> So if we need to work long hours, what can we do to recover?
Not work long hours? This is what unions are for (now, if we could just have one without dues/political contributions).
Not work long hours? This is what unions are for (now, if we could just have one without dues/political contributions).
On the subject of dues being required to pay for full-time guild leaders as brought up in the sibling comments, that makes sense. But could it be supplemented by crowdfunding and alternate pay models, instead of mandating a set price? Tiered membership? Freemium guilds? Free 2 Protest?
On a less semi-satirical level about startups, hackers already voluntarily contribute willingly to non-profit endeavors, namely open source projects, and sometimes causes such as Wikipedia/Wikimedia, the Internet Archive, even tech-related lobbying like the EFF, etc. Surely some could put that same spirit of voluntarism towards supporting their labor class.
It just seems that more startup engineering teams should engage in collective action, because in many cases, if the entire team left, the company would be crippled.
Like say in a company, you work with your direct coworkers (as opposed to members of a national or even regional union) to adhere to that protocol of bargaining when disputes with management happen?
Has anyone explored trying it with a private membership app?
Abuses aside, you don't get the positive - that is someone fighting for your rights - for free, and without playing in the field of politics.
> Hey all, management's been asking us for too much unpaid overtime. Strike?
You're gonna need legal. Professional negotiators would be good.
"The eight-hour day was won during this decade primarily through labor market tightness (wage increases, manufacturing employment expansion, and curtailment of immigration)."
Abuse of said political contributions are another (but important) matter.
Funding is important, as we've seen with the Sanders' campaign, but grassroots efforts equally (if not more) so.
I think funding is the smaller of the problem: unions, labor, regular people need better tools to organize and hold their representatives (either government or union) accountable.
EDIT: If you're looking for a problem to solve, help build these better tools. Help people be represented!
Unions are very differently organized depending on the country, their political leaning (or lack of thereof), their industry... For instance, it looks like that in the US, the Organizing Model[1] is prevalent, which means that a large workforce has to be employed by the union
From the media, it seems to me that unions in the US are generally less politically organized than in Europe. For instance in France, unions are almost always politicaly leaning in one way or another, from CNT ("anarchist" union), CGT (historically linked to the french Communist Party) and CFTC or FO (historically split from CGT by anti-communist organisations) and going sometimes to the right end of the political spectrum such as Alliance/CFE-CGC (french readers please forgive my broad simplification, I do know that it's much more complicated than my summary...). My limited knowledge of trade unions in Belgium and Spain comes to a similar analysis
However, from how they are portrayed in the media, it seems to me that unions in the US are rather 'trade based', for instance "the" teachers union, or the truckers unions, etc. In contrast in France a teacher could be affiliated to CGT Education or FO Education (depending on their personnal preferences/political leaning), which are in turn members of a larger "confederation" such as the CGT. In my (very simplified) example, the "teachers CGT" and the "truckers CGT" can and do band together and strike/picket together when an issue impact both teachers and truckers. In my simplified example, CGT Truckers also strike in support to teachers during large movements.
Is this also a thing in the US? It seems to me that it's not the case?
Yes, there are some systems which work by emergent properties alone without central organisation, but the very fact that they're limited to specific areas, and are prominantly missing in others, suggests limitations to their effectiveness and scope.
Consumers demand their new toys on a regular cycle. If one company doesn't keep up, another will. Too long not in the news and people forget about you.
The only way to stay relevant in a world with a thousand distractions is to keep making enough noise that customers pay attention.
If a product can be done properly in 16 months and ignored, or done in 12 months of way too many hours, and be a hit on the market, well the only damn choice is work 12 hour days.
I work as an R&D manager/software architect and I simply don't work more than 40hrs per week. It just takes some self discipline and efficiency. My CEO doesn't argue with me about it because I do my job and I do it well.
However, if your employer expects you to work more hours than you get paid for, find a different employer who actually respects your time.