... or tried to get some software written. The IT department of a BigCo operates in the same way, except that their currency is time rather than money.

But I think the problem is that we have no decent middle ground between "screw the worker" and "screw the employer."

I don't belong to a union, yet I get treated fairly well. But at the same time, my skill set is in short supply and high demand. And I possess a considerable amount of mission critical knowledge that exists nowhere but in my head.

“People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices.”

― Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations