Silicon Valley "Slavery Lite" | Hacker News Reader

Silicon Valley "Slavery Lite"

10 pointshackaflocka7 comments

I realize that Amazon is not in Silicon Valley, but if it is true that white collar workers in Silicon Valley have to sign contracts like this, then there's no other way to describe this but a modern, "lite" version of "slavery." Disclosure: I don't work in Silicon Valley, or in Seattle, or in Tech.

Quote:

According to a contract obtained by the Verge, Amazon workers that signed it pledged not to “engage in or support the development, manufacture, marketing, or sale of any product or service that competes or is intended to compete with any product or service sold, offered, or otherwise provided by Amazon (or intended to be sold, offered, or otherwise provided by Amazon in the future) that employee worked on or supported, or about which employee obtained or received confidential information”.

Typically, non-compete contracts are part of the hiring process for white-collar, highly skilled employees privy to trade secrets.

:Unquote.

In a lot of states, including California, non-competes are illegal as a matter of course. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-compete_clause#California A lot of other states have restrictions on them.

> I realize that Amazon is not in Silicon Valley

Yep. In fact, it's in an entirely different state.

> if it is true that white collar workers in Silicon Valley have to sign contracts like this

It's not. Here, this might help: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=california+non-compete

> Disclosure: I don't work in Silicon Valley, or in Seattle, or in Tech.

Do you work in a field that requires more than 30 seconds of diligence to do your job? If so, you might want to work on that.

Slavery is when people are being treated as property. They are not free to go where they please, and are typically not compensated for their labor except for food and accommodation. So I don't really see how your quote relates to slavery?

Well at work you are not free to move.

You have to stay exactly where your boss tell you to be.

You don't have the right to express your opinion freely if they contradict the way of the company...

Since 2007 the incomes are growing less than inflation and with a consistend trend, while benefits are steadily growing (thanks to QE).

It prevents you to freely choose your social relationships and mate (social integration) and it takes most of your living in good health life.

Thus I don't know when, but if the trends does not invert, than there is mathematically a point at which we will be paid less than what is required to provide our primary needs, which can be called not being compensated for your labour.

This is already happening for the poorest workers.

So, given that the last point is just a mathematical projection that is bound to happen our system is already "slavery lite" for some of us and the trends is towards a slow contamination of the rests of the workers.

That is for certain.

Knowing when it will be noticeable in your own life is a question of a propagation of a signal to your environment.

Ok, I am pissed at not being able to see the wife I married in order to see her more because of our jobs is making me mad.

I love her, I can't get enough of her, I would like to show her the world and meet interesting people but I am not free.

I have a job. She does have one too. And WE CANNOT FUCKING LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER.

A system in which there is no possible nice ending for your life like a fairy tail is not worthy.

I don't intend to give up, though.

So you're saying that having a job is "slavery lite"? Why not just call it "employment"? You're free to become your own boss and avoid all these downsides (something I'm working on too, by the way).

I don't see how a cushy 6-figure job in a nice city has any relevance to slavery at all.

This has been going on for as long as I've been an engineer, 25+ years. You're free to work somewhere else; this is nothing close to slavery.

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