feather them. Do better.

Re: Wikimedia Foundation refuses union recognition, hires union-busting law firm

#229

Post by mchusma »

alsetmusic wrote: post #204

As a strong supporter of unions, that's the end of my donations. I've probably donated fewer than a dozen times, but definitely more than five or six. I felt reasonably good about it and went on with my day, no hesitation about supporting them. That's done. Fwiw, unions often have support pages where you can donate or buy merch to support. One of my favorite tshirts advocates for a union that was trying to form at a…

Curious why you support unions in general? It’s kind of like saying “I support governments” or “I support companies”.

Re: Wikimedia Foundation refuses union recognition, hires union-busting law firm

#230

Post by alephnerd »

ethbr1 wrote: post #165
neilk wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t know if you’re joking or not but of course Wales doesn’t profit directly from this. And, as a non-profit, compensation of executives is public knowledge. I believe Board members get zero compensation other than reimbursement for travel expenses. (Jimmy Wales did cash in on his reputation with some ads for luxury watches and idk what else he does for $). Salaries at the WMF have absolutely exploded, though the…

What's up with the continually revolving CTO chair? (under Executive)

Look at their salaries. Most are earning significantly less than what they would have earned in the for-profit sector for the same role in a significantly more stressful job.

Compensation only started catching up in 2021-22 and even then is roughly comparable to what mid-career ICs now earn in the Bay, NYC, and Seattle.

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