Hey y’all. There’s talk of unionizing at my company (it’s a small one) because of far-below-market pay, barely any benefits, no real HR, and people are expected to work late because they’re overloaded (the company won’t hire more people). We have money; revenue was in the double-digit millions last year. Folks aren’t sure where to start. Anyone have any insight? Did you unionize at work and it backfired? Not really interested in hearing from managers against unionizing. Edit: if it helps we’re in the Bay Area. Edit 2: Also not a tech company.
Just leave dude
I like the above comment. Unions do have their place. They are mainly for low skilled workers who find it hard to change jobs. If you are in tech then definitely you can easily find jobs in other companies and all the time and effort could be better utilized in finding a new job rather than some union.
The low skilled part isnt totally correct. Unions have there place where market forces are against employees or where there is the potential for a hostile work environment. Good examples of that are trade jobs and utility work. Most of which the employers are monopolies hell bent on profit margins (that’s where the hostile work environment comes into play) A lot of that isnt present in tech (yet)
Right. A ton of us needed degrees to sit where we are now. It’s not only low-skilled laborers who get to do collective bargaining. Plenty of white-collar jobs have unions (reporters, teachers).
This isn’t a tech company, sorry boys.
Gtfo of blind . All we know is leet code and chill
Tech needs unions too - mostly for issues of time and workload expectations, transparency in hiring and discipline. The tech bros who think it’s too low class for them have a House-slave mentality. They don’t realize that they are building the tools that will make their momentarily cushy position redundant in the future - or they realize it but are full of themselves and think they’ll be one of the lucky few when market conditions change.
Every workplace is going to be different, so there’s no one-size fits all approach. But in most cases you can be protected and act as a union prior to official representation. There are resources online for this and it’s a good idea to start a sort of rank and file involvement in either case because a) for official unions, you’ll need a a few supporters but then need to do a union drive for official recognition - this is when employers will crack down and try to scare the workforce, pull people into individual meetings to intimidate some or try and bribe/cajole others. If you only have lukewarm support, then they might be able to drive wedges in. b) I support unionization, but most unions take a passive approach these days and I think this is part of why unions are weaker now - a galvanized rank and file can help offset this and ensure that employee concerns are heard and that any official negotiation will be less likely to settle for crumbs.
Thank you for your insight. I really do appreciate it.
I wish I had more concrete stuff to give you. I was in an unionization attempt in a much more draconian industry but it lost steam as some people left rather than continue facing terrible conditions there. So that’s probably why I’m coming from a workplace-solidarity first sort of approach.
Like others have said I don’t know why there would be a reason to waste your time if you have a tech position. You are not constrained by the market like in typical union scenarios such as where the employer is the only place you can work.
This isn’t a tech company and I don’t have a tech job.
Blind is tech industry centric. I don’t think you’d find a lot of insight here. Google would be your best bet
Move to Detroit and get a job at Chrysler. Oh wait, they’re gone. Union jobs destroyed them.
If you think unionization is what killed the auto industry in the US, I can’t help you.
Lol that was big corporate fails and mismanagement. Not unions.
What industry is this? Is it one where it's hard to find another job?
Not sure why this app wouldn’t let me reply to this earlier. It’s in media/publishing. That’s all I’m really comfortable saying.
People fall for the negative propaganda against unions. Fact is unions give you a voice gives you security and a future. Union contracts are voted for by each employee it is what you elect. unions didn't destroy the Auto industry poor corporate decisions politicians and anti American manufacturing did
The right steps to follow are: - books, leetcode - interview - gtfo and enjoy your new work With this job market there is absolutely no reason to go through this bullshit at your current workplace. Just let it die naturally when all decent employees leave.