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Comment by thelastknowngod | Hacker News Reader

I think there is a significant amount of companies (and a substantial portion of the government) in the US that operates on a philosophy like "How much can we extract from people before there is any push back?" It is a nation entirely built on micro transactions.. I am sitting in an airport right now. Baggage carts are free to use. The last time I flew in the US it was a $5 fee. Why? Because it's just enough to extract value from us but not enough for anyone to complain in a significant way.

I don't think that companies are deliberately trying to be awful to workers. They are just using the standard American model.. "How much can we get away with?"

The country is in desperate need of widespread unionization efforts.

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I don’t think all companies are as adversarial towards their employees as this makes it sound. Great companies recognize they benefit when they are proactively trying to do what’s best for the employee as well as the company.

Companies that I’ve seen do it well have an executive level employee advocacy position. Typically in a human resource department, but less concerned about the policy and regulatory requirements and is specifically tasked to be a champion/voice for employees.

> The country is in desperate need of widespread unionization efforts.

No thanks. I don’t like working with clock punchers nor do I want to get paid as poorly as programmers in Europe/Canada.

Until unions in the US stop prioritizing seniority over competence for pay, they need to stay the hell away from this industry.

Good pay is nice, but it's not the only variable to the equation.

I worked received great pay in the US, but made the decision to return to Australia. I have some regrets, but the lifestyle I get from not being in the Bay Area pretty much offsets any pay difference.

What I miss most is the scope and pace of the work and the incredibly intelligent people I got to work with. Thankfully I'm beginning to see the genesis of this in my local market.

And what do you think unionization in the Bay Area would have done to fix your issues?

How come when I look at unionized companies and countries, they don't have it much better, and their pay is whole lot worse?

Do you think this is a uniquely American issue? Having lived in other countries it’s worse.

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