Re: Proud Non-Member of the STC

[Bruce Byfield <bbyfield -at- AXIONET -dot- COM>]

A couple of people have asked me off-list to expand on my comment that
the STC is "not a professional association in any meaningful sense of
the the word."

What I meant was that the STC differs from groups like the bar or
medical associations, or even from trade unions, in a number of
important ways:

--Membership in the STC is not required for employment in the field.

--Membership in the STC does not guarantee competence.

--The STC does not set, negotiate, nor enforce standards for working
conditions, behavior, or quality of work.

--The STC does not provide medical, dental, or unemployment insurance
for members, nor any legal protection.

--STC officials are not responsible to members, beyond the fact that
they are elected.

I am not saying that the STC necessarily should have all these powers
and functions.

Yet, clearly, "professional association" cannot be applied to both the
STC and groups that have these functions without making the term so
general as to be meaningless.

The only services that the STC does provide are:

--employment news.
--education.
--networking.

Al these functions are available elsewhere. Moreover, with the possible
exception of networking, other groups offer them as well or better than
the STC.

In some places, of course, the STC is closer to a professional
organization than in others. That is probably because the quality of STC
officials is higher in those places.

But that fact only shows how far the STC as a whole falls short. In an
organization with any power or function, the usefulness of the
organization is at least partly independent of its officials.

For example, I have belonged to several large unions, including one or
two whose exectives were notoriously corrupt. Yet, because these unions
had bargaining power and could protect their members through the
collective agreement, they still provided useful services for members,
despite their officials.

The same cannot be said of the STC. My conclusion is that the STC is
primarily a social club. Nor do I see any evidence that this focus will
change any time soon.

For some people, that may be enough to justify membership. However, they
shouldn't deceive themselves that they are getting anything more.

If they need help in their professional lives, they shouldn't expect it
from the STC.

--
Bruce Byfield, Outlaw Communications
(bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com)  (604) 421-7189  or 687-2133 X. 269
http://www.axionet.com/outlawcommunications

"And if my service is easily bought,
My faith has never been."
--The Men They Couldn't Hang, "Bounty Hunter"