[wildmusings]

>if you wait for C-execs to increase salaries of its information workers you might wait a long... long time.

Actually, you wouldn't wait very long at all, since pay for software engineers is at all-time highs. If you're good (and even if you're not), you can come out of college into a six-figure job in the valley.

I know people who work at Boeing and have to follow union rules. I want no part of that racket. Keeping track of every single minute worked is mandatory and working extra time beyond the allowed maximum can get you fired. It becomes a way for the mediocre and complacent to pull the excellent and ambitious down to their level. The union has repeatedly shot themselves in the foot by forcing outrageous demands on Boeing. Guess what the company is doing in response? Moving more and more operations to South Carolina and China.

There's no place for unions in software, a field of highly-paid knowledge workers that have recruiters emailing them weekly.

>Ordoliberalism like applied in Germany where I worked a couple years provides a quite elegant framework to allow a local form of union so the workers' right can be defended while not impending innovation and regular market dynamics.

The United States is wealthier, more dynamic, and has a lower cost of living than Germany. Why exactly should we copy their model?