Tech 1010 Newsletter - Issue 35
One of the first things we ask when we sit down with workers who want to organize is “who do you think should be in your union?” The National Labor Relations Act clearly states that “employees have the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities…” But who classifies as “employees” who are eligible to be in your union? The NLRB establishes that employees who meet the criteria for managerial, supervisory, or confidential status are excluded from the bargaining unit, but actually applying this to any given workplace can be a persistent challenge.
Whether we’re in the initial stages of organizing for recognition, or months into a ratified contract – management always wants to cut people out of our unions. Our power comes from our collective action and mutual solidarity, so it naturally follows that the more of us there are, the more power we have. The converse is also true, and management knows it: the fewer of us there are, the less powerful our unions. In tech workplaces, this looks like management arguing that product managers are supervisory, engineering leads are managers, recruiters are confidential employees, and much more. We can never just take management’s word for it. They are not labor experts, and they do not have your union’s best interest in mind.
Our best avenue to fight back is to talk with one another. The more we can understand someone’s day-to-day role or the workflow of teams we don’t usually interact with, the better equipped we are to advocate for our colleagues' inclusion in and protections by our union. Management relies on workers being siloed and misinformed, but your union can shift this culture. It all starts with a conversation, and the simple commitment to protect as many workers as possible.
Solidarity,
RV & Kaar