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is there a useful way for tech workers to express interest in a union? In USA.
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this post was submitted on 03 Oct 2023
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Many tech unions have formed under/with the support of CODE-CWA (Campaign to Organize Digital Employees - Communication Workers of America). With their solidarity and guidance, some companies have started unions: Alphabet/Google, Change.org, Medium, NYT, ActivisionBlizzard, etc.
However, a union doesn't have to be industry-wide or even company-wide. An official union can be as small as a couple people -- what matters is that you have a sufficient density in whatever job title or shared responsibilities you are bargaining on behalf of. For example, within the Alphabet/Google here are some examples of small groups which organized, won their union elections, and now have official bargaining rights per the NLRB:
Or, Google Fiber workers in Kansas City: www.wired.com/story/google-fiber-union/
If I were you I would reach out to CODE-CWA and ask if they can extend you resources about organizing in a tech workplace. Organizing can be as unofficial as creating a petition and collecting signatures within your workplace to express shared disagreement to leadership about certain working conditions (and hoping that a unified front sways them), or as official as holding a union vote and forming what's called a "Bargaining Unit", which is granted certain protections under NLRA law and that your employer is required to bargain with. Either way, you have the right idea by starting from within -- pockets of density highly familiar with your working conditions, i.e. your coworkers.
Oh, and for an example of unionized tech workers that kick ass -- check out Kickstarter's union and the list of things they bargained for and won.
Cognizant isn't a great example for Google, they aren't Google employees and after they unionized Google dropped a bunch of outsourcing to them and third parties in general.
The NLRB recently ruled that Google is a joint employer of Cognizant employees contracted to Google, because Google sufficiently controls the working conditions of those employees. Google is attempting to ignore the ruling, which is illegal but slow to have consequences for them.
NLRB is going to have to convince a court (probably several) that their stance is the correct one before that ruling becomes at all real, though.