[jazzyk]

We don't need a union, but a professional body representing us would do wonders. Merely sorting out the H1B visa mess (not necessarily eliminating) would help salaries.

My wife is an architect (residential) and her clients cannot tell her to take a shortcut which violates the Building Code.

I'd love to be able to say "no" to some stupid, short-sighted requests I get from clients. Without a professional organization behind me - I can't, because I will be deemed "difficult" and lose the business.

[HeyLaughingBoy]

That's a totally different issue though.

Even if your wife thinks it's good idea to violate the building Code in some isolated case, she still can't legally do it.

You're just looking for someone to back you up because you think your client is short-sighted. You'd have equal leverage to your wife's if your software was processing data in a regulated industry and a client asked you to do something against regulations.