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Video game studio called Proletariat declines to recognize union (lol) (washingtonpost.com)
31 points by mirthlessend on Jan 17, 2023 | hide | past | favorite | 19 comments



It could be nice if companies would be forced to set up collective workers representation entities when they reach a certain numbers of employees, where I am the limit is of 50 employees, then you must have a collective representation

https://business.gov.nl/regulation/works-council-staff-repre...


I don't even think you could find 50 people in the same market/country qualified to do my job.

I'd rather negotiate my own salary. Thanks.


It’s cool be be selfish.

Collective bargaining exists to protect people who have less negotiating power than you claim to have yourself. Don’t need it? Cool, don’t use it. Doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea for others.


Work provides value. If you have no negotiating power then you likely would be unemployed otherwise.

I understand that in Europe it's common for a quarter to a third of jobs are public sector and a large percentage of jobs in the private sector are propped up by government spending, but that's much less common here in the US. Employment isn't usually a subsidy.


> Work provides value. If you have no negotiating power then you likely would be unemployed otherwise.

Tell that to the unskilled workforce that operates all around you, likely both in your professional and personal life.


I've been unskilled labor. I didn't start my engineering career until my 30s.

I always had more negotiating power than I thought I did...except in my three union jobs, where I had zero negotiating power.


I've posted several times in the past about how I've been a part of no less than three separate unions (forced into as a condition of employment).

My pay was peanuts; the union took way too much of it and when I actually needed the unions they didn't do shit for me.

Outside of federal employment, unions in the US are hopelessly broken and frequently do more harm than good.


Don't use it? How can I do that when I'm legally forced to do so?


I’ve worked in unionised industries in two countries and neither required union membership, it was optional.

I can’t speak for everywhere though. Maybe you can provide a reference showing that your local legislation works this way?


It seems to me you were supporting the op when he said

>It could be nice if companies would be forced to set up collective workers representation entities when they reach a certain numbers of employees, where I am the limit is of 50 employees, then you must have a collective representation

So if that was the case, how can I work for a large company without such workers representation?


What the OP is describing is that the company must provide a way for it's staff to join a union that they recognise. The individual staff members are still free to choose whether or not they want to join.


Thankfully in Europe, unions work across markets, everyone on the building gets them, regardless of their actual job.

Besides negotiating salaries, we get proper working hours, no weekends, no emails after work, paid overtime, nice vacation packages,...


Sadly I don't live in Europe.


A radioactive capitalist bit me and I became special, so I'd rather negotiate that by myself


And if we pull of your mask we just see a scared person that thinks they are better off, if others are worse off.


Yeah regulations should be representatives of the interests of the population, if the majority is better off negotiating their own salaries then be it, otherwise I guess it's better for people to vote for those who would be represented differently, it's not a sin or an issue. What is concerning for me is that sometimes some voters go to vote not to represent their own interest in a given time but to represent the interests of what they aim to be, that is primarily the issue that keeps them from becoming what they want to be. (i.e. if poor vote for lowering taxes to the wealthier because they aim to get less taxes when they will be rich, then regulation for the redistribution of wealth will prevent them to get rich because of lack of redistribution) but yeah, if you are better off like that, its good for you, if you just vote against collective bargaining because you feel the new generation of jedi that is better off alone because its so special that no one can compete, then its a bit sad. And I sad not for offensiveness, but just because there are always a lot of people that are better off alone because they're special, sometimes it feels like everyone is special, but when everyone is special it feels like no one is special and we just dance and talk to make rich richer


highly in demand engineers need unions a lot less than minimum wage employees whose terrible wages are subsidized by your taxes so that they don't starve to death.


45k tech layoffs, new CEOs demanding 80hrs work week, I am not sure if highly in demand engineers don't need unions, I think it's just that.. don't know how to say, I have low consideration of the culture of tech workers in general, and I feel that we don't really understand the world, otherwise we would be fighting to have fair working conditions instead of saying that everything is fine just because maybe we can find another job much easily and just have a life of instability and long days


No thanks, please stop forcing me to be unemployed.




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