Not that general resources and momentum-building isn’t useful but I’m surprised that I haven’t heard more concrete proposals about what tech workers should be demanding and what an organization to support workers would look like. I read a fair amount of “tech workers should unionize” discussions but no one who is advocating for a union ever plants a flag and says “this is my proposal”. I’m guessing there are a lot of people like me who are comfortable in our jobs and ambivalent about the benefits versus problems a union might bring but would take the time to read a detailed proposal and allow ourselves and/or our financial support to be won over.
This write up on how Kickstarter employees ended up unionizing is a pretty good read on the tangible benefits. Main motivation was that the workers wanted to have more say in what projects they took on, and how they worked. And later on when Kickstarter had to do layoffs, the union was able to negotiate a better deal for those laid off as well as who was laid off.
Thanks! I remember hearing the start of the Kickstarter unionization and then it dropped off my radar for some reason. According to a linked article, they became part of “the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU)”. So looking into how that union is organized and goes about its business would be a place for someone like me to start.
Not that general resources and momentum-building isn’t useful but I’m surprised that I haven’t heard more concrete proposals about what tech workers should be demanding and what an organization to support workers would look like. I read a fair amount of “tech workers should unionize” discussions but no one who is advocating for a union ever plants a flag and says “this is my proposal”. I’m guessing there are a lot of people like me who are comfortable in our jobs and ambivalent about the benefits versus problems a union might bring but would take the time to read a detailed proposal and allow ourselves and/or our financial support to be won over.
This write up on how Kickstarter employees ended up unionizing is a pretty good read on the tangible benefits. Main motivation was that the workers wanted to have more say in what projects they took on, and how they worked. And later on when Kickstarter had to do layoffs, the union was able to negotiate a better deal for those laid off as well as who was laid off.
Thanks! I remember hearing the start of the Kickstarter unionization and then it dropped off my radar for some reason. According to a linked article, they became part of “the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU)”. So looking into how that union is organized and goes about its business would be a place for someone like me to start.