[cess11]

That's not really what the article is about, it's a theme, but the argument is about power in the workplace and how it erodes the conditions for accumulating professional skill. It's like on the nose about this from the outset, I don't understand how you could miss it.

Since shareholders and management in large corporations control much of what software developers do all day, every day, if one considers this a problem and wants a solution, what can you think about except unions? I can think of one thing, guilds. Like the lawyers and doctors and accountants we could form guilds, only take in people we know are decent and honest and we kick them out if they turn bad or don't live up to our professional standards. And then we could use that as a base for collective bargaining, or if necessary, extortion.

If you don't have anything else, then I think union is likely the more practical suggestion. Many know what a union is, there's recent history of success, striking is well understood.