[stale2002]

Sure, band together and fix the power balance on your own, but don't force me to join one.

I am perfectly OK with "fighting" the power imbalance on my own, using a skill called "negotiating my salary" and "voting with my feet".

[alphonsegaston]

Neither of those things are forbidden by unions. Actors are unionized and negotiate their salaries. And of course you're always free to quit.

[chimeracoder]

> Neither of those things are forbidden by unions.

They can be - and most unions do prohibit negotiation with employers. SAG-AFTRA is the exception, not the rule, due mostly to the temporary, part-time, and gig-based nature of their work.

[alphonsegaston]

Sure - but we're talking about a new union for tech workers here. It can be what we want it to be. There's no reason to lock ourselves into some kind of historical determinancy. SAG-AFRTA never did.

[chimeracoder]

> Sure - but we're talking about a new union for tech workers here. It can be what we want it to be. There's no reason to lock ourselves into some kind of historical determinancy. SAG-AFRTA never did.

There is, and that's the NLRA. It's a very rigid law, and there's a reason that basically all unions formed under the NLRA, regardless of the industry, have converged on the same sorts of membership agreements, employer contracts, and corporate policies.

You can start off with whatever you like, but pretty much any NLRA-regulated union will end up with the same result; it's not a coincidence.