Re: Tech Writer Lawsuit

[Ned Bedinger <doc -at- edwordsmith -dot- com>]

Collin Turner wrote:
> I can tell you what I've observed. It won't go over easily, so please 
> don't kill the messenger. There's a reason why I've named my site Never 
> Whisper...
> 
> We (Tech Writers) are generally a quiet lot who just want to get our 
> jobs done and don't care to rock the boat. We're not here to create 
> trouble or rouse a riot. We complain to each other about how rough it 
> is, but take the lumps from the outside without raising hands to the 
> outside world.
> 
> In short? We can be rather cowardly bookworms when it comes to finding a 
> voice.

A saying attributed to the Japanaese is "The nail that sticks up gets 
pounded down." We tend to believe that will happen. I think we tell 
ourselves these stories, about how the work is our reason for being tech 
writers, but at the end of the day I think we'll all wish we'd made more 
money, taken better vacations, sent our kids to better schools, had 
better health care plans, and retired in more comfort. If the laws 
provided that opportunity (to earn more) and we quivered like jello 
instead of reaching out and taking it, then I guess I just don't know 
what kind of fools we are. Poor ones?

> 
> There we have it. I've raised my voice many times and have caught hell 
> for it. Will I do it again? You bet! I know the system fairly well 
> now...I also know when to shut up and how to admit when I'm wrong.
> 
> But I also know how to negotiate and how to get what I want from a 
> situation, even if it takes a while and requires patience. Corporate 
> America is a big game. Learn to play.

Well, I've always thought it curious that two people doing the same job 
could negotiate drastically different compensation packages.

But negotiating for OT with a W-2 agency or employer has been 
off-limits. When they say "Sorry, no overtime pay", that's the end of it 
if I want the job. I've been uniquely qualified and in control of 
negotiations a few times, but for the most part I find that Tech Writing 
work has been reconceived as One Size Fits All (OSFA), where unique 
requirements/qualifications seem less important than the art of just 
jamming any peg into any hole.

I'd like to hunt Big Game. I can't afford to go on safari, but if I can 
hunt Corporate America from my desk, I say "Let's Play!"  What're the 
rules, are they on a server somewhere?

Thanks for raising the Cone of Silence.

Ned Bedinger
doc -at- edwordsmith -dot- com

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