My experience with unions has been that the engineer wouldn't be fired and they would swap out someone willing to do it in exchange for some concession.
Re:Apple Hides Taiwan Flag in Hong Kong
by AmericanChopper on Monday October 07, 2019 @03:53PM
(#21185243)
So you’re proposing a union that engages in political activism? I presume people who didn’t agree with the political stances adopted by the union would be expected to start their own competing union to represent their own political interests. Would sure be interesting to see one union threatening action if an employer chooses to do something, with a competing union threatening to take action if they choose not to. Or perhaps this just isn’t a problem you can solve with a union, and would be better addressed by having individuals putting consideration into where they work. Something I believe people already do.
Getting fired for not acceding to a demand like this isn't the result of an individual manager making a decision but the entire apparatus of corporate governance coming to bear on the person. It can be only be meaningfully resisted and fought with an equally organized group of engineers.
If you're on Hacker News, and our industry's willingness to compromise on fundamental values to maintain access to "the world's largest market" upsets you -
Join or start a union.