When Techies Consider
Unions
A technology workers¹
labor union takes root in Portland
By Aliza Earnshaw
THE BUSINESS JOURNAL OF PORTLAND
PORTLAND, Ore., Oct. 27
The
very notion of a labor union for software developers
and other information-technology workers may strike some as paradoxical,
or even ridiculous. After all, techies are thought of as well-compensated,
highly skilled workers. So the beginnings of a techie labor union
here in the Portland area, called ORTech, may come as a surprise
to many who work with or are themselves high-tech workers.
"If employers are not open to listening to workers, protecting
their interests and working with them, they¹ll resort to outside
means."
DIANE WILLIAMS
VP human resources, Merant
"THEY [TECHIES] THINK of themselves as highly skilled individuals
who are valued for what they are," said Ilya Ratner, a programmer
with years of experience working in Portland companies, and a co-founder
of ORTech. "They don¹t understand their place in the food
chain," failing to comprehend that despite their skills, executives
are looking for every possible way to get" two heads for the
price of one," whether through overseas outsourcing, applying
for foreign-worker visas, or keeping labor costs low by using contractors,
Ratner said.
But large companies are unlikely to embrace the infant tech labor
movement. Intel Corp., Oregon¹s largest tech employer, would
"prefer to continue to operate in a non-union environment,"
said Bill MacKenzie, spokesman for Intel Oregon. Intel needs the"flexibility
to move quickly, and respond to changing market conditions."
Intel makes extensive use of both the foreign worker H-1B visa program
and its own offshore development and manufacturing facilities in
its efforts to maintain a strong bottom line. The company¹s
constant emphasis on cost controls through all facets of its operations
pays off: Intel has been steadily profitable for at least a dozen
years.
Workers form unions, said MacKenzie, when ³they don¹t
think they¹re being treated fairly, don¹t think they¹re
being communicated with, don¹t think a company is being consistent
in its policies, and don¹t think a company is responsive to
their concerns. I don¹t think any of these apply to Intel.²
But
some workers at Intel differ. The company demands long hours, say
those who have worked there recently, and supervisors do not shrink
from telling workers that if they fail to come up to scratch, their
jobs could be filled by workers in other parts of the world. Intel
has brought in employees from places like Malaysia, say ex-Intel
workers, to be trained by local workers. Once enough training has
taken place, functions are moved offshore to be performed at lower
cost, and local workers are laid off.
Asked about such practices, MacKenzie said that the traditionally
strong emphasis on productivity at Intel is increasing. "It¹s
a competitive marketplace. We need to hold and grow our market position,"
he said.
Local software company Merant has a slightly different take on the
infant tech union movement. "It¹s a wake-up call for corporations,"
said Diane Williams, vice president of human resources. Labor unions
were formed in the early 20th century, she said, "because of
the conditions of the workers. If employers are not open to listening
to workers, protecting their interests and working with them, they¹ll
resort to outside means" to protect their interests.
"I wouldn¹t be surprised to see some form of organizing
soon, unless, of course, Congress does something to correct the
current outflow of jobs" from the United States.
RICK CRESON
President, Meridian Technology Group
Merant has itself outsourced some of its labor to India, Williams
confirmed, but she said that she felt employees who see the need
for labor unions are probably reacting to their working conditions
and hours, more than to the issue of outsourcing.
In fact, the two most dominant factors driving ORTech members¹
interest in organizing are first, overseas outsourcing and companies¹
importation of foreign workers holding H-1B or L-1 visas, and second,
long hours at work. Another commonly raised issue is the fee structures
used by U.S. outsource agencies; techies say foreign workers receive
about half what outsource agencies charge for their labor, and often
get few benefits.
While a number of unemployed techies blame the visa programs for
the difficulty in finding jobs, ORTech founders Ratner and Mitch
Besser stress that U.S. tech workers and foreign workers alike have
common issues, and should organize together. For example, some say
that employers prefer H-1B workers because they will put in longer
hours than U.S. citizens, because they fear being deported. ³I
do not think anyone should have the fear of deportation used as
a stick to make them work harder,² said Besser, a sporadically
employed programmer with nearly 20 years¹ experience.
"One of the things I really like about ORTech is that they
are trying not to have an Œus against H-1B¹ attitude,"
said one member. "They¹ve been very clear on that from
the beginning."
Still, other members feel strongly that a tech union can play a
role in lobbying, balancing the efforts of tech companies and industry
associations that want to keep the H-1B and other visa programs
in place.
One local employer agreed that techies¹ efforts to organize
are a natural response to overseas outsourcing and the presence
of visa-holding workers in the marketplace. "I wouldn¹t
be surprised to see some form of organizing soon, unless, of course,
Congress does something to correct the current outflow of jobs"
from the United States, said Rick Creson, president of Meridian
Technology Group.
Indeed, Congress recently pushed back the H-1B visa limit to 65,000
from 195,000, but many techies believe that lower limit is still
too high.
"When you look at the big companies such as Intel, HP, Siemens
and others and how they are sending their projects offshore, as
they do so they are eliminating positions in this country,"
he said.
Meridian is itself a domestic outsource agency, and Creson feels
that overseas outsourcing and importation of foreign workers make
it more difficult for his company to compete, as overseas IT wages
are much lower than U.S. wage levels.
Creson also suspects that some employers are abusing the H-1B program.
ORTech members feel that their young group, even with just over
30 members, can play a role in countering such abuses. Besser has,
in fact, been investigating local companies that he says misrepresent
their reliance on H-1B workers to the U.S. Department of Labor.
ORTech¹s founders hope the group will one day become a union
with the power to bargain on employees¹ behalf in large companies.
But even its older sibling organization, WashTech, has not yet reached
that point.
WashTech has its roots in the "permatemps"² lawsuit
that a group of contractors filed against Microsoft Corp. in 1992.
The software giant had employed many contractors for years on end,
and the class-action suit was intended to gain for these workers
the same back benefits that had been paid Microsoft employees over
the years.
Today, WashTech has 350 members, an e-mail list of 16,000 and bargaining
agreements with two small companies. Both of these companies provide
IT services to unions. WashTech is affiliated with the Communications
Workers of America (CWA), which in its turn is affiliated with the
AFL-CIO.
While WashTech is certainly further along in its development than
ORTech, it remains to be seen how far this new labor union will
go. So far, the only large company that has a tech union is IBM,
where another CWA-affiliated union, Alliance@IBM, represents not
only direct employees but also contractors employed by Manpower.
Copyright 2003 American City Business Journals
Inc.
|
