Always, it's insane how people who work in this tech can think about reshaping this social convention or disrupting that industry and still think that "nope, unions are inherently bad and always will be bad, there is no way for us innovators to redesign labor relations for the good of workers."

>I don't want corporate politics and all the worst parts of MBA culture within a hundred miles of tech, yet here we are.

If you think politics isn't an implicit reality of any organized group of human beings, I've got a bridge to sell you.

So sounds like you should be okay with the minimum amount of politics that unions have!

At any rate, it's definitely arguable that office politics in tech have gotten worse and worse in the last few decades, as more money and money-men have poured into the industry. Compare Silicon Valley now to how it was prior to the Netscape IPO, and the toxicity has definitely grown.

Politics may be inherent, but the type of politics can vary in quality and livability. Ditto for the politics in a union.

I do think it is an implicit reality of any organized group of human beings, which is why I want a group that does it on my behalf, not just one that does it against my behalf.

One may not like militarism, but even the most extreme anarcho-libertarians see the benefit in having a military to protect them.

Unions are the same way. They are the only way you, as an employee, can meaningfully protect yourself.