How do I know? Because next week I'm going to take part in an election which may result in one of the biggest victories for my union. I can't give away too many details, but getting to this election requires a 5-hour drive to the ass-end other side of the state. But I'm excited because we will (in all likelihood) do pretty well. I've also started to assist one of our locals here in the 'burbs. It's a local of bus drivers, and they face a sever threat from their school superintendent who wants to give all their jobs away to a private company. Needless to say, we are not going to let that happen without a fight.
And I missed this post by Nathan Newman, but as usual, he proves his brilliance and insight about the labor movement are beyond compare.
And check this out. To all my white-collar friends who have good jobs in the tech or banking industries, I hate to break it to ya, but the moment your company thinks they'll be better off by showing you the door, it will happen. And it doesn't have to be for a reason. They may keep other less-qualified people over you. You may have to fight like hell to get unemployment, or a severance deal. So that's why you (yes, even you) should have a union. It's not just for plumbers and pipefitters, or teachers, or factory workers.
Got a boss? Get a union. The fact that United Professionals was started by Barbara Ehrenriech makes all the sweeter. And check out who's on their advisory board--a former HR director for a banking company, a guy who spent time in Poland with Solidarity (the union that broke the Communist Party's control over unions in that country), and the founder of the freelancers' union.
Pretty cool.
1 comment:
The problem with forming a union in the corporate IT world is that companies will immediately outsource the work, thus losing our jobs. I've had friends over at AT&T Global Services attempt to form a union, and they shut down their office. I agree with what a union does, but it's hard to move a union into the white collar world.
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