Not at Google so I can't comment about them directly.
Also very neutral on unions, so don't take this comment as my preference.
6 weeks may seem hard to get, but many companies offer only 2 weeks, and 3 weeks seems the norm. 4 weeks seems doable with a union (although it may not be necessary - more and more companies are offering 4 weeks).
Non-compete clauses are something unions can help with (I know they're not allowed in CA, but lots of other states allow them).
The amount of time or how often one is on-call can be something unions can help with.
Conditions for severance can be something unions can help with.
On the flip side, unions can also make things a lot worse. YMMV.
I'm also a SWE at Google, and speaking only for myself, I might support efforts to ensure that those great benefits are harder to take away. Does that mean unionization ... I don't know, but there's a big spectrum of possible worker organization.
Why not? Such a vague claim needs substantiation.
Or not. Curious what others think.
https://pando.com/2014/03/22/revealed-apple-and-googles-wage...
And I'd agree that such a style of union would be antithetical to a company like Google, but its also not the only kind of union.
Yeah, this sounds like more anti-Union FUD than being based in actual data. I'd be happy to be proven wrong though if this can be substantiated through more than just cherry picked examples.
Unions typically (almost always) bargain to improve the compensation of the average employee. Outlier events are flattened by definition, meaning it is harder to be fired, and harder to make outlier money.
Probably one of the worst examples. The MLBPA is currently the biggest joke regarding negotiating power, and the NFLPA settled a concussion lawsuit where the NFL is lying about player health and got away without admitting guilt about it.
Pro sports unions are inept at battling management and their members are suffering for it - in the case of football, literally dying for it without adequate compensation (if such a thing exists).
Like it does in Hollywood? Oh no wait, everyone from the stars to the extras is in a Union!
This absolutely happens in MLB/MLBPA. Players are not allowed to negotiate most types of incentive-based contracts that would align interests of management and players to give them higher possible pay, amongst other methods of capping pay to improve standards for average professional athletes.
There could be an employee elected board that is able to resolve things like disputes with managers. It's clear that there have been situations where HR is no help here. There could be agitation for greater transparency with perf, especially around things like promo quotas and ratings distributions.
Unions aren't just about pay.
For those reading if a stat holiday falls on Tuesday or Thursday in Switzerland the Monday or Friday is a bridge day and also a holiday.
It gets fantastic when Thursday and Tuesday are holidays so you get a 6 day weekend.
Yup. Happened to me. Big corporate decided most of our floor were surplus to requirements. Got an email on Sunday telling us to be in early on Monday for an off-site meeting.
Got handed my redundancy / compromise agreement and told not to return to the office. And, the kicker, told my non-compete meant I couldn't work for a competitor during the redundancy process.
It was devastating and emotionally wrecking. It was like being dumped, out of the blue, from a multi-year relationship. And being told you couldn't see anyone else. I went through all the classic stages of grief.
And then...
I contacted my Trade Union and explained the situation. They took a look at the contract I'd been given, passed it to a very expensive lawyer, who made a couple of phone calls.
The next week I was free to work for whoever I wanted and was paid ~7 months salary (tax free).
Join. A. Union.
Your employer has more lawyers than you do. Pay a couple of quid per month to have decent legal representation on hand when you need it.
That layoff was the best thing to happen to me. Shook me out of my cosy job, forced me into building my own consultancy, and taught me the power of solidarity.
This last part sounds like an argument against unions. One wonders, had the commenter worked in an environment where layoffs/firings aren't worth it due to externalities (and therefore never really happen), whether they'd rethink.
IDK, I'm either reading his statement or yours in a way someone isn't intending.
Also, people who work in non-union jobs often feel that peer complacency and bloat are problems. That's not unique to union shops. Everyone has had a job where there was "that guy" that nobody understood how he kept his job. IDK why people thing unions magically create this problem, or make it worse. Mostly because I haven't seen any studies proving it, it's just a "feeling" people have.
There are good arguments to be made for unionization. That some people make more - sometimes substantially more - isn't always one of them. Certainly trying to stoke anger might not always be the best of all available ways to win over people trying to be thoughtful.
Like by raising wages? How else would you spread it around?
> That some people make more - sometimes substantially more - isn't always one of them.
Read marx. Or chomsky.
You'll have to pardon me if I'm reluctant to take my economics lessons from a linguist.
Your loss, not mine!
Some people are leery about the possibility of their employer turning into a closed shop. I know I would not be happy if my employer suddenly turned into a union shop in a way that strongly affected me and gave me minimal choice in the matter.
I only ask that you consider why people might choose to sit on the sidelines.
Now, a union election isn't a government election, so that doesn't totally apply. But, for example, the majority has decided to pass legislation that makes my current state a right-to-work state, so a union can't require me to be a member, even if they win the election.
Of course, unions could campaign to change that law. But that's a different set of elections they'd have to win...
Source, page 11 of https://googlegendercase.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Elli...
Further, the larger tech companies already have a concept of "levels" to ensure some sense of pay equality, we already get better benefits than you can get anywhere else in the states.
Realistically, what more will unions accomplish at a place like Google?
I'd love 6 weeks of paid vacation as much as anyone. I don't see us getting that. I'd love to make twice as much money. I don't see that happening. I'd love for promotions and hiring to be more fair / better, but I don't see how this accomplishes that (nor do I know anyway to improve it).