Totally agree. I once helped start a worker-owned cooperative dev agency, and discovered (naively) that getting investment was basically impossible because investors and lenders aren't interested in creative legal solutions that don't fit their mold in which they would have funded a normal company doing the exact same work. That and extensive direct democracy can lead to design by committee and factionalism, which distract from the mission or violate the bylaws and require more overt conflict (compared to the back room stuff of hierarchical companies). I also recently took a university course on corporate law and co-ops were not mentioned even once (in Canada where there is a federal Cooperatives Act that permits their creation no less), so it is very niche. See Mondragon for an example of successful worker co-op businesses.
At least unions can still exist inside the standard model of employment which everything else is built around. In a "benevolent" tech company that actually treats its people well, I have trouble seeing unions as the ideal vehicle for balancing fairness with innovation. Of course there is inherent exploitation in any employment relationship within the standard model. I would love to see an example of it working in tech though, because I can imagine a union that is equally as interested in the success of the business and prioritizes sustainable growth on top of enforcing equitable treatment as a backstop.
There has to be some combination of legal structures that can somehow represent all interests fairly without adding friction. That is unions, or unions plus other things.
For example, employee ownership trusts could in theory be very aggressive and help smooth out the continuum between periodic bargaining and striking as the main/only leverage. Similar to a share purchase plan or RSU with a pool that has a majority of voting power, or at least equal to founders and investors with all the usual tie-breakers and dilution protections.
If I remember correctly some countries (Germany?) also have legislation requiring a certain amount of employee representation on corporate boards, but I don't know if that actually makes a big difference.
At least unions can still exist inside the standard model of employment which everything else is built around. In a "benevolent" tech company that actually treats its people well, I have trouble seeing unions as the ideal vehicle for balancing fairness with innovation. Of course there is inherent exploitation in any employment relationship within the standard model. I would love to see an example of it working in tech though, because I can imagine a union that is equally as interested in the success of the business and prioritizes sustainable growth on top of enforcing equitable treatment as a backstop.
There has to be some combination of legal structures that can somehow represent all interests fairly without adding friction. That is unions, or unions plus other things.
For example, employee ownership trusts could in theory be very aggressive and help smooth out the continuum between periodic bargaining and striking as the main/only leverage. Similar to a share purchase plan or RSU with a pool that has a majority of voting power, or at least equal to founders and investors with all the usual tie-breakers and dilution protections.
If I remember correctly some countries (Germany?) also have legislation requiring a certain amount of employee representation on corporate boards, but I don't know if that actually makes a big difference.