Technical Writers Union

["Ivan Weiss" <ivan -dot- weiss -at- centurytel -dot- net>]

""Pete Sanborn"" <psanborn2 -at- earthlink -dot- net> wrote in message
news:NFBBLLKAMLPPGANEKMMLKEGMCBAA -dot- psanborn2 -at- earthlink -dot- net -dot-  -dot-  -dot- 
> Here's a thought about unions and such - if you don't like the work,
the
> working conditions and/or the pay, go find another job. If enough tech
> writers vote with their feet, sooner or later, a lousy employer gets
the
> hint and improves whatever is deficient or he never gets his
documentation
> completed so he never gets to ship his product(s) to market. If he
can't
> ship, he can't sell, if he can't sell, he can't stay in business.
>
> That's the simple law of supply and demand that unions don't want you
to
> know. Granted, things are tough for all of us right now, but the basic
rule
> still applies - if you don't like the work, the pay and/or the working
> conditions, go elsewhere. That isn't the only job in town and you
don't
have
> to work there.
>
> Isn't freedom wonderful?

Freedom indeed is wonderful. Freedom also includes the freedom to
organize
to bargain collectively. In the United States, that freedom is protected
by
the law of the land. Workers in any field -- including technical writing
--
are free to decide that they will *not* walk with their feet, that they
*may* band together for better working conditions. Is that "wrong," or
"un-American," or "communistic," or is it basic human nature to want to
better your situation?

What if there are no better jobs available immediately? What if your
kids
are in the middle of the school year? What if you have medical bills, or
house payments, or big auto repair bills? What if you want to stand your
ground and make things better in your workplace, and most or all of your
co-workers feel the same way? What then? Is that your choice in a "free"
marketplace or is it not?

More to the point, how many hundreds of millions of people in this world
go
off every day to jobs they hate, just because they have bills to pay or
families to support, and wish every day that they could make those jobs
better, and not *have* to walk? Are technical writers somehow excluded
from
this? I'd guess not.

These are real-life situations that people deal with in different ways
at
different times. Some do as Mr. Sanborn would have us all do -- go
elsewhere. Some just whine about it. Some, however, stand and fight,
because they perceive there is something worth fighting for. This is
where a union *might* be a good option.

Unions, at their best, can make a lot of things better for a lot of
people,
even in this field, and in some cases, especially so. Unions, at their
worst, are every bit as worthless as Mr. Sanborn, Mr. Plato and others
insist they are.

I say this having been a union activist, mobilizer and organizer for 33
years. I'd venture to say I have seen worse behavior by unions in my
time
than most here have. But I have seen the good side, too, and some of
*those* stories need to be told, if they might apply to technical
communicators.

I don't presume to tell Mr. Sanborn or Mr. Plato what is good *for
them.* I
respect their views and their experience. I am brand-new to this field,
and
I am in this group to learn, not spew a lot of crap about an industry I
know very little about.

But I *do* know unions, and I know there's no black and white here. I'm
sure this discussion will get to specifics, and away from the
generalities and hypotheticals, as all good tech writers are supposed to
do. :-)
--
Ivan Weiss        http://www.nwguild.org
Vashon WA         http://www.unionrecord.com






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