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For my two cents worth on a writers union I would start out with this
question? What problem exists in the industry that anyone in their right
mind thinks a union will resolve?
My experience with unions is that they are unbearably structured and, in an
industry such as ours which occasionally requires creative thought, a union
will not tolerate creative thought. Creative thought leads to dissension
among the unionized workers because they are capable of thinking for
themselves. I don't need or want a union taking part of my paycheck to tell
me that I can only dedicate myself to one field of tech writing.
Let's face it - unions are little more than bureaucracies controlled by
power hungry people who need to be in charge of something because they are
too incompetent to work in a real job. Thanks, but no thanks. Technical
Writing is a PROFESSION that, for the most part, pays well and provides more
opportunities than we would have otherwise.
A technical writers union is not only a bad idea, it's an incredibly bad
idea. Include me out.
Regards,
Pete Sanborn
-----Original Message-----
From: bounce-techwr-l-81537 -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
[mailto:bounce-techwr-l-81537 -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com]On Behalf Of Paula
Puffer
Sent: Wednesday, October 31, 2001 11:20 AM
To: TECHWR-L
Subject: RE: Technical Writing Union
Ashley Wrote:
I know that you cannot be a government worker and
be in a union, but not all technical writers work for the government.
Thoughts?
Paula Responds:
There us a Government worker union, my friend Lisa who is a USDA chicken
inspector belongs to it.
As for Unions for writers, they do exist in this country. The National
Writers Union can be found at www.nwu.org and they do have a
Busines/technical section on their web site.
Paula
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