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Computing is notorious for not having a worthwhile professional association. Some practitioners join the IEEE, the IET or the ACM. However, membership typically costs hundreds of dollars per year and offers little practical help to computer professionals working in small companies. If you're working for government or a large corporation or you're a super programmer in a well funded start-up then you probably have a union or you don't need a union. However, if you're the sole techie in a small business, appreciation for your dedication is just the start. What happens when you're asked to do something unethical or illegal? Where do you turn when a job goes sour? How do you avoid the problem? How can you avoid really toxic employers?
Rather than paying hundreds of dollars per year for talks and conferences, you require local experts who have first-hand experience of local employers and local employment problems. How can this be achieved reliably and cost-effectively? This is where our expertise should shine. Firstly, union entry should be at least as stringent as the conceirge union. Secondly, there should be a web-of-trust within each metropolitan region (and ideally between regions). In the best case, the network distance between all members should be four or less. Thirdly, an obligatory website should incur less hits than SoylentNews and therefore an upper bound for costs can be established for a volunteer effort. Essentially, it should be possible to run a union from donations of US$3000 per year or significantly less. Indeed, the major cost to members would be food and drink expenses when informally meeting other members.
So who wants to join a computer professional union with sensible fees and obligations?
(Score: 4, Insightful) by kaszz on Sunday July 02 2017, @07:36AM (12 children)
Unions seems like a good thing and they are created to protect salaried personnel from abusive employers. The catch is they are almost with certainty predestined to become a sour deal.
Otoh, there is the problem with abusive employers. Which might need some solution. But unions may not bee that solution.
(Score: 4, Funny) by c0lo on Sunday July 02 2017, @07:43AM (2 children)
Can you remember a time a union wasp a solution?
https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by JNCF on Sunday July 02 2017, @02:46PM (1 child)
Before unions, construction workers didn't even have yellow jackets!
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Sunday July 02 2017, @11:56PM
Yeah, but they did have the masonic lodge.
https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 3, Funny) by Azuma Hazuki on Sunday July 02 2017, @07:46AM (5 children)
The solution is a large industrial shredder and a live TV feed. Once a few abusive employers end up getting turned into gory confetti in the real-life equivalent of a Mortal Kombat arena deathtrap--and several million people see it live--there will be some change.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Sunday July 02 2017, @08:38AM (1 child)
I'll see the silent IT worker avengers in the works ;)
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Monday July 03 2017, @08:41PM
IT worker sees evil PHB incarnation walking the earth. Grabs his joystick to control the bot that grabs the PHB and tells him roboticly, "You will.. be shredded". "Must shredd.. shredd.." only to see the shredder valve open and suck him in while all the coworkers look in horror at the bits coming out. :p
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 02 2017, @08:39AM (2 children)
More likely, President Camacho will empower Brawndo Corp. to use said shredder on troublemakers.
(Score: 3, Funny) by realDonaldTrump on Sunday July 02 2017, @02:04PM (1 child)
President Camacho sounds like a very smart cookie. I'd like to meet him ASAP. Please ask him to call me at 202-456-1414. #MAGA
(Score: 2) by UncleSlacky on Sunday July 02 2017, @03:27PM
I'd take Camacho over Trump any day - at least Camacho genuinely cared about his people and country, even if he had no idea how to do it himself.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 02 2017, @09:30AM (1 child)
The mere threat of a class-action lawsuit prevents all sorts of shit.
Sadly, lawyers have figured out that they can just demand that you waive your rights. No waiver means no deal, and everybody is demanding the waiver.
This is thus something you shouldn't be able to waive. To prevent pretending, insertion of known-unenforcable contract language should be grounds for interpreting the contract severely in favor of the other party.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Sunday July 02 2017, @11:26AM
Class-action lawsuits do nothing to address, and indeed are not even possible in, the situation described above re: SMBs where the entire IT staff could consist of yourself.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Joe Desertrat on Sunday July 02 2017, @09:54PM
The same reason that politics does not work for most people. Such things as unions and representation do not mean you get to sit back on your ass and enjoy the benefits of others working to protect you and your rights. Quite to the contrary, because of the money and power involved, it is imperative that at least a significant majority makes the effort to stay informed, to contact their representatives on important issues, to attend meetings and to vote. If not enough do this, the system will invariably evolve to be responsive mainly to the few significant money players involved, and corruption will be the order of the day.