I'm not advocating a worse labor market, I'm advocating a market where engineers' lives are not constantly interrupted by phone calls from recruiters. Tech workers do not benefit in any way from being cold-called.

The job market in silicon valley is very favorable to tech workers. A typical college grad could start applying tomorrow and have multiple offers by the end of the week. Someone with a few years at a top-tier company on their resume could probably get an offer directly after the interviews conclude. This is what hiring managers mean by "tech worker shortage": if you can write code, you can get a good job on a very tight schedule.