undefined | Better HN

0 pointsbwestergard7y ago0 comments

"You mentioned that the letter to management listed your grievances. Some people find the idea of a tech workers union implausible, because they find it hard to believe that tech workers could have grievances in the first place. After all, software engineers are relatively well paid. What’s your perspective on that?"

"People didn’t even want that much more time off, or that much more time not on call. They just wanted to know where they stood. They didn’t want to have to engage in highly personalized bargaining all the time. It wasn’t that there were rules that favored management — there were simply no rules, and this ambiguity worked in management’s favor."

https://www.jacobinmag.com/2018/04/lanetix-tech-workers-unio...

0 comments

2 comments · 1 top-level

walshemj7y ago· 1 in thread

The key is "relatively"

In the uk its relatively well paid but much less than say a train driver is the average dev in London earns less than a train driver gets for a four day week an they have over time and a DB pension.

moate7y ago

This is so important. Just because you're being paid well, doesn't mean you're being paid what you deserve. As stupid as it might sound, there are underpaid multi-millionaire pro athletes relative to the value they create for their company. I bring this up because the sports unions are a great example of what white collar unions could look like. Setting minimums, handling grievances, and specifying what things can and cannot be foisted on their members. These guys still sign their own contracts and superstar performers (the "rock star coders" of the sports world) are still able to get the money they feel they deserve by negotiating independently.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse