[Discuss] [OT] unions

[markw at mohawksoft.com (Mark Woodward)]

I have read a lot of the responses to a software engineering union. I 
have to say I'm pretty discouraged at the attitudes. Like I began, no 
organization of humans is without fault. Unions can be no different, 
obviously. That being said, I believe there is a HUGE big picture here 
that is missed.

Statistically and historically, as unions flourish so do industries. Is 
this a cause and effect relationship? That is certainly up for debate.  
The state of software engineering is kind of sad as well. If you 
remember the 1980s, you'll remember a time when the work was far more 
rewarding.

If not a union, maybe a guild, or some organization. We need to take 
control, as a group, and define our role as professionals. We need to 
push back on NDAs and non-competes and take them out of the hands of 
employers and put them into the hands of a negotiating body such that 
they are fair and do not expose members of our profession to risks. I 
did take some business law in school, but few engineers I've met really 
understand how to read a contract. A "union" or some other organization, 
with enough clout, could help this.

Intellectual property, we should have some rights to the work we create. 
Just recently, song writers got their copyrights back from the record 
companies. Software engineers create a lot of intellectual property, 
copyrighted material and patents, we are paid very little for these 
compared to what they are worth. We should look at that. Lobby 
government, etc

I understand there is fear of "unions," but remember most of that is FUD 
from industrialists and venture capitalists like Mitt Romney and his 
ilk. They have no vested interest in working conditions or jobs. If we 
don't take the reins of our profession, the MBAs will and are.

I also believe that, counter to the FUD, when you have an involved work 
force protecting its workers, the balance of power creates more wealth. 
It may be debatable, and there can certainly be opinions on both sides, 
but there is more historical evidence that as the percentage of the work 
force that is unionized decreases, poverty increases and the economy 
shrinks. Conversely, as unionization increases, poverty decreases and 
the economy grows.