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A comment on Big Tech is using layoffs to crush worker power. Parent comment

Re:Big Tech is using layoffs to crush worker power by tracker1 on Monday January 30, 2023 @12:07PM (#34582813)
It's a mixed bag... when your near the ceiling for a given area, it's harder to think about scaling back. These past few months in tech have been really reminding me of the .com bust in 2000-2002, where a lot of the big tech companies scaled back, others fell over (mostly coastal areas) and about a year later it hit secondary cities (Phoenix, SLC, Houston, etc)... I was pretty much unable to find anything for about 6-8 months, and others for a year.

In the end, wound up staying in a room at a friend's house that was being renovated... working small project work at barely enough to feed myself on... By the end, my truck was reposessed and I was driving a junker. All I can say is for now, keep your head down, and hit your goals.

The up side is during the down time I managed to enhance my skills, learn a new programming language (offline, with the command line compiler is so much fun /sarc).

It's cyclical... I would expect many jobs at the higher end to shift down about 30-50% in terms of base compensation. Working C2H right now, and really hoping I'm able to come in perm. Fortunately in a market not going away.

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Re:Big Tech is using layoffs to crush worker power by kilgnad on Monday January 30, 2023 @12:12PM (#34582894)
>It's a mixed bag... when your near the ceiling for a given area, it's harder to think about scaling back.

A union doesn't necessarily have to negotiate maximum ceiling salaries. It doesn't have to negotiate salaries at all. It can just be an entity to prevent the company from letting you go just because the numbers look 2% better.

I think the best of both worlds is when the union only negotiates a minimum salary.

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Re:Big Tech is using layoffs to crush worker power by tracker1 on Monday January 30, 2023 @12:46PM (#34583523)
I've thought for a while that a more formal guild would be a good approach for software developers... My fear is that it would become a certification/credential machine.
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Re:Big Tech is using layoffs to crush worker power by Phlarp on Monday January 30, 2023 @01:06PM (#34583836)
SAG has absolutely no trouble raising the standards of the entire industry without any "ceilings" for the highest paid members, nor has it become a credentialism machine like state bar associations or the AMA.
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