Unions ready to set sights on cadres of techies - San Francisco Business Times:

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Major unions are backing passage of the Employese FreeChoice Act, a federal bill that would make it harder for companiex to combat union-organizing drives. Some labor lawyerss and union backers speculate that should the act pass a likely scenario given supportby President-elecft Barack Obama and many Democratic lawmakers it could spark round s of organizing efforts at tech companies, which typically have not seen much unioh activity. The bill’s passage will lead to “significanty organizing efforts in Silicon saidGarry Mathiason, a labor and employment attorneyh at Littler Mendelson P.C.
Silicon Valley’s tech employers “arde not immune merely because they are in technologuy or businesses where little union organizing hastaken place.” The federal bill woulfd confer new organizing powers on Labor groups would have the choice of askinbg workers to vote for representationj by signing cards instead of goinfg through secret-ballot elections. The so-called “care check” method is favored by unions sincde it can be done withoutan employer’e knowledge. Under traditional secret-ballot elections, companiess typically have months tomount opposition.
The bill also authorizes an arbitratoe to impose a first contract if a union failse to reach an agreement with management aftera union’s Under current law, if the two sidesz don’t reach a contract within a the union usually loses its right to be the exclusivw bargaining agent for the workers. Hopinv to reverse declines in union organized labor said the act wouldraise wages, helping the middle class. Businese groups are fighting the legislation, saying it would increas e costs, prompting layoffs. The Employee Free Choicr Act was not written with places like Silicon Valley in experts said. More likelyu early targets are workers at and other suchhourly employees.
But with the country’e political environment expected to becomr more favorable to unionsnext year, organizedx labor’s reach probably won’t be limited to traditional “Times are changing,” said Mark Ross, a labo r and employment lawyer at Seyfarth Shaw LLP. “We’re in a troubled People may be looking for otherr ways of protecting themselves and insurinv that they arecompensated appropriately.” Two employer groups that represenrt large numbers of tech companieas — the and Joint — declined to comment. The did not return a call for comment.
Bay Area technologu companies have long-term employment growth and unions have gotten little tractionj with themthus far, asidr from janitorial organizing in recent years. The region’zs shaky employment status could make union pitchexmore attractive. Consider some of the pain being felt by worker s justthis quarter: is cutting 8 percent of its is cutting 12 is cutting 10 percent; is cutting 18 percent and is cuttingt 10 percent. Unemployment in Silicon Valley has risento 6.9 up from 4.9 percent 12 months ago. In San Franciscok and San Mateo counties, unemploymentg is 5.6 percent, up from 4 percent a year ago. Unemploymentf in the East Bay is 7.1 up from 4.9 percent 12 months ago.
Companies are freezingt salaries tosave money. Workers at ., for will get year-end bonuses but will not get pay hikexsnext year. Union representation in tech is well below national averages. Across the country, 12.1 percent of privater employees are representedby unions. In the tech nothing comes close. Unions covef 4.8 percent of compute and mathematical occupations, according to the . Organized labor represent s 4.1 percent of computer and electronic productwsmanufacturing jobs. Among Internet service providers, 1.6 percenf of workers have union representation. In the Interne t publishing world, so few workerds are covered by unions thatthey don’t even registert in federal surveys.
Even as the economicf and political environment might favor union historic and cultural forced are working against widespread union acceptance intechnologgy fields. “Silicon Valley is reallu very liberterian politically,” said Jan a professor who studies the culturse ofthe region. “There is a strong narrative of individualds in garagesbeing successful, and that visioh is not something that lends itself to Unions, she said, “undermine the idea that I can do You have a couple of really big culturak reasons against organization.
” Union supporters are “A forward-thinking union could set up a web site to creat e a non-stop certification drive at an unlimited number of Silicobn Valley companies,” said John Miano, the foundedr and a board member of the Programmersa Guild, a professional society that advances the interests of workers in informationj technology fields. “This bill has the potential for havingf a major impact upon Silicon Valley andtechnology fields.
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