I’ve been reading an interesting book that looks at some of the ways that we can better build software in enterprises. One of the side notes in the book is that the tech companies have the funding and the ability to disrupt many other types of businesses, not just technology. Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and others have delved into other types of industries, potentially pushing others out.
We see Amazon becoming as much a shipping and logistics company as they are a retailer. There was a unionization vote, which passed in 2022. Recently, another one failed. Amazon continues to fight these efforts, trying to prevent workers from collectively negotiating the terms of their employment.
I’ve wondered in the past if tech workers would ever unionize. In general, we are paid well and have lots of options for work. There has often been no shortage of opportunities for talented workers, though this year is proving tough for our industry. There are lots of people out of work and struggling to find new jobs. While I’m sure some would prefer a union that might better protect them from layoffs, many tech workers are against the idea.
There is a growing number of tech workers looking to unionize. Inside Google, there is a union for some workers, but not all. That’s unusual, as often all workers in a category are part of a union at a company. To gain employment, you need to join the union.
I don’t know if I’d want to join a union. I’ve had lots of success and haven’t seen the need, but I do know that I’ve also seen lots of other tech workers pressured and pushed to work long hours, to skip vacations, and other practices that are good for the employer, but not so good for the employee. I’ve seen many people not know how to negotiate with employers, and perhaps a union would benefit most people.
Would you want to be part of a data professionals’ union? It might give some security and more benefits for many, though not quite as much pay as you might otherwise receive. Maybe more than you get now, as it depends on where you sit in the salary scale at your company. Let me know what you think about unions today.
Steve Jones
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Voice of the DBA 
I am not sure whether or not I would join an IT union (it would likely depend on the circumstances), but I am also not against them, either. Unions have a history of making for better workplaces, and if they make IT a better place to work, so much the better.
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I’m torn as well
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It certainly has its potential to be a good fit. As someone who worked as a proud union member for close to 10 years, there were often days that felt like the union held things back while other days felt incredible that we had such support and protection against our employer.
If I may, I think that the key things I found from my past union life was that it encouraged others to hold each other accountable and level up because there was shared interests. Being union meant you looked out for your colleagues and did what was right because a bad apple that doesn’t work hard makes the collective look bad. It also opened the door for juniors to enter the work force. Down side might be the fact that wages ultimately are dictated by negotiations between your representation and your employer. This very well could negatively impact talent who has historically outperformed their peers. It’s a tough scenario indeed.
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I love the idea of people working as a team and holding each other accountable. I’ve seen a few orgs where that worked well without a union but not many. Too often in the US the mentality is each for themselves
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In the UK it is possible to join a union even if they are not recognised by your employer.
I am a member of the Communication Workers Union (they represent tech workers among others). I view it as an insurance policy whereby I can get help, advice, and legal assistance from the union in certain circumstances. Also for situations where I need someone to accompany me to a situation I can call upon one of their reps to help me. While they can’t bring the weight of the union to the situation they can make sure I am prepared and advised appropriately.
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I wish we could do that. I think we do have some orgs like IEEE/ACM that offer a few of these things, but not all.
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