Labor Relations 101

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Labor Relations 101

• A Primer for the New Economy

Dr. Gina Neff Assistant ProfessorUniversity of
California, San Diego
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Agenda

• 1. Why IGDA cant negotiate for you
• Union Basics
• 2. Why unions would love for you to unionize
• Context of the New Economy
• 3. Why you might love other options
• Challenges innovative solutions
• 4. Why dont you talk about it?
• Brainstorming on Collective QoL solutions

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Rights to a Union
Union basics

• the policy of the United States is to
  encourage the practice and procedure of
  collective bargaining
• ?National Labor Relations Act

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From the folks who brought you the weekend
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Forming a union. . .(the optimistic version)
Union basics

• A majority of people decide they want
  representation
• A company can then chose to recognize the union
• Everyone works happily ever after

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(the pessimistic and, sadly, often realistic
version)
Union basics

• NLRA law has been gutted
• Companies routinely break the law to stop union
  drives
• Even when union organizing drives win, companies
  often refuse to bargain in good faith

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Steps for forming a union
Union basics

• Figure out the right international
• Communication Workers of America seems a good fit
• Learn skills for talking with co-workers
• Training from union organizers can be key
• Figure out the long-term campaign strategy (3
  years is optimistic)

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Tools for forming a union
Union basics

• Communication Workers of America
• www.cwa-union.org
• Experience working with technology workers
• Incorporating new models of unionism
• Has organizing mission
• Union organizers can help training for campaigns
• AFL-CIO
• www.aflcio.org
• General information and history
• Ideas for how to talk to co-workers

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Other union resources

• Labourstart.org (notice British sp.)
• Biglabor.com
• Troublemakers Handbook by Jane Slaughter

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?From the CWA organizing webpage
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The Union movement needs you
New Economy Context

• Changing nature of the US workplace
• Address issues in non-industrial context
• Organizing energy
• Declining union membership
• Gamers of the World Unite is a PR coup!

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But can unions handle the challenge?
New Economy Context

• Industrial model of organizing
• hot shops
• Ability to manage flexibility
• European experience with technical unions

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Can an organizing drive work?
New Economy Context

• Venture Labor
• Volatile combination of creativity and
  entrepreneurial behavior
• Flexibility
• Turnover
• Project-based work
• Studio size
• Permanently Beta
• People have to adapt to ever changing
  technologies
• Heterachy
• Less hierarchy may pose a problem for collective
  answers

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Solutions-based models for the New Economy
Challenges Innovations

• Problem One
• Benefits tied to jobs
• Clear advantages to freelancing for people in
  many industries
• Freelancers often lack benefits
• Savings from group buying of insurance often
  not available to those who are in non-standard
  employment

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Solution Offer a way for freelancers to buy
coverage
Challenges Innovations

• Membership Organization of Freelancer Union
• Services independent workers need
• Savings on Health Insurance
• Advocacy on Issues

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Problem Two Inequality in the Tech-workers
Challenges Innovations

• The problem of Permatemps
• Outsourcing issues and age discrimination
• Training costs often high for individuals
• No collective voice for problems of high-tech
  workers

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Solution Offer a membership-based union
Challenges Innovations

• Avoids problem of individual shops
• Avoids problem of defining the bargaining unit
  and the lengthy certification process
• Advocates explicitly for workers in the industry

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(No Transcript)
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From Techsunite.org
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Other solutions

• Advocacy groups
• Cyberlodge, Cyberlodge.org CPSR, etc.
• Freelance cooperatives
• Paneris, paneris.org

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Collective models do work in the new economy

• Unions provide one kind of support but are not
  the only solution
• Ultimately for any collective solution to work
  people have to build and buy into them

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• Gina Neff University of California, San Diego
• ginasue_at_panix.com