[Balgair]

In a lot of unions a major component is safety.

Though it may not seem like safety is a big concern in tech right now, there are areas where it will be of concern. For example, Unions may be a good method to force safety concerns in self-driving cars and in IoT devices. Unions may help with health-care data and privacy. Unions may help with other forms of sensitive information like in judicial work and military work.

I'm not saying that unions are the only way to force safety, but they have been an effective force for safety in other areas in the past. Their effectiveness should not be discounted out of hand.

[ttcbj]

Interestingly, for my Dad's business (employs between 100 and 300 people) the cost of worker's comp insurance is the main driver of safety. Accidents/injuries drive up your workers comp costs.

His company employs one full time person whose job is to improve safety. The guy runs safety competitions (days without a serious accident) with prizes, does reviews, researches equipment and practices, etc.

He will also tell you that the biggest safety improvement they ever made was drug testing. He resisted it for a long time because he feared it would be difficult to hire people, but after they did it he became a big advocate of it.

[Apocryphon]

And given the spate of sexual harassment and similar employee abuse stories from the past few years, it's not as if there aren't employee safety concerns in tech.

[blub]

Yes, unions and laws are the only surefire ways of pushing back when pressured by management.

Quitting right off the bat or folding like a wet biscuit after realizing that they do have power over you are not ways of pushing back.