News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Wage Theft is a Bigger Problem Than Other Forms of Theft ... by enraged_camel on Saturday June 02, 2018 @06:37PM (#17216777)
Also keep in mind HN tends to lean anti-union because techies in general are treated and paid very well, and tend to feel like they don’t need unions.
Re:Wage Theft is a Bigger Problem Than Other Forms of Theft ... by uiri on Saturday June 02, 2018 @06:59PM (#17216869)
I think HN tends to lean anti-union because it is centered around a community of seed investors and entrepreneurs. Unions would work against their interests.
Re:Wage Theft is a Bigger Problem Than Other Forms of Theft ... by crankylinuxuser on Saturday June 02, 2018 @07:29PM (#17216989)
The answer seems obvious to me, and that is to have the workers be the investors themselves. In that way, the workers are also the bosses and can collectively decide their future and path forward.

Other ways separates the money from the labor. There will always be strife in that organization. Having a worker owned co-op also means that the profits don't go elsewhere - they go back to the people doing the labor.

Re:Wage Theft is a Bigger Problem Than Other Forms of Theft ... by late2part on Saturday June 02, 2018 @11:02PM (#17217689)
Can you give some succesful examples where the workers are the investors themselves and decide collectively their future?
Re:Wage Theft is a Bigger Problem Than Other Forms of Theft ... by carapace on Sunday June 03, 2018 @12:48AM (#17217952)
http://www.windings.com/about-us/

> Windings Inc. is headquartered in New Ulm, Minnesota, with domestic and international production facilities and capabilities. Windings maintains the highest standards in manufacturing, engineering, material management and concept development while achieving a global presence in the industry.

> Our company was founded in 1965. The majority of our business is made up of the Industrial, Aerospace, and Defense markets.

...

> In 1998, Windings Inc. formed an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) for a planned purchase and transition of Company stock to the employees of Windings. The higher sense of responsibility that comes with employee ownership has made Windings even more responsive to customer needs and encourages innovation to bring greater value to its customers. In 2008, the company became 100% employee-owned.

Re:Wage Theft is a Bigger Problem Than Other Forms of Theft ... by crankylinuxuser on Saturday June 02, 2018 @11:26PM (#17217762)
Mondragon , in the Basque region of Spain is a good example. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondragon_Corporation

I don't read Italian, but there are a set of unemployment laws in Italy that roughly state - if there are 10 unemployed people who have an idea for a company, they can request all their unemployment insurance collectively and form a worker cooperative. Right now, there's more than 8000 such cooperatives in Italy.

In Norway, Kantega is another such example. They're considered in the top 100 best workplaces in Europe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kantega

Suma, a food collective, is another such example. Again, note the humane treatment of workers. Again, this is democracy in the workplace - the workers collectively decide how they are to be treated. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suma_(co-operative)

Prof. Wolff had a dissertation he gave, which is on youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1WUKahMm1s

Re:Wage Theft is a Bigger Problem Than Other Forms of Theft ... by spiralx on Monday June 04, 2018 @01:00PM (#17229805)
There's the John Lewis Partnership in the UK that includes 36 department stores and 353 supermarkets with over £11bn in annual sales.

https://www.johnlewispartnership.co.uk/about.html

Re:Wage Theft is a Bigger Problem Than Other Forms of Theft ... by knuththetruth on Saturday June 02, 2018 @06:46PM (#17216814)
Techies are highly-paid relative to many other workers, but they're being exploited by they're being employers in many of the same ways as their low-wage counterparts, including collusive depression and theft of wages. Death march culture and the Google-Apple wage-fixing scandal should've demonstrated this to everyone.
Re:Wage Theft is a Bigger Problem Than Other Forms of Theft ... by walterbell on Saturday June 02, 2018 @07:40PM (#17217028)
LinkedIn paid $6M for unpaid overtime, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8137958

> LinkedIn failed to record, account and pay for all hours worked in a workweek, investigators found ... "Off the clock' hours are all too common for the American worker. This practice harms workers, denies them the wages they have rightfully earned and takes away time with families," said Susana Blanco, district director for the division in San Francisco. "We urge all employers, large and small, to review their pay practices to ensure employees know their basic workplace rights and that the commitment to compliance works through all levels of the organization. The department is committed to protecting the rights of workers and leveling the playing field for all law-abiding employers."