The basics still apply. Get your coworkers to complain about their job, ask what they'd change about it, pick a change you also like, say it'd be nice if we negotiated to get it, well acktshually if we all went at once...
Don't be the first one to say the word union.
Programmers often feel a bit guilty about their pay. Focus discussion of goals on other topics, like vacation time, reducing on-call load / reducing tech debt, 20% time, and the ability to work from home (not sure how well that last one plays during quarantine, I switched to coops before covid started). Folks I talked to were also big on winning better protections for contractors and non-tech workers working in their companies (which is awesome), though I think you need at least something that concretely benefits the tech workers themselves to really get people to turn out.
If someone realizes you're talking about unions and regurgitates anti-union propaganda, you can counter that by pinning every problem people have heard about unions on the fact that modern unions are small and confined to single companies (donoteat01's organized labor video explains some of the reasons this is true in a fun way). Tech workers really like the idea of cross-company unions, even ones who start skeptical.
Tech folks like the word guild better than union. Yeah yeah lol D&D nerds I know. But I think more importantly, the Screen Actor's Guild is a lot closer to what tech workers actually want representing them than most unions are.
Getting nerds to chant is really hard. But this is a crowd full of people who like karaoke, so I'm pretty sure you could get them singing old union songs instead, especially on the second try (after they've had time to be embarrassed not knowing the words and go home to research).
It's still a successful industry-wide union. Actors can work a job, finish it, get employed by a different project, and still be represented by the SAG.
Firstly that's just a good trait to have. It's also one of the traits that plays really well with tech workers in general (point 4 above). And importantly, many tech workers are contractors or freelancers, or rely on hopping between companies for career advancement, so that's an important feature to them.
Hey I'm in tech too. If you don't mind typing it all out I'd love to hear more about that method.
Tech organizing tips
The basics still apply. Get your coworkers to complain about their job, ask what they'd change about it, pick a change you also like, say it'd be nice if we negotiated to get it, well acktshually if we all went at once...
Don't be the first one to say the word union.
Programmers often feel a bit guilty about their pay. Focus discussion of goals on other topics, like vacation time, reducing on-call load / reducing tech debt, 20% time, and the ability to work from home (not sure how well that last one plays during quarantine, I switched to coops before covid started). Folks I talked to were also big on winning better protections for contractors and non-tech workers working in their companies (which is awesome), though I think you need at least something that concretely benefits the tech workers themselves to really get people to turn out.
If someone realizes you're talking about unions and regurgitates anti-union propaganda, you can counter that by pinning every problem people have heard about unions on the fact that modern unions are small and confined to single companies (donoteat01's organized labor video explains some of the reasons this is true in a fun way). Tech workers really like the idea of cross-company unions, even ones who start skeptical.
Tech folks like the word guild better than union. Yeah yeah lol D&D nerds I know. But I think more importantly, the Screen Actor's Guild is a lot closer to what tech workers actually want representing them than most unions are.
Getting nerds to chant is really hard. But this is a crowd full of people who like karaoke, so I'm pretty sure you could get them singing old union songs instead, especially on the second try (after they've had time to be embarrassed not knowing the words and go home to research).
What’s the difference between the Screen Actors Guild and an average union, and why is it better suited for tech workers?
It's still a successful industry-wide union. Actors can work a job, finish it, get employed by a different project, and still be represented by the SAG.
Firstly that's just a good trait to have. It's also one of the traits that plays really well with tech workers in general (point 4 above). And importantly, many tech workers are contractors or freelancers, or rely on hopping between companies for career advancement, so that's an important feature to them.
I’ll honestly try to do it Monday during work ;)
Based. Thanks.
Post it as a main thread pls.