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The Burnout Machine

unionize.fyi

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501–510 of 695 posts

Re: The Burnout Machine

#501

Post by aaronbaugher »

drpossum wrote: post #15
linksnapzz wrote: post #7

What happens when your employer replaces union workers w/ more pliant immigrants on visas? Or just outsources their work entirely? Are you going to picket an AWS DC in Ashburn?

This was actually very popular with offshoring and the results spoke for themselves. I made a lot of money cleaning up those dumpster fires and it's hard for me to not encourage more of it.

I've picked up work that way too. There are two problems with it, though.

A) After a company has sunk a bundle into offshoring with nothing to show for it, it has less in its budget for me. They may be desperate at that point, but that doesn't mean their checkbook is bottomless.

B) The dream of cheap/subservient/good skilled labor dies hard in management sometimes, and it can take years before management realizes its mistake. Meanwhile, the company may go out of business before it has a chance to come home and pay me the big bucks to clean up its mess.

Re: The Burnout Machine

#502

Post by paulcole »

bradlys wrote: post #500
paulcole wrote: post #498

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can assure you it is. You get paid X. You deliver Y value. The proportion is X / Y. Sometimes that proportion is very high, sometimes it is very low. Sometimes it is negative. Sometimes you get a divide by zero error. And again, the questions. What specific proportion do you think is fair? And how do you calculate the value you provide?

Jesus Christ. That’s not how it works! Capitalism is explicitly not about that. Holy shit this is insane that you think that’s how capitalism works on a website that’s literally about venture capital. What the fuck.

X and Y exist right? Why can’t you divide them to make a proportion?

Re: The Burnout Machine

#503

Post by samatman »

bobmcnamara wrote: post #409
samatman wrote: post #289

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When would it kick in, do you think? Would you need a JSON loisence? A bash loisence? Is Javascript ok but only in the browser, and only under 500 lines? At what point does the bobby say Oi! ?

How about direct control of human lives? Therac-25. Toyota unintended acceleration. Tesla full self crashing. Tesla software locks trapping people in lithium fires.

Cars and medical equipment are already heavily regulated.

Re: The Burnout Machine

#504

Post by chasemp »

Balinares wrote: post #450
capitalatrisk wrote: post #440

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is the point you're trying to make here? Interesting sources but find it difficult to follow.

Apparently, and if I'm getting that right, that there are many other ways in which societies can organize themselves to produce riches and the arguably undesirable one we've got right now is not unavoidable despite being sold as such.

This is it to me as well

Re: The Burnout Machine

#505

Post by CrispyKerosene »

stared wrote: post #100

Software engineering is one of the ways of playing life in "easy mode" (I moved from academia over a decade ago, and I know the difference). This blog post tries to paint it differently - and it feels like it lacks perspective compared to virtually any other occupation. > We’re living in a world where billion dollar tech companies expect us to live and breathe code, demanding 80 hour weeks under the guise of "passion…

Hows that boot taste?

Re: The Burnout Machine

#506

Post by CrispyKerosene »

film42 wrote: post #11

I 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…

[flagged]

Re: The Burnout Machine

#507

Post by sjamaan »

theamk wrote: post #316
jakelazaroff wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Both of these things can't be true at once†: 1. Tech workers are currently treated as well as (or better than) we would be without unions. 2. Unions would cause companies to offshore jobs to developing markets with similar talent. If unions don't increase worker compensation, why would they cause companies to offshore jobs? Conversely, if companies could acquire comparable talent in emerging markets for less money, w…

Sure they can. Imagine the unions that make it hard to fire people - either because of individual performance, or because of downsizing. 1. Tech workers are currently treated well - good hours, good salary, great benefits, etc... (until they are fired / position is eliminated). 2. If unions appear which make firing people hard, companies would stop hiring in US, and switch to India or temp contractors.

2. hasn't happened in Europe, where it's famously hard to fire people. Why would this happen in the US?

Re: The Burnout Machine

#509

Post by MichaelZuo »

pizza wrote: post #443
MichaelZuo wrote: post #407

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This leads to a more fundamental observation. That if unionization is so cleary net positive for most workplaces, then it wouldn’t need any sustained agitation campaigns in the first place. As any company that unionizes would near automatically gain a huge competitive advantage.

We generally don't let markets choose rights

Yeah we do…? political power can also be traded in markets, subject to market forces, etc.

Maybe not 100% of the time in 100% of societies, but certainly more than zero in every society I’ve ever heard of.

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