Re: Should we unionize?

[Ed Hoornaert <Ed -dot- Hoornaert -at- VENTANA -dot- COM>]

No.  Wouldn't work.

I was (almost) always a union member until becoming a full-time tech
writer.  My grandfather was one of those rabble-rousing union organizers;
his union (of which I was a third generation member) helped put me
through university; I've had hypothermia from walking a picket line.  But
with tech writers being so dispersed and, I'd say, inclined more toward
being a profession than a union, something like the STC is a far better
bet.

If you're really interested in the union approach, however, you might
want to check out the National Writer's Union.  A couple of years ago I
went to a local NWU meeting, not so much to join as to hear Barbara
Kingsolver (who's a *great* speaker as well as writer).  I remember
someone telling me that some branches of the NWU had active segments of
technical writers, although Tucson didn't.  They had group rates for
things like insurance, etc., and they also offered help on contracts too
-- might be mostly book contracts, though.

If anyone out there is an NWU member, is the group very effective? For
that matter, besides the STC and ACM's SigDoc (specialist interest group,
documentation), are there any other professional groups worth
investigating?

Ed -dot- Hoornaert -at- Ventana -dot- Com
Disclaimer:  Ventana Corporation should not be held responsible for my
big mouth.