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A comment on How tech workers at Kickstarter formed one of the only unions in the industry. Parent comment

Re:How tech workers at Kickstarter formed one of the only un... by solidasparagus on Wednesday October 07, 2020 @04:40PM (#24712463)
Doesn't it also prevent them from using their real names in their work if anyone already has that name? And don't you have to pay $3k to join + 1.85% of your income (for the majority of actors who make less than $200,000 per year - special rules help the members who make lots of money from having to pay too much)?

Plus you can't work on whatever you want - you are only allowed to work with producers that have an active agreement with the SAG (Global Rule One).

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Re:How tech workers at Kickstarter formed one of the only un... by ardy42 on Wednesday October 07, 2020 @04:49PM (#24712551)
Yeah, but so what? Don't most organization have rules designed to allow them to function as an organization or solve specific problems they encounter? It's not like an Apple employee can freely blog about the unreleased product they're working on or simultaneously work with Samsung on a competing product.
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Re:How tech workers at Kickstarter formed one of the only un... by solidasparagus on Wednesday October 07, 2020 @04:54PM (#24712601)
Yeah. And the SAG rules aren't unreasonable IMO. But a union is not replacing the existing rules of your workplace, it's a second group of people who can add rules.
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Re:How tech workers at Kickstarter formed one of the only un... by ardy42 on Wednesday October 07, 2020 @05:03PM (#24712702)
> Yeah. And the SAG rules aren't unreasonable IMO. But a union is not replacing the existing rules of your workplace, it's a second group of people who can add rules.

Yes and no.

1) Rules aren't interchangeable, undifferentiated things. An employer's rules are meant to mostly benefit the employer. Rules a union adds would be to mostly benefit its members.

2) A union can get employer workplace rules changed in its negotiations, if its members objected to them and they have enough negotiating power.

3) That "second group of people" could possible include you as a union member, and if it doesn't, it's a group you would have far more influence over than company management.

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