Do IT unions exist?
Posted by Eclypse90@reddit | sysadmin | View on Reddit | 148 comments
And if not why not? We should be looking out for each other.
Posted by Eclypse90@reddit | sysadmin | View on Reddit | 148 comments
And if not why not? We should be looking out for each other.
theGurry@reddit
Unionized Sysadmin here.
We exist. Public sector.
thelug_1@reddit
I am in public sector in the US and I am considered "management/professional" so we are not part of the union. When I worked state, I was...so it definitely varies here in the US depending on where you are. That being said, when I was union, they very rarely helped out the higher salary folk.
Broccoli_Ultra@reddit
Same. Not a union specific to IT but I am in one. Quite a lot of my IT colleagues are union-averse though, moreso than the other departments I worked in.
craigmontHunter@reddit
I’m in a public sector union now, I was private sector before. The biggest difference I see is that our rates and raises are all established, I get a predictable raise and COL increase every year. Private sector I could negotiate a bit more based on performance, but honestly I find it exhausting. I can see how a really driven individual would prefer non-union, I’d much rather show up, do my job and leave, so long as my job is done well I don’t need to worry or think about it.
Leahdrin@reddit
The last 2 private sector jobs I had fought and delayed raises for months. I got sick of that stress and moved to public. The guaranteed raises, back pay for contract negotiations, and phenomenal benefits including EDOs are ridiculous. The real kicker is I make more than both those 2 previous jobs doing similar work.
cincy15@reddit
Probably saw or experienced some people getting rich in the 90’s -or early 2000’s
Broccoli_Ultra@reddit
Yeah there's a lot of that - I think there's a hangover of people thinking they're a bit special rather than just valuable to companies during boom times. Bit of cognitive dissonance going on as conditions worsen. Somewhat unsurprisingly I'm the youngest by a fair margin on our team.
cincy15@reddit
Yep they saw people getting rich who knew or were able to do some (now) pretty simple stuff… they think because they can program switches , reboot systems, or cobble together some programming language… they need 250k + stock options…
reality is they should be fighting for a union (and the protection they can provide) accepting 100k (mid west ) and job security after 40 (years old) plus good healthcare benefits.
afroeh@reddit
I blame it on early exposure to Ayn Rand. Libertarians are well represented in American IT.
Sh1rvallah@reddit
I find it annoying that we have dead weight people that are protected by the union and still get the same pay and raises as everyone else when they should just be fired for incompetence.
discgman@reddit
Typical union propaganda. People get fired for being shitty in any sector. Having more protections doesn’t me they can’t be fired. In the private sector they have free will to fire someone for any reason. Lately it’s to replace them with AI.
Sh1rvallah@reddit
I'm glad you know more about my workplace than I do
Bright_Arm8782@reddit
Private sector will also keep wastes of space about.
And that's ok, that's money circulating around the economy, a good thing.
Sh1rvallah@reddit
Yes it's really great when these people who can't find their ass with two hands are blocking up and coming people who know what they're doing from getting promotions while they literally sit there and watch YouTube half the day, on a good day.
Sweet-Sale-7303@reddit
I am public sector and csea. Not a big fan. Where I work they are taking advantage of me and the union head to my face said we are not helping you because we don't like IT. She said I better not leave the union because it will cause more people to leave. Seems more like a mob boss than a union.
discgman@reddit
Union head? You mean president of the local union or Regional rep? I am a CSEA president and work in IT. There are no mob bosses. It’s run by people like me.
Jerkface0079@reddit
I’m an IT worker in the performing arts industry, ergo I’m part of the performing arts union.
BadSausageFactory@reddit
I appreciate this but inclusion in another union isn't really what OP seems to be asking, same for teacher's union comment above.
Jerkface0079@reddit
I’m aware, just sharing my experience. If the point needs to be fleshed out it’s “I have to use my industry union cos an IT one doesn’t exist”.
BadSausageFactory@reddit
agreed, was making the distinction
acniv@reddit
I would 100 percent support and join an IT union. The abuse of truly talented IT resources in the USA particularly, is disgusting.
FizzyBeverage@reddit
Doubt Disney has any interest but at $95 an hour I’m not sure there’s any headroom anyway.
roboticfoxdeer@reddit
CWA sorta but honestly you gotta start talking to your coworkers. Don't go up to them and say "hi let's start a union" but y'know be subtle. Also, getting to know your coworkers is ESSENTIAL.
I went to the IWW's organizer training 101 (highly recommend going to a union organizer training regardless of union it all kinda carries over although of course an industry specific training will be better) and one thing they absolutely drilled into our heads is that "organizing is about building relationships."
RadlEonk@reddit
I suggested one at work in the US, but everyone I mentioned it to was/is anti-union. Coming from a union family, it was depressing.
Loptical@reddit
Imagine not being able to use a search engine.
roboticfoxdeer@reddit
It's not like search engines point you to reddit these days or anything
AlaskanDruid@reddit
Imagine not knowing what social media is.
Loptical@reddit
Using social media to search for information is a dumb idea.
AlaskanDruid@reddit
Adults communicate with their peers.
NP_equals_P@reddit
There was LOPSA, but it didn't work out and was dissolved last year,
SAugsburger@reddit
LOPSA though was a professional organization not really a union.
BamBam-BamBam@reddit
They exist in the US, but it's just difficult to get adopted. There's just such a pervasive libertarian/conservative mindset among American IT workers that adoption is an uphill battle.
TKInstinct@reddit
Yes, I am not part of it but I work in the same building as people who are. That being said, I don't think it's exclusively an IT union. It's just people who are covered under a different union.
griminald@reddit
So the answer to your question in the USA, as the comments here indicate is, "No, unless you happen to be a part of a broader workers' union."
Like if you're IT and in the public sector, you'll be in a union. But it's not an IT union, it's a public sector workers' union.
Why don't IT workers have a union of their own? Because up until recently IT was "upwardly mobile" enough that workers were switching jobs every few years for more money.
Unions' primary role is protecting members' employment. They have a tough time forming in an environment where workers are quitting for better jobs every few years.
Also, having a union at a BIG tech firm, like Meta, would interfere with Big Tech's habit of having laid-off employees sign an NDA, and bribing them with very generous severance packages if they do.
SAugsburger@reddit
I think you really hit the head on some of the reasons why IT workers aren't frequently unionized nevermind many IT specific unions. Unionizing any organization with highly transient workforce is much harder even if there are obvious issues a union might focus on.
thanatossassin@reddit
Our IT staff is part of the local AFCSME. I actually had a small part in organizing that, before getting promoted into management.
vadertator22@reddit
I have not personally encountered an IT union, but seems there are unions for just about anything. I am older and come from long line of blue collar lineage, but went other direction in IT. With that said I grew up with most my family in unions and at the end of the day I personally think there is a very strong debate regarding their usefulness today. They control labor to hold companies hostage, but take your money. In my experience when push came to shove they never protected my family members as promised. I totally get the fair wage, work conditions and benefits arguments that unions are often noted for demanding. My issue is there are laws etc that likely cover that in many countries. They also inflate wages by controlling labor, which is good for you, but not good when you get laid off and your lifestyle cannot be replicated by available jobs in your area with like income. My experience in IT is supply demand drives salary and so on, which doesn’t require a union. If you’re in a specific tech that is in high demand you will get a higher wage. The second observation I have is if you’re really good and knowledgeable the salaries are higher. IT rock stars are not readily available especially with younger generations as they tend to hyper specialize, where my generation had to do it all. That’s my .02
_DoogieLion@reddit
Yes, in the UK “unite the union” or “UTAW”
itskdog@reddit
Unite are more of a general union that anyone can join, was my understanding, not IT-specific. Not familiar with UTAW.
Personally, I'm with GMB for strength in numbers - they're the de facto union that represents the support staff at the school where I work, while most of the teachers are with NEU.
MoonlightStarfish@reddit
UTAW are a union dedicated to tech workers. They are a sister union of the Communication Workers Union.
perrin_goldeneyes@reddit
UTAW are a branch of the CWU, the largest in fact.
devilfish71@reddit
Oooh, thanks for that, might give them a shot, I found that both Unite and Unison were terrible for any kind of support.
glasgowgeg@reddit
Prospect are more focused on IT than Unite.
111111222222@reddit
I'm with Prospect who are more IT focussed
TrippTrappTrinn@reddit
Depends on the country, I guess... Some countries have them.
Jeffbx@reddit
There are several IT unions in the US - it's just that no one cares enough to join them.
CWA is the biggest - Communication Workers of America. They even have a subsidiary - CODE-CWA for gaming programmers.
Then there's IFPTE - the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers - they're affiliated with the AFL-CIO and they actively recruit IT and tech workers.
OPEIU - the Office and Professional Employees International Union- formed the Tech Workers Union Local 1010 specifically for tech workers
There are other company-specific ones as well - UPTE-CWA for U of California workers, the Alphabet Union for Google, Kickstarter has a union, etc.
pmormr@reddit
Oh god you need to unionize your company to join IFPTE. That makes sense, but also union organizer isn't aligned with my focus or (to put it bluntly) career aspirations.
ranhalt@reddit
CWA is the union that TCGPlayer (owned by eBay) cut out.
ItaJohnson@reddit
Good to know. I’ll need to look into those. Based on what I’ve heard, government IT workers are protected by a union.
The industry that would really benefit from unions is the MSP space. At least the ones I worked for anyways.
Vikkunen@reddit
Even then, it's hyper-localized. I work at a (blue) state university and have some protections provided by the state's Civil Service laws, but IT staff here aren't unionized. Some in the state are, though.
I fully agree with you on the MSP thing, though. Really the private sector in general, especially small shops, but MSPs seem especially keen on hiring as few people as they can get away with to do as much work as possible.
ItaJohnson@reddit
I’m a contractor for a federal agency. Actually employees there are unionized. Me being a contractor, not so much.
pakman82@reddit
Unions and IT, I feel have a messy relationship because IT professionals so often band together into an MSP. But then it takes good management for them to stay beneficial. There are now massive, global companies that try to act like a supportive organization, and it's inconsistent, the success
AlaskanDruid@reddit
Not in my state. While I’m part of a generic union with zero pull, and there was a fake salary study recently, we are still paid 20% going rate.
kerosene31@reddit
Not an IT specific union, but public sector work is almost all union. I've been in a union most of my career and I wouldn't have lasted in this field without it. Where I am, there's a professional union for more white collar work, separate from the hourly, blue collar stuff.
Of course private sector in the US is a different story. Unions need a wide reach to be effective, and corporations pay "union buster" firms to prevent workers from organizing. There's honeslty no point going on about it, at least in the US it is not going to change anytime soon.
I will just say, whenever you hear anti-union rhetoric, just look at how much money gets spent on union busting. There's entire corporations who's sole "product" is to bust up unions.
redex93@reddit
In Australia yes. Professionals Australia. They are currently attempting a collective bargain agreement against DSX HPE. DXC holds a lot of Government contracts so hopefully they have a good chance.
https://www.crn.com.au/news/2026/partners/dxc-technology-dispute-with-staff-ongoing
Flaky-Gear-1370@reddit
Better than the flogs at the ACS
abbottstightbussy@reddit
The ACS isn’t a trade union is it? It’s a networking/lobbying group.
Flaky-Gear-1370@reddit
The ACS used to position themselves as a union alternative back in the day
jtj-H@reddit
Now they are responsible for professionalising CyberSecurity.. disgraceful.
_tweaks@reddit
It’s a professional body. Have you done anything to contribute ?
redex93@reddit
ACS is a union that would make Amazon and the Pinkertons proud that's for sure. If Kinetic endorses them that says it all. The Maccas of IT.
shaggydog97@reddit
I think people would be more interested in them in the US if there were a clearer direct benefit. For example, if they had a certification path, training programs, or job placement services.
weaver_of_cloth@reddit
There have been sort of vague organizing attempts in the US in the past, but they've mostly died or quit trying to attempt to create a true union. LOPSA - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_Professional_System_Administrators?wprov=sfla1 From USENIX, sorta, came LISA, SAGE, and LOPSA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LISA_%28organization%29?wprov=sfla1
leroywhat@reddit
We have a small IT department but we signed our cards along with the marketing staff. Hoping for voluntary recognition this week!
publicdomainadmin@reddit
Have you met half of the North American IT guys? I tried this once with my coworkers in a small team of 6 at an old job and one of my coworkers actually went on a rant about Trudeau, Unions and stealing pay to push woke agendas. Another guy seemed to like the idea until he sent me a video from Jimmy Dore talking some roundabout shit about union pay in a clip. Both were "Bernie bros" at one point, now one posts clips from the daily wire to his timeline every day.
Ridiculous, I am all for it but how do you bring it up without certain types of co-workers foaming at the mouth?
cwm13@reddit
My state outlawed all state workers from collectively barganing. Well, except for police and firemen. They carve out an exception for them. The rest of us can join a union... but we can't leverage the benefit.
bigardojr@reddit
Should we be looking out for one another? Absolutely. Will we? Probably not.
I think part of it comes down to the prevalence of MSPs and the ability to offshore. At the end of the day leadership can decide that tier 1 help desk can go to a different country for cheap, and tier 2/3 can be handled by an MSP. It would more than likely be cheaper than contract negotiations, and work stoppages because of a contract strike, etc.
deltadal@reddit
the MSP could unionize, though many of them are small or not much more than fancy staffing agencies.
bigardojr@reddit
I agree, but it would require a shift of the industry all at once. In the current economic climate, a lot of people who have been laid off are chomping at the bit to get a job, especially one that pays well. America is so focused on the individual and not the collective they would throw you in front of the proverbial bus to get your job.
deltadal@reddit
Yep, the time for unionizing in tech was 30 years ago. But America was just asself-centered back then.
SmokeyWolf117@reddit
When has any union been created during the goods times of an industry? They always find their footings during the times when workers are struggling. If workers are making a ton of money with upward mobility there is zero motivation. The time of struggle is the time to unite. Tech workers need to wake up, they are under assault from a million different directions at this point in the US.
abofh@reddit
Fancy? You've been getting nicer ones than us
Glass_Call982@reddit
I jokingly brought that up to the owner of my old MSP and he said he would close the business before that happened. Until the mindset of those old boomers goes away, things won't change.
deltadal@reddit
It's sad because so many boomers benefitted from unions.
Geno0wl@reddit
boomers are the ultimate pull the ladder up behind them generation
WindowsVistaWzMyIdea@reddit
Size doesn't really matter for unionizing.
DontTakePeopleSrsly@reddit
You want to be stuck in a job that you won’t get your full pay until you’ve been there 20 years? You want promotions to go to the person that’s been there the longest instead of the most qualified?
Thats pretty much how the unions I’ve been with worked.
hkusp45css@reddit
Those are pretty universal themes in the union world. Not to mention the inability to get rid of people who won't do the work.
Unions, like most communism, work really well on paper, but really poorly once you add humans to it.
robertlt@reddit
Unions work really well in reality and is not communisn
phobug@reddit
Yes same can be said about businesses, most of them work well in reality. Anything that takes the individual's characteristics out of the remuneration conversation can safely be labeled communism, no matter how many times you deny it.
robertlt@reddit
You are free to google the word communism, maybe even ask ai. You look dumb using words you do not know the meaning of
Saotik@reddit
Thanks for letting us know that you understand neither unions nor communism.
paiaw@reddit
Where did you work where you didn't hit your full job rate for 20 years? Why did they negotiate that into the contract?
DontTakePeopleSrsly@reddit
That was negotiated into the contract. There was a pay scale & everything. This was 20y ago, but it was the main reason I left.
paiaw@reddit
Sounds like a terrible contract, if it was literally 20 years. I think that's on your bargaining team, not unions as a general thing.
chuckmilam@reddit
Former public‑sector IT here, and I’ll say this up front: I’m not anti‑union. Unions are the only reason things like earned vacation, sick leave, and basic worker protections aren’t treated as “optional perks” some manager can revoke because they’re having a bad day. That part is good. That part is necessary.
But…I’ve also seen what happens when a system that’s supposed to protect workers slowly mutates into a seniority‑based fiefdom.
In my old shop, it wasn’t “union rules” so much as tenure trolls who’d been embedded since the late 70s. Folks who started as clerk/typists, never updated a skill past Windows XP, and yet acted like they were the guardians of the realm. Promotions weren’t about competence; they were about who’d been warming the same chair the longest.
I used to joke that once a year they’d come around with calipers to measure the depth and width of the ass‑grooves worn into the seat. Annual bonuses and promotions were basically ranked from “deepest and widest” on down. That’s how sacred tenure was.
And if you came in with a higher grade than they earned back in 1977?
Oh boy.
Suddenly you were a “threat,” and they’d start roadblocking everything just to maintain their tiny kingdom. Some of them literally kept file cabinets full of grievance paperwork like Cold War dossiers to protect themselves from accountability.
So yeah — unions can absolutely protect workers, and that’s a good thing. But any system built on rigid seniority — union or federal — eventually attracts people who figure out how to exploit it. And once they do, merit becomes optional and progress ahead of the rigid time-in-grade schedule becomes treason.
invincibl_@reddit
None of the unions have ever negotiated anything like that over here, and all the agreements that every union has ever negotiated is available for the public to see.
In the IT industry, tenure requirements only exist to ensure that you earn the minimum wage for an IT professional (38 AUD / 27 USD per hour) and you cannot be stuck on the lower training wages unless you actually get written up for failing to complete your training.
Notably, the industry-wide union agreement (we call this an "award") does not set salaries. Just a minimum wage for the type of work, and more importantly a bunch of standard employment conditions that override any internal company policies. As an IT professional I still need to negotiate my salary once I'm out of the entry level. The union has no say in the promotion or performance management process, beyond my entitlement to bring a "support person" if I wish, similar to how a manager might bring a HR rep to observe a meeting.
The unions you mention seem to have major issues. Now part of that is possibly propaganda from big business to let them rip you off, we get a lot of that here. Or there is some major corruption happening and you guys need more regulation. But personally, I know that I am just an easily replaceable resource to my employer and unions are the only way we can even try to level the playing field.
With all that said, the level of union organisation in IT in Australia is abysmally low, and the power is still clearly on the side of big business. IT professionals who are employees of the federal government work in a different system, and that is the only place where salaries are set for everyone (and currently well below market, leading to everyone working as a contractor instead).
CantaloupeCamper@reddit
I’m not a fan of most American style unions.
Ted the moron getting paid more than me because he has been around longer is dumb.
Some other system, maybe.
Mindestiny@reddit
Yep. Reddit loves glorifying unions, but when you actually dig into it most of the prominent unions in the US are barely a step above the old early America mob protection rackets (which... surprise, many had deep ties to). Graft and corruption as far as the eye can see, and heaven help you if you want to stop hiring union labor.
The Teamsters stereotypes weren't just made up as a union-busting conspiracy. The FBI was digging in Newark to try to find Jimmy Hoffa's body just a couple years ago.
Meanwhile I got fucking reamed at a convention center for moving a temporary barrier a foot to the left that was holding up foot traffic and people kept knocking over, because that's UNION LABOR and how dare I interfere with their right to fair wages! I was made to put it back and then watch helplessly for another two hours before some union guy lazily wandered over to move it. That guy almost certainly made more money than I did my entire shift right then and there.
Unions should be a choice, but there also needs to be more pressure for accountability for them to actually do what they're intended to do and this stigma of not supporting them when they fail to do so needs to go.
r-r-r-r-r-r-r@reddit
"but unless you're buddies with the president don't expect any of the actual protections and benefits you're promised by membership."
lol wtf, what union works like this?
Blastergasm@reddit
Yeah I got some mixed feelings on unions. I get the appeal in some ways and I’m all for workers rights but my first real job was in a public school. As a student at that same school I never understood why there were so many awful teachers. After I started working there it was apparent that the teachers union enabled some of the laziest most incompetent and selfish people to continue teaching because they knew the union would protect them. I personally witnessed some of the worst teachers get promoted to department or district positions just to get them out of the classroom without firing them. Puts a bad example out to the good teachers that were really trying hard.
Mindestiny@reddit
It's one of those things that looks great on paper, but there's so much room for sleazy people to take advantage of an opportunity to be crooked themselves that it ruins the whole thing. And now that it's so endemically corrupt it's become impossible to reform because we're expecting the corrupt people to choose to reform themselves.
They're certainly not the laborer's land of puppy dogs and candy that reddit makes them out to be.
discgman@reddit
Unions are run locally, by workers. You get what you put into it. Obviously you wouldn’t understand that.
Mindestiny@reddit
Oh hey look, the same dismissive condescension that always comes up during discussions of the problems with unions.
discgman@reddit
As a student you wouldn’t know Jack about teacher unions. People get fired like anywhere. That’s just being lazy mentally.
Temporary-Article996@reddit
You forgot PLA (Project Labor Agreements)
Unions are the biggest reason no work gets done efficiently for the government - wonder why you road projects or rail projects take longer dinner budget?
Because union labor spends more time which union gets to lay a pipe or move that barrier and standing around for 1.5 hours a day going over “safety” and meetings vs actually working.
Unions did great things and some still do - but the public sector ones especially are bad.
redex93@reddit
Yes there's corruption, yes there are lazy people, and yes there is a hirachy... But at least this system is for the worker. Everything negative you have said can be applied to businesses too. For example, Starbucks is corrupt is how they take over existing businesses, Starbucks in lazy in how they managed their IP and Menus, Starbucks has a hirachy of nepotism. But Starbucks isn't going to help you put food on the table. So either way the same levers are pulled. It's just whether you'd like to benefit from those levers or not.
Mindestiny@reddit
See, this is exactly what I'm talking about.
Yes, those things can be said for businesses. But individual businesses. Anyone claiming that all businesses are that way is being disingenuous, just like anyone claiming all unions are "for the worker" and making condescending statements like "I guess you just don't want to benefit from those levers" is being disingenuous. We can't honestly look at the current union landscape in the US and pretend it isn't a hellscape of graft and corruption that definitely is not benefiting "the worker" at a level where we can be confident that is likely to be someone's experience if they were a member.
So with a business, you can see those problems and choose not to work there or choose not to patronize them. But with a union? "Pay up or get fucked, or pay up and get fucked" is the only option, if that employer has a deal with a union you cannot take a job there without joining the union, because the union won't let you. That's not really a net positive for the individual worker, that's a net positive for the union. If the levers aren't being pulled for anyone but the guy sitting at the top of the union, you're not benefitting from shit, you're just caught in a mandatory pay to play scheme.
Like I cannot possibly emphasize enough the direct parallels in business model between mafia protection racket and American union structure. The latter is literally rooted in the former, and we're still sitting here watching people push the same intimidation tactics. "You're either pro-union or you're anti-labor, right? Why do you hate workers so much?"
phobug@reddit
Unions are a racket. If you're not being valued where you work just change jobs. If you can't negotiate for your working conditions I don't want you working with me.
kurbycar32@reddit
In the USA the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) exists, and has a department for telecommunications.
https://ibew.org/our-departments/telecommunications/
They very plainly support networking such as wiring and wireless techs as an extension of their telephone operations from the late 1800's. They also have data related job support that encompass sysadmin type roles.
MrExCEO@reddit
Imagine if it did, overtime? Forbidden!
discgman@reddit
Nice try IT admin
discgman@reddit
State, school and county jobs are part of unions. Private sector not so much. They wouldn’t be part of one anyway.
Own-Slide-3171@reddit
I've been in one it was awful. To get ant sizing we joined with everyone else and it heavily suppressed it wages cause it tried to fit us in the same box as a bunch of other completely different jobs. It had some positives I guess but I've always done much better on my own
_redcourier@reddit
I’m in one in the UK, but my employer doesn’t recognise it.
I just like having the peace of mind that I can get support and I have used it before.
Zedilt@reddit
Does in Denmark.
https://www.prosa.dk/english
nullbyte420@reddit
ida.dk also has a significant amount of computer science degree holders
GhostReven@reddit
We have more than one for IT-workers in Denmark.
I myself am a member of Dansk Metal and have been since my apprenticeship.
Saotik@reddit
We don't really have IT specific unions in Finland, but a large proportion of us are members of unions that represent our interests.
For example, I'm a member of https://www.tek.fi/en.
ChuchoGrind@reddit
Public sector, we have a collective bargaining agreement. As long as I have this job I will never leave.
Static-Age01@reddit
Yeah. You will never get fired unless you refuse to do work, or break the law.
ChuchoGrind@reddit
My only fear is budgets hitting local governments in my state causing potential layoffs
Stryker1-1@reddit
There are some unions but they are few and far between.
bizyguy76@reddit
I have been trying to get an professional or technology sector at the United steelworkers since it needs to be at least investigated.
die-microcrap-die@reddit
i worked at paramount and there was a small group that handled AV and somehow, they had an union.
Of course, they were ostracized and only included in what was absolutely necessary.
I remember mentioning some like that in reddit (about IT workers union) and was called all kinds of names by my fellow tech workers.
Hebrewhammer8d8@reddit
I'm ok with Union if they are run well, but few union ran like shit few of my previous co-workers in other industries. Previous co-workers said job was stressful and Union was PITA. Do your research if you are join Union, because not all Union run the same.
SubstantialVoltage@reddit
they're out there but way less common in private sector tech, which is probably why most people don't think they exist. public sector and government jobs tend to have better union presence.
k0rbiz@reddit
Pretty sure I just heard recently that the Rockstar video game company is looking to go union.
st0ut717@reddit
Really you want to have to ask for permission to lean a new skill.
Ask a union guy if he is allowed to just do a new thing?
Are there safety issues you need to worry about is there like molten silicon ?!?
We are not factory worker nor are we trades we are the last of the metocracy and mercenaries
ninjaluvr@reddit
You know every union is different right? Collective bargaining agreements often require new skill development, training programs, training budgets, etc. Many union contracts provide clear pathways for innovation.
And ask a sysadmin if they're allowed to just do a new thing. Not all are empowered like that. Many have restrictive tooling, authoritative architectural review boards, peer review, code reviews, approved scripting languages, etc.
itskdog@reddit
Unions are there to provide support to the workers to defend their rights in the workplace.
VintageLunchMeat@reddit
(sic)
MrElendig@reddit
This is not how unions works in most of the world
KoalaOfTheApocalypse@reddit
We are tradesmen. White collar tradesmen. We're not much different than a mechanic or appliance repair person on a conceptual level. It's just the machines we work on take smaller screwdrivers and don't drip oil on you, and it requires more abstract thinking. But, really, POST test card = OBD2 scanner.
Furdiburd10@reddit
Even the Bosch specialist workers have unions here that job is designing new things. Unions are not just for dangerous jobs
TheVirtualMoose@reddit
There are different professions and different type of unions but almost all of us, be it factory workers or IT professionals, will always negotiate from a position of weakness. Unions serve to level the playing field between employees and employers. If you see yourself as a meritocratic mercenary, then you are either being exploited or you're helping your employer exploit others.
BadSausageFactory@reddit
No, and I don't think we don't need one. Don't blame me if you don't know how to negotiate.
Steerable-Octopus@reddit
Hardly, and I agree we should be looking out for each other.
One thing I've noticed in IT-departments is that people are very much aligned toward path of least resistence. That means that many are not willing to put in the sacrifices and effort that Unions demand. The culture is also very individualist and up until now many secured their jobs through complexity and obscurity, leading to a sense that their tenure is more "earned" because they made the job more difficult for their coworkers and their position irreplacable.
However Unions could still under these conditions add value to the field. It could for example work as an interest and lobbying group and prevent offshoring of IT jobs under the argument of data sovereignity and accountability of IT-staff. They could work toward engineering standards better than the certificate ecosystem does.
IT certainly has groups that do similar things, but they do so from a neutral and technical perspective, rarely from a pure human resource perspective.
Where I live the IT workers generally gets lumped in with a wider service sector union which doesn't account for the unique interests of IT. This leads to working conditions being viewed through the same lens as for example accounting which obviously has different interests.
Kraeftluder@reddit
I'm a member of the general educational union (Netherlands). Membership is voluntary but I've been a member from the day I signed my tenure.
tarkinlarson@reddit
In the UK I am memeber of Prospect.
Plotnikon2280@reddit
Sure do. In Canada at least. I'm in one!
fcknwayshegoes@reddit
Yep, as part of a support staff union in post secondary education. Note - going on strike really sucks.
Ihaveasmallwang@reddit
Not IT specific but Communication Workers of America. Absolute shit union that did nothing.
WienerWizard420@reddit
Techwerkers.nl is an organization that works to unionize tech workers in the Netherlands
Jerkface0079@reddit
Because we as an industry got massively overvalued during the dot com boom and only nerds were doing it. Now it’s more mainstream, we’re more outsourced and our conditions and security are worsening. But culturally we’re full of reactionary individuals who don’t believe in collectivism or solidarity like other unionised industries.
havpac2@reddit
I’m part of a wall to wall union but not specifically just for it
Fritzo2162@reddit
They do, but they’re cloud-based.
flsingleguy@reddit
Not here in Florida. It is written we all serve at the pleasure of the manager. Meaning, there could be a whim one day, then you are gone. Nothing you can do about it. It doesn’t matter your role or tenure.
Subb3yNerd@reddit
Yes they do but they are mostly small and weak because most IT jobs pay well
robertlt@reddit
Yes, i have been a member of a union as long as i have worked in IT here in Sweden
PizzaUltra@reddit
yes, for example verdi: https://www.verdi.de/ikt/startseite
Fernomin@reddit
Some Brazilian states do
serverhorror@reddit
Sure they do. Why would they nit exist?
paiaw@reddit
I don't think they're common, but they exist (United States). Mine isn't specifically IT, but it covers all of our IT employees in it, along with administrative staff.
Fitz_2112b@reddit
It depends on the industry. In schools and local government pretty much everyone is unionized. I work for a State educational agency doing security governance work and am a member of one of our state employees unions.
Alapaloza@reddit
As others have said it greatly depends on what country you are in
fdeyso@reddit
Not an IT union, but there’s a workers union in the industry and ICT people can be a member.
Competitive_Smoke948@reddit
they definitely should!! up until now IT was really cocky... usually too dumb to realise that management would treat IT & tech like they treat shop workers & taxi drivers if they could.
Cory Doctorow speaks a lot on this.
There are a couple of "organisations" but they never question the establishment or make comment about the stupidity of offshoring jobs.
Why are loads of senior IT jobs now approaching london bus driver & less than train driver? They have good strong unions. Most IT guys have been conned into turning that somehow capitalism works for us because the wages were going up & now we are fucked.
I'd happily put my real name for an IT union