2 months ago
- Mass layoffs, AI anxiety, and corporate surveillance are driving IT professionals to consider unionization as a means to gain job security and voice in workplace decisions.
- Union contracts primarily offer protection against arbitrary termination, especially in 'at-will' employment contexts, and can lead to material gains like better severance, health insurance, and AI deployment oversight.
- Organizing faces significant challenges, including weakened NLRB enforcement, fierce employer pushback via union avoidance tactics, and risks like firings or funding withdrawal for startups.
- The process involves starting conversations with coworkers, mapping workplace support secretly, choosing a union model (majority or minority), and affiliating with established unions for resources and expertise.
- After winning a union vote, employers often contest results, leading to prolonged negotiations; contract finalization can take years, requiring sustained collective effort and legal resilience.