I don't want a union... I want state licenses like doctors, nurse, lawyers, engineers, etc.
The Burnout Machine
51–60 of 695 posts
Re: The Burnout Machine
#52What Big Tech companies are demanding 80 hours a week?
Not demanding per se, but when you're stack ranked against people who ARE ...
Re: The Burnout Machine
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
The issue is the idea that there’s something that can magically solve all your problems. If you believe in panaceas, everything will disappoint you. Unions are a tool , and tools have tradeoffs. They will be able to solve some of your problems — most importantly, the power imbalance between employer and employee — and introduce new ones you didn’t have before. The bet is that if we collectively use unions correctly,…
Great. Show me examples of teams who took that bet and how it paid off.
Let’s take the NYT Tech Guild. They negotiated a new contract following a strike last November. Here are some of the things they won:
> Enhanced job security with ‘just cause’ protections
> Guaranteed wage increases for the first time of up to 8.25% (plus additional base rate discretionary compensation) that prioritize the largest wage increases for the lowest paid members over the life of the contract
> Additional compensation for on-call work
> Important protections that lock in guardrails on additional variable compensation (including stocks and bonuses)
> Improved protections for workers on visas
> Language guaranteeing flexible hybrid work schedules
> Process and transparency protections related to career growth, performance reviews and other workplace issues
https://www.theverge.com/2024/12/11/24319022/nyt-times-tech-...
Re: The Burnout Machine
#54When I was a high school teacher you either had to belong to the union (CTA) or pay the same dues anyway, and the difference was that they didn't let you vote. I felt that about 90% of the dues were used against me and the students. That was the other big reason I quit, besides the low pay, which the union didn't fix. So I moved on to become a much higher paid developer who has zero pressure to join a union.
My dad was a big union guy. He never crossed a picket line, hated a scab, voted straight Democrat, and put the decal on his tool box. But growing up I saw his own union (IBEW) treat him like shit as he became an employer, and cheat him out of half of his pension. He praised unions while circumventing his own to stay in business.
If unions catch up to me, like the barbed wire caught up to the old cowboys, I'll go look for greener pastures. I'm happier making my own deal with the boss.
Re: The Burnout Machine
#55I think unions need to work on their marketing. I resonate with all of these problems, but the "fixes" sound like a politician saying, "elect me and I'll solve your problems." What's the A+ example out there of a unionized engineering team that has been able to find a great work-life balance, great benefits, and a fun product development life-cycle that is profitable or clearly on its way to profitability? Show me th…
IFPTE, UAW, CWA (which just recently welcomed workers in the video game industry: https://cwa-union.org/news/releases/video-game-workers-launc...)
Re: The Burnout Machine
#56Burnout? Yes. Overwork? Maybe. Unionize? Eh… The post reeks of privilege. Go work a manual labor job outside in the sun for a few weeks and tell me how bad tech employees have it. Most of non-tech America is not empathetic to our plights. They’ll probably cheer on the offshoring of our jobs.
Couldn't agree more. My friend broke his finger and I told him how privileged it is to go to the doctor when there are plenty of people in the world with cancer and other more serious diseases.
Re: The Burnout Machine
#57There's a bit of strawman going on where for example when author says "Not taking 12am slacks makes you not a team player". Never in my life have I heard that one.
Also, anecdotal perspective: I've been private company and academia for my whole life, and I've been with good and bad companies over time. If I had a union earlier in life, I think I would have benefited a lot. I don't think a union could make my current situation any better though. (Again, anecdotal)
Re: The Burnout Machine
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
The issue is the idea that there’s something that can magically solve all your problems. If you believe in panaceas, everything will disappoint you. Unions are a tool , and tools have tradeoffs. They will be able to solve some of your problems — most importantly, the power imbalance between employer and employee — and introduce new ones you didn’t have before. The bet is that if we collectively use unions correctly,…
Great. Show me examples of teams who took that bet and how it paid off.
Are you working 7 days a week in horrific circumstances? Do you have children as your colleagues? No? That’s due to unions and labourers fighting for the rights you currently have.
Re: The Burnout Machine
#59> demanding 80 hour weeks
IME, most of the people in tech who work extremely long hours have not actually had this "demanded" of them by anyone, and in fact either want to do it or have sort of hallucinated themselves into a corner where they (mostly incorrectly) believe that they will land in hot water if they don't work long hours.
Re: The Burnout Machine
#60Earlier quoted context omitted.
Great. Show me examples of teams who took that bet and how it paid off.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_history_of_the_United_St... pretty much every team in blue collar industries which have been able to negotiate better working conditions, better pay, and more time off.
But tech isn't a blue collar industry, and this is about tech unions.