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> Just kidding. I agree with you. If anything would make us
> into commodity labor, it would be a union.
Actually, it's the other way round: people unionize when they feel they
have been made into commodities. That's been the case from the craft
unions of the 19th century to the campaigns of present-day teaching
assistants at Yale, Harvard and the University of California, Legal Aid
attorneys and nurses.
There is a union of writers, by the way: the National Writers Union. I'm
an active member. This isn't a pitch for the union, as that would be
inappropriate for this list, but I'll try to address the unionize topic.
The NWU is open to freelancers and independent contractors in all
genres. We're not a union of employees. So why unionize? Generally, tech
writers say they join the NWU because (1) we have a hotline of contract
and job openings that lists only direct contracts--no agencies or job
shops, (2) we can review members' writing contracts and help them
improve them or avoid the really bad ones, and we'll advocate for a
member if problems arise after the signing, (3) they like being in the
labor movement, and (4) they feel the STC is dominated by managers and
agencies and they want an organization of writers only.
> Unionizing? Now I'm ignorant when it comes to unions, but it
> sounds like a good way to drive the paid technical writer
> right out of a lot of companies. I know I'd be gone if I
> became part of a union that forced my employer to increase my salary.
>
> We have enough problems convincing employers of our worth
> without adding the word "Union" to the perception.
In regard to this, while we don't stencil "I'm a union member" on
everyone's forehead, I don't recall ever hearing of a writer being
refused work because s/he was in the union, though I expect that if we
were organizing for a collective bargaining contract the story would be
different.
= Mike Bradley
Tech Pubs
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